Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Spouses
Birthabout 1760
Memo(Mary’s pension application)
Memo(date will proved)
Father5G GF Bennett Hurst (1724-<1797)
Mother5G GM Eleanor
Marriage22 December 1779, Harford Co, MD1323
Parent-Proof notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
The family bible of Isaac Hoshall, Jesse’s son, makes it clear that Jesse’s father was Henry -- and that the family was of German origin.
Relocated notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
IMMIGRANT. One of the early Hoshall family histories puts things this way: ”It is pretty well established that Jesse and his brother Henry came from Holland around 1775 and settled in America -- Henry in PA, Jesse in MD, probably near Frederick.”
I wish there was more evidence of the 1775 date and the fact that they came from Holland. I’m not sure either is documented. And the idea that Jesse settled first near Frederick may also be inaccurate. It originates, I think, from the fact that when Jesse enlisted, he did so with a German Battalion in Frederick. But whether that means he had settled there or that is simply where the German Battalion formed, I do not know. In any event, I think there is evidence (his marriage) that he settled in Baltimore County no later than just after the war.
In any event, it is interesting that Jesse Hoshall, of Dutch and/or German ancestry, came to America not long before the Revolutionary War, served in that war with a German speaking unit, and then married a girl of English descent who had been born in America and his German family and her English family became quite tight. Jesse clearly did well for himself. But I wonder if there is some part of this story not fully understood.
I wish there was more evidence of the 1775 date and the fact that they came from Holland. I’m not sure either is documented. And the idea that Jesse settled first near Frederick may also be inaccurate. It originates, I think, from the fact that when Jesse enlisted, he did so with a German Battalion in Frederick. But whether that means he had settled there or that is simply where the German Battalion formed, I do not know. In any event, I think there is evidence (his marriage) that he settled in Baltimore County no later than just after the war.
In any event, it is interesting that Jesse Hoshall, of Dutch and/or German ancestry, came to America not long before the Revolutionary War, served in that war with a German speaking unit, and then married a girl of English descent who had been born in America and his German family and her English family became quite tight. Jesse clearly did well for himself. But I wonder if there is some part of this story not fully understood.
Census History notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
I can find him in the 1790 and 1810 Census, for sure. The 1800 Census for Baltimore County is missing, so he can’t be found for that year. In 1820 and 1830, it is a little hard to distinguish whether it is Jesse Jr. or Jesse Sr. who is listed.
1790. Jesse Oshal lives in Patapsco Lower Hundred, BAL Co. A neighbor is Justice Oshal, I’m not sure who he is.
1810. Jesse Hoshel lives in Pipe Creek and North Hundred. A son John’s age (23) is present so he seems to be still living at home. Jesse’s immediate neighbor is Bennadu Hurst of about Jesse's age so he may well be Mary's brother.
1820. Jesse Hoshell lives in ED 5 BAL but he is 26-45 and must be Jesse Jr. Jesse and Mary Ellen, I think, are living with John Hoshell in the same district.
1830. Jesse Hoshall lives in the 5th Collection District, BAL Co but Jesse Sr. and Jr. may be living together as this is the only Jesse to be found. The male age 70-80 is Jesse Sr. and the one 30-40 possibly Jesse Jr. The female 70-80 is Mary Ellen. Benedick Hurst is a neighbor.
1790. Jesse Oshal lives in Patapsco Lower Hundred, BAL Co. A neighbor is Justice Oshal, I’m not sure who he is.
1810. Jesse Hoshel lives in Pipe Creek and North Hundred. A son John’s age (23) is present so he seems to be still living at home. Jesse’s immediate neighbor is Bennadu Hurst of about Jesse's age so he may well be Mary's brother.
1820. Jesse Hoshell lives in ED 5 BAL but he is 26-45 and must be Jesse Jr. Jesse and Mary Ellen, I think, are living with John Hoshell in the same district.
1830. Jesse Hoshall lives in the 5th Collection District, BAL Co but Jesse Sr. and Jr. may be living together as this is the only Jesse to be found. The male age 70-80 is Jesse Sr. and the one 30-40 possibly Jesse Jr. The female 70-80 is Mary Ellen. Benedick Hurst is a neighbor.
Research notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
The DAR lists him as “Jesse Hoshall: b a 1759 EU d 15 Jul 1830 MD m (1) Mary Hurst Pvt MD PNSR WPNS HPNS”
Discrepant Facts notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
An important detail about Jesse’s life where there is significant doubt is the year he was born. On 25 Sep 1818 in his application for a Revolutionary War Pension, he stated he was 69 years old “and upwards”.
