Hans Jacob Hess
{{short description|Anabaptist minister and martyr}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Reverend
| name = John Jacob Hess{{cite book|last=Eshleman|first=Henry Frank|title=Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and of Their Remote Ancestors, from the Middle of the Dark Ages, Down to the Time of the Revolutionary War|via=Internet Archive|year=1917|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pPYMAAAAYAAJ/page/n43 88]|publisher=Lancaster, Pennsylvania |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pPYMAAAAYAAJ|quote=john jacob hess 1639.}}
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = 17 May 1584 {{cite web|last=Davis|first=Richard W.|title=Hans Jacob Hess (b. 17 May 1584, d. 1639)|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/e/n/Carole-Henson-CO/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0593.html|accessdate=31 March 2014}}
| birth_place = Wald, Zurich, Switzerland
| death_date = 1639 (age 55) {{cite book|title=Genealogy of the Hess Family|year=1896|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cRRAAAAMAAJ&q=hans+jacob+hess+1639&pg=PA241|last1=Hess|first1=John H.}}
| death_place = Othenbach Prison, Switzerland
| nationality = Swiss
| other_names = Hans Jacob Hess, Jakob Kuntz Hess
| occupation = Minister
| known_for = Anabaptist martyr{{cite web|title=Martyrs Mirror|url=http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/martyrs162.htm|publisher=www.homecomers.org|accessdate=31 March 2014}}
}}
John Jacob Hess (German: Hans Jacob Hess) (17 May 1584 – 1639) was a Swiss-German Anabaptist minister and martyr.
Early life
John Jacob Hess was born in Wald, Zurich, Switzerland on 17 May 1584 to Hans Heinrich Hess, a bailiff,{{cite web|last=Henson|first=Carole|title=Hans Heinrich Hess|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/e/n/Carole-Henson-CO/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0593.html|publisher=Genealogy.com|accessdate=31 March 2014}} (1534–1587){{cite web|title=Heinrich Hess|url=http://records.ancestry.com/Heinrich_Hess_records.ashx?pid=130300456|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=31 March 2014}} and Adelheid Kuntz (1546–1585).{{cite web|title=Adelheid Kuntz|url=http://records.ancestry.com/Adelheid_Kuntz_records.ashx?pid=12642320|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=31 March 2014}} He had eight older full siblings: Margaretha, Christian, Matheus, Hans, Elsy, Margaretha, Heinrich, and Dorothea; five older half-siblings from his father's first two marriages: Adelheid, Barbara, Veronica, Catharina and Anna; and one younger half-brother, Hans, from his father's fourth marriage.
Marriage and children
He married Anna Egli (1584–1639) on 27 April 1606. They had 7 children: Anna (b: September 1607), Christian (b. 15 February 1609), Heinrich (b. 28 January 1615), Hans Egli (b. 24 May 1617), Samuel (b. 28 August 1621), Veronica (b. 10 February 1623) and Dorothea (b. 7 October 1627).{{cite web|last=Henson|first=Carole|title=Hans Jacob Hess|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/e/n/Carole-Henson-CO/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0593.html|publisher=Genealogy.com|accessdate=31 March 2014}}
Imprisonment and death
In 1637, he was arrested for being Anabaptist, and locked in Othenbach Prison for 19 days. Later that year, he was again arrested, this time spending eight weeks in Othenbach Prison. In 1638, he was arrested for the third and final time, and thrown in Othenbach Prison for 83 weeks. While imprisoned, he was stripped and put in iron bonds for 16 weeks. He, along with his wife, who was imprisoned for 63 weeks, contracted tuberculosis (then known as consumption), and died. His property was seized and sold for 4,000 guilders (approximately $800,000 in modern US dollars). None of the money was restored to his descendants.
References
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Category:German people who died in prison custody
Category:17th-century deaths from tuberculosis