Jonathan
Hager
Sr.
Born in Siegen, Heiliges Römisches Reich
Son of Johann Henrich Hager Jr.
and Carherine (Echer) Hager
Brother of
David Hager
Husband of
Anna Elisabeth (Kirschner) Hager
— married
1740 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
Rosanna (Hager) Hiester and Jonathan Hager Jr
Died
at about age 61
in Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland
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| Created 3 May 2016
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Contents |
Biography
Jonathan Hager Sr. performed Patriotic Service in Maryland in the American Revolution.
Jonathan was born in present day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany about 1714. He was the son of Johann Henrich Hager Jr. and Carherine (Echer) Hager.
On 1 Sep 1736, at the age of 22, he arrived in Philadelphia onboard the "Harle"[1]. Soon after, he moved to Western Maryland, Prince Georges County (later Frederick county, now Washington county). In 1739 he purchased a 200-acre tract of land he called "Hagar's Fancy" from Daniel Dulaney, a land agent of Lord Baltimore.
In 1740, Jonathan married Anna Elizabeth (Elisabet) Kirschner, the daughter of Johann Georg Kirschner and Anna Catharina Fischer. They had three children, two lived to adulthood, Jonathan Hager the second, who married [[Mary Magdalene Ohrendorff and Rosanna Hager, who married Daniel Hiester.
Jonathan built a sound foundation over two fresh water springs that flowed over "Hagar's Fancy" and constructed a barn. He may have built the stone house still standing on this site but that is undocumented. It is now known as the "Hager House and Museum" (in present-day Hagerstown City Park). He and his wife would only reside in "Hager's Fancy" for five years. He sold the property to Jacob Rohrer and evidently relocated to a townhome directly in town. Jonathan resumed acquiring land in 1753, when he patented "Hager's Delight" (1,780 acres). This is thought to be the location where his children were born. His wife Elizabeth died in 1765 at the age of 40. As a tribute to his wife, Jonathan named the area Elizabethtown. (The name was changed 5 Dec 1813 to Hagerstown.) In 1768, Jonathan expanded "Hager's Delight" to over 4,000 acres.
Evincing leadership from the moment of his arrival, Hager became a leading citizen. Captain Hager led a company of Ranger scouts in the French and Indian War. When in 1762 George Washington presented his plan for making the Potomac river navigable. Jonathan Hager and Thomas Cresp were elected as the Maryland representatives on the board of directors for the project.
Jonathan Hager was the first American of German birth to be elected a Delegate to occupy a seat in the Maryland Colonial Legislature, elected in 1771 and re-lected in 1773. In the period leading up to the American Revolution, Hager served on various committees championing U.S. independence. He was involved in the Revolutionary War, in a Patriotic Service role: as part of the Committee of Observation, 14 Sep 1775.[2]
Jonathan died 6 Nov 1775, when he was crushed to death supervising the construction of the First German Church, for which he donated the land. Capt Jonathan Hager, Sr (1714–6 Nov 1775) is buried in Zion Reformed United Church of Christ Cemetery, Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.
Research Notes
To Do
- Add inline citations to the biography based on primary sources. Recommendations appear below.
Clark 1987
"Western Maryland Families" by Raymond B. Clark, Jr., 1987. Recommended by Linda (Noland) Layman.
Rutherford-448 Notes Re Hager-603
I'm disconnecting her from these parents. Can't possiblt be right. posted Jul 11, 2022
Rutherford-448 Notes Re Hauger-39
Notes from Rutherford-448
June 2022:
I don't think that (Hauger-39) belongs to this family. He is listed as born in Germany ten years after the family emigrated and he settled in Pennsylvania not Maryland. And Jonathan Hager Sr. is reported to have only has the one son - Jonathan Jr.
There are literally thousands of trees showing this man as the son of a Johann Georg Hauger and Anna Maria Scmitt, although I would not vouch for their sources. But I cannot find much even there connecting him to this family. He should be detached.
July 2022:
Not seeing any objection, I have disconnected this man from the family of Jonathan Hager Sr. (1714-1775).
Papenfuse Bio
Carole (Kirch) Bannes provided this source. Several in line citations can be added.
(p 379): "Profile of Jonathan Hagar": Papenfuse, Edward C. et. al. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789. (Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1979) (Maryland Archives Online URL: https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000426/html/am426--379.html),
Citations: 1. Confirms that his wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Martin and Margaretha Kirshner. 2. ?