Now I assume that he was only saying a few months over 69, not a few years. So that suggests 1749. Some people, though, have apparently read that application as saying 60 years old and so many sources say Jesse was born in 1758. But I’ve looked at it quite closely and I think 69 is what he said.
In Mary’s application she recounted that Jesse was placed on the pension roll in 1819 and the commencement of it was 25 Sep 1818 (I assume it was backdated to the date of his application) and then she says his pension was discontinued in 1820 “by reason of the property law”. In reference to one of those dates, which particular one is unclear, she says: “and at the time of so doing” he was 76 years old. If Jesse was age 76 in 1819, he was born in about 1743.
Mary herself was born about 1760 so that seems a pretty big age gap between them. Census could help, though the 1800 Census, in which he would have been either 26-45 or 45+ (i.e. born before or after 1755), was lost for the part of Baltimore County where he lived. And in the 1830 Census, the first with more detailed age brackets, it is not clear if the Jesse Hoshall reported as head of household was Jesse Sr. or Jr., but in any event the household includes a male and female both said to be age 70-80 -- i.e. both born 1750-1760.
I have placed Jesse in my database with a 1749 birth year.
Now I assume that he was only saying a few months over 69, not a few years. So that suggests 1749. Some people, though, have apparently read that application as saying 60 years old and so many sources say Jesse was born in 1758. But I’ve looked at it quite closely and I think 69 is what he said.
In Mary’s application she recounted that Jesse was placed on the pension roll in 1819 and the commencement of it was 25 Sep 1818 (I assume it was backdated to the date of his application) and then she says his pension was discontinued in 1820 “by reason of the property law”. In reference to one of those dates, which particular one is unclear, she says: “and at the time of so doing” he was 76 years old. If Jesse was age 76 in 1819, he was born in about 1743.
Mary herself was born about 1760 so that seems a pretty big age gap between them. Census could help, though the 1800 Census, in which he would have been either 26-45 or 45+ (i.e. born before or after 1755), was lost for the part of Baltimore County where he lived. And in the 1830 Census, the first with more detailed age brackets, it is not clear if the Jesse Hoshall reported as head of household was Jesse Sr. or Jr., but in any event the household includes a male and female both said to be age 70-80 -- i.e. both born 1750-1760.
I have placed Jesse in my database with a 1749 birth year.
My Comments notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
The facts of the life of Jesse Hoshall are well documented. There are many descendants active in genealogy and any number of narratives that have been written on the Hoshalls. He can be documented in early Census listings and one very valuable source of information is his Revolutionary War Pension Application File which includes his initial 1818 pension application and then, after his decease, Mary’s application in 1840 for a widow’s pension.
Jesse Hoshall was born in Germany or Holland and emigrated to America. He was a Soldier of Independence. On 22 Dec 1779, he married Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett Hurst, who was of English descent. They had eleven children. He died 15 Jul 1830.
Jesse's pension application documents his war history. He enlisted in Frederick Town, MD in July 1776. He served three years in the German Battalion and took part in the Battles of Trenton (26 Dec 1776 and 2 Jan 1777), Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth Court House and was discharged in July 1779 at Wyoming, PA. He was promoted to Corporal in Sep 1777.
Jesse Hoshall is one of my ancestors that I would really like to have a conversation with. It is generally agreed that Jesse and his brother came to America in 1775. It is not actually stated that they traveled together nor is it ever stated they came separately, but I would think they came together. What is stated is that upon arrival, Jesse settled in Maryland and pretty soon thereafter enlisted and later fought in the Revolutionary War. His brother Henry settled in Pennsylvania and became a Tory — even relocating to Canada after the war, though later returning.
I would like to ask Jesse how this came to be. Did they come separately and fall in with different people along the way? If they came together, did they arrive with different beliefs about the impending Revolution and that is why they settled apart? Or, did they already have different views prior to their departure from Holland? I would really like to know.
The Hoshall family and the Hurst family were quite close. One Hoshall researcher wrote: ”on 22 Dec 1779, Jesse married Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett Hurst, who was a native of England, and owned the farm on which he lived.” Now I really don’t understand that statement. The farm where Bennett, or does it mean Jesse, lived? I think it must be referring to the farm where Jesse lived, but in that case, is it saying that Bennett owned that farm or Mary Ellen?
I don’t think it needs to be sorted out. Clearly, Bennett owned a number of different tracts and though he died intestate, the heirs came to some understanding among them how they were to be split up and Jesse clearly ended up owning several tracts that once belonged to Bennett.
