Jacob Hess, Sr.

A Patriot of the American Revolution for MARYLAND with the rank of PRIVATE.
DAR Ancestor # A054597

KEEDYSVILLE — The Maryland State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will dedicate a memorial to Revolutionary War patriot Jacob Hess at the Hess gravesite in Fairview Cemetery here, Saturday, October 6. The service will begin at 3 p.m.

Principal, speaker will be Judge Wilson K. Barnes, past president of the Maryland State Society, SAR. Other participants will include John W. Hoffman, president of the local Christian Ardinger Chapter, SAR, and Irvin David Hess of Yuma, Arizona, a direct descendant of Jacob Hess.

Jacob Hess was born in 1740 and died in 1815. In 1768, he married Margaret Orndorff, the eldest daughter of Major Christian Orndorff, a prominent Washington County citizen, and later acquired from his father-in-law a tract of land along the Antietam Creek. Hess built a mill and a large stone dwelling house on the land.

His military service began on September 19, 1776, as a private in the Maryland Militia "Flying Camp" under command of Capt. Richard Smith, Lt. Walter White and Lt. Thomas Hays.

The Jacob Hess Mill was one of the landmarks in the early history of Washington County. In
early land records, frequent reference is made to "the road leading to Jacob Hess' Mill." In later years, in the immediate area of the mill, the town of Keedysville was built, part of it on original Jacob Hess land. The old mill was operated for almost two centuries. The last owner was Russell Geeting, still residing in Keedysville, who operated it until 1956 and dismantled it in 1960. The present U. S. Post Office and Keedysville Citizens Bank are located on the mill site.
Morning Herald, Friday, October 5, 1973

Jacob Hess was born in 1740, and was brought from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to superintend the construction of a mill on Antietam Creek for Christian Orndorff. He married Margaret Orndorff, Christian’s eldest daughter, about 1768. His father-in-law gave him property near the spot where an early road crossed Little Antietam Creek. Aaron Orndorff (1784-1845) has been quoted by his son Darius as saying, …After Jacob Hess completed his mills for Herr Orendorff on the Big Antietam, he took Peggy to wife and with her fled to the Little Antietam where he built a large dwelling, Swiss barn and a flour mill. The barn and the mill are gone, but the house remains, the oldest in Keedysville. there are several photos of the Hess House. SOURCE: http://washingtoncountyhistoricaltrust.org/jacob-hess-house-circa-1...
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