Beryl Meehan Notes
'"Twas Seeding Time" John L Ruth, Kitchener, Ontario and Scottdale, Penns Herald Press 1976 E209 R93. PP199 plus index. Mentions many experiences during the Revolution of Mennonites, Reformed and Lutherans...incl this Hager family and the Hiesters...
Wikipedia
- Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Hager
- References: "What God Does Is Well Done" The Jonathan Hager Files By: John Nelson, 1997
GEDCOM Data
Born 1719 Germany[5]
Died 6 Nov 1775. Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, USA. [6]
Buried Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA. [7]
File Format: jpg. hager house sign. Format: jpg. j hager grave 2. Format: jpg. jhager grave.
Related Links
- Jonathan Hager from www.wikipedia.org
- Hager House, Hagerstown, Maryland from www.wikipedia.org
- Jonathan Hager, Founder of Hagerstown, Found! from www.boards.ancestry.com
- Capt Jonathan Hager, Sr, memorial in Zion Reformed United Church of Christ Cemetery, Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA.
Sources
- ↑ Strassburger, Ralph Beaver; edited by William John Hinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 (Pennsylvania German Society, Norristown, PA, 1934), page 156
- ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed May 19, 2016), "Record of Jonathan Hager, Sr.", Ancestor # A211636.
- ↑ Source: #S-1731727661 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=websearch-4067&h=73563&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Name: Jonathan Hager death date: 6 Nov 1775 death place: Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, USA birth date: 1719 birth place: Germany burial place: Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA
- ↑ Source: #S-1731642646 Source Citation: Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 2 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=graves&h=22517&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Name: Jonathan Hager
- ↑ Source: #S-1731727661 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=websearch-4067&h=73563&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Name: Jonathan Hager death date: 6 Nov 1775 death place: Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, USA birth date: 1719 birth place: Germany burial place: Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA
- ↑ Source: #S-1731727661 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=websearch-4067&h=73563&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Name: Jonathan Hager death date: 6 Nov 1775 death place: Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, USA birth date: 1719 birth place: Germany burial place: Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA
- ↑ Source: #S-1731727661 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=websearch-4067&h=73563&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Name: Jonathan Hager death date: 6 Nov 1775 death place: Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, USA birth date: 1719 birth place: Germany burial place: Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, USA
See also:
- Maryland Archives
- Jonathan Hager House and Museum from www.hagerstownmd.org
- Patented Land Surveys for Prince George's Co., Maryland (1679-1967), Maryland State Archives, Series S1203.
- Patented Land Surveys for Frederick Co., Maryland (1679-1967), Maryland State Archives, Series S1197.
- Anon., "Jonathan Hager," Wikipedia.org. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Hager. Accessed 30 Nov 2017 by Patricia Prickett Hickin
- Source: S-1731642646 Repository: #R-2145300705 Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Hatcher, Patricia Law Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.Original data - Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. Dallas, TX, USA: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987.Original data: Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Grav Note:
- Repository: R-2145300705 Ancestry.com Note:
- Source: S-1731727661 Repository: #R-2145300705 Web: Maryland, Find A Grave Index, 1788-2011 Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data - Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi: accessed 7 February 2012.Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi Note:
Acknowledgments
- B Kershner imported the data for Jonathan Hager from Kershner Family Tree.ged on 9 Jun 2017.
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H > Hager > Jonathan Hager Sr.
Categories: Zion Reformed United Church of Christ Cemetery, Hagerstown, Maryland | Palatine Migrants | Patriotic Service, Maryland, American Revolution
But Anna Elisabeth's baptism has been confirmed by records from Archion and the parents are reported as listed here. Not a straightforward situation.
Perhaps this is the wrong person and both brothers named daughters Anna Elisabeth. German records need to be checked.
edited by Dave Rutherford
+ The couple had one child, George Kershner.
edited by Michael McLellan II
So, either the Maryland Archives are wrong, or we have Jonathan connected to the wrong Anna Elisabeth. I will reach out to someone at the Germany project and see if we can find a second Anna Elisabeth, daughter of Martin.
btw - Johann Georg is indeed equivalent to Georg. Under the somewhat confusing German naming patterns of the era, the first name, in this case Johann, was a baptismal name (also known as a saint name) whereas the second name was the name that they were known by. Thus a family had boys named Johann Martin, Johann Georg etc. all known by their second names Martin, Georg, etc. At WikiTree we place both names in the first name field.
edited by Michael McLellan II