In the 1810 Census, Jesse’s immediate neighbor was Bennadu (sic) Hurst. Since Bennadu had many young children, just like Jesse, I think that this was Bennett Jr., the brother of Mary. So at the time, both Jesse and Bennett Jr. were no doubt living on land that once belonged to Bennett Sr. But later in life Jesse acquired still other tracts of land and I really don’t know if he continued to live on Bennett’s land or some other place.
The name is spelled variously Hoshall, Hoshal, Hoshel and even Oshel (and its variations).
Jesse Hoshall was born in Germany or Holland and emigrated to America. He was a Soldier of Independence. On 22 Dec 1779, he married Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett Hurst, who was of English descent. They had eleven children. He died 15 Jul 1830.
Jesse's pension application documents his war history. He enlisted in Frederick Town, MD in July 1776. He served three years in the German Battalion and took part in the Battles of Trenton (26 Dec 1776 and 2 Jan 1777), Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth Court House and was discharged in July 1779 at Wyoming, PA. He was promoted to Corporal in Sep 1777.
Jesse Hoshall is one of my ancestors that I would really like to have a conversation with. It is generally agreed that Jesse and his brother came to America in 1775. It is not actually stated that they traveled together nor is it ever stated they came separately, but I would think they came together. What is stated is that upon arrival, Jesse settled in Maryland and pretty soon thereafter enlisted and later fought in the Revolutionary War. His brother Henry settled in Pennsylvania and became a Tory — even relocating to Canada after the war, though later returning.
I would like to ask Jesse how this came to be. Did they come separately and fall in with different people along the way? If they came together, did they arrive with different beliefs about the impending Revolution and that is why they settled apart? Or, did they already have different views prior to their departure from Holland? I would really like to know.
The Hoshall family and the Hurst family were quite close. One Hoshall researcher wrote: ”on 22 Dec 1779, Jesse married Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett Hurst, who was a native of England, and owned the farm on which he lived.” Now I really don’t understand that statement. The farm where Bennett, or does it mean Jesse, lived? I think it must be referring to the farm where Jesse lived, but in that case, is it saying that Bennett owned that farm or Mary Ellen?
I don’t think it needs to be sorted out. Clearly, Bennett owned a number of different tracts and though he died intestate, the heirs came to some understanding among them how they were to be split up and Jesse clearly ended up owning several tracts that once belonged to Bennett.
In the 1810 Census, Jesse’s immediate neighbor was Bennadu (sic) Hurst. Since Bennadu had many young children, just like Jesse, I think that this was Bennett Jr., the brother of Mary. So at the time, both Jesse and Bennett Jr. were no doubt living on land that once belonged to Bennett Sr. But later in life Jesse acquired still other tracts of land and I really don’t know if he continued to live on Bennett’s land or some other place.
The name is spelled variously Hoshall, Hoshal, Hoshel and even Oshel (and its variations).
Children Names notes for 4G GF Jesse Hoshall
His wife’s pension application listed their eleven children and gave their birth dates: Isaac 10 Dec 1780, Elizabeth 4 Apr 1782, Eleanor 1 Jun 1784, Jesse 4 Apr 1786, John 21 Aug 1787, David 4 May 1791, Sally 5 Jun 1793, Shadrach 24 Feb 1795, Ephraim 27 Aug 1796, Bennett 2 Apr 1798 and Mary 9 Aug 1800.
Land records show that shortly before he died, on 14 May 1830, Jesse deeded part of “Stevens Cow Pasture” and part of “Monkey’s Chance” to John Hoshall and ”Honorificability” to son Ephraim with the provision that if Ephraim died without issue, that land should then go to John and Jesse. I imagine Isaac was to have the home plantation and that had been arranged before. I can find no mention of David, Shadrach and Bennett. I believe they had all moved away.
The 1820 Census may tell the story. In Baltimore, we only find Jesse and Isaac. Jesse is Jesse Jr. and from the ages of males it would appear that Jesse Sr. is living with Isaac -- however there does not appear to be a tick mark for Mary Ellen, very strange. There is a David Hoshall, right age, in Kentucky. Bennett Hoshall is said to have died in Mississippi in 1825 and there is evidence in that state of several men named Hoshall in later years. Shadrach Hoshall, though, disappeared from the record. There is evidence of one of that name in the next generation but not the one born 1795.
Land records show that shortly before he died, on 14 May 1830, Jesse deeded part of “Stevens Cow Pasture” and part of “Monkey’s Chance” to John Hoshall and ”Honorificability” to son Ephraim with the provision that if Ephraim died without issue, that land should then go to John and Jesse. I imagine Isaac was to have the home plantation and that had been arranged before. I can find no mention of David, Shadrach and Bennett. I believe they had all moved away.
The 1820 Census may tell the story. In Baltimore, we only find Jesse and Isaac. Jesse is Jesse Jr. and from the ages of males it would appear that Jesse Sr. is living with Isaac -- however there does not appear to be a tick mark for Mary Ellen, very strange. There is a David Hoshall, right age, in Kentucky. Bennett Hoshall is said to have died in Mississippi in 1825 and there is evidence in that state of several men named Hoshall in later years. Shadrach Hoshall, though, disappeared from the record. There is evidence of one of that name in the next generation but not the one born 1795.
Parent-Proof notes for Mary Ellen (Spouse 1)
The early Hurst family history I found on the Internet gives her birth and death dates, the names of her parents and says that she was the wife of Jesse Hoshall and mother of John. I can confirm all of those facts in other ways: she stated her age and maiden name in her pension application, the 1798 deed where Jesse Hoshall partners with Bennett and John Hurst most certainly proves the in-law relationship and she named all her children and their birth dates in her pension application.
Census History notes for Mary Ellen (Spouse 1)
She is generally present with her husband in 1790-1830 and probably lives with one of her children in 1840 after her husband has died.
My Comments notes for Mary Ellen (Spouse 1)
As stated elsewhere, the Hoshall family histories say that Mary Ellen Hurst was the daughter of Bennett and that she was a native of England — i.e. had been born there and apparently came to America when young with her father.
But I have found a family tree on the Internet called the ”Hursts of West Virginia” prepared by David Hurst. This tree shows a different biography for Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett who married Jesse Hoshall. The dates of her birth, death and marriage all conform to the Hoshall version, but this tree indicates that not only Mary but her father as well was born in America, not England. This tree suggests that even Bennett’s father was born in Anne Arundel County and it was his father, John, who apparently was the immigrant. He cites church records that document the birth of Bennett to John and Mary of Anne Arundel.
Often family trees on the Internet prove to be totally incorrect but this one pointed me where to look and I have independently verified all of the most important conclusions of David Hurst’s work.
In 1840, Mary Hoshall applied for widow's benefits related to her husband Jesse's war pension. She appeared before a Justice of Peace and swore to a statement that included her age, Jesse's age at the time of the granting of his pension, her maiden name, their marriage date and place and the birth dates and names of their 11 children. All of those facts are consistent with everything I know about this family and probably the source others used as well.
At the time of this application, Mary was 80 and I found it quite interesting that she made note that in addition to her eleven children, she had 47 grand-children and 23 great-grandchildren. That’s quite a family.
The will of Mary Hoshel dated 7 Oct 1844 proved 26 Aug 1845 mentioned granddaughters Sarah and Elizabeth (daughters of son Jesse) and bequeathed all pensions payable as widow of Jesse to son Jesse. I don’t think any such pension payments would have continued after her death, but Mary apparently did not understand that.
But I have found a family tree on the Internet called the ”Hursts of West Virginia” prepared by David Hurst. This tree shows a different biography for Mary Ellen Hurst, daughter of Bennett who married Jesse Hoshall. The dates of her birth, death and marriage all conform to the Hoshall version, but this tree indicates that not only Mary but her father as well was born in America, not England. This tree suggests that even Bennett’s father was born in Anne Arundel County and it was his father, John, who apparently was the immigrant. He cites church records that document the birth of Bennett to John and Mary of Anne Arundel.
Often family trees on the Internet prove to be totally incorrect but this one pointed me where to look and I have independently verified all of the most important conclusions of David Hurst’s work.
In 1840, Mary Hoshall applied for widow's benefits related to her husband Jesse's war pension. She appeared before a Justice of Peace and swore to a statement that included her age, Jesse's age at the time of the granting of his pension, her maiden name, their marriage date and place and the birth dates and names of their 11 children. All of those facts are consistent with everything I know about this family and probably the source others used as well.
At the time of this application, Mary was 80 and I found it quite interesting that she made note that in addition to her eleven children, she had 47 grand-children and 23 great-grandchildren. That’s quite a family.
The will of Mary Hoshel dated 7 Oct 1844 proved 26 Aug 1845 mentioned granddaughters Sarah and Elizabeth (daughters of son Jesse) and bequeathed all pensions payable as widow of Jesse to son Jesse. I don’t think any such pension payments would have continued after her death, but Mary apparently did not understand that.