Matthias Hester (1793-1890)

Class of 2026 – Founder

Matthias Hester was born in Green County, PA on Oct. 17, 1793, the son of John and Elizabeth (Mason) Hester.  The family moved to Columbiana County, OH in 1807, where Matthias became an apprentice tailor.  He then ran his own tailor shop in Salem, OH for about 10 years.  In 1836 he came to the village of Mount Union and opened a grocery store on the SE corner of the square.  In 1838 he relocated a couple of miles north and platted, along with John Miller, the village of Freedom.  Here he built a home and opened a mercantile shop which he ran until 1848. He built the Hester Block in 1838, which was the oldest brick home in the original town of Alliance. Hester was a big supporter of railroads and donated real estate then valued at over $6,000 in support of railroad development.  He was a Baptist when he founded Freedom, and he built the first church in Freedom, the Regular Baptist Church on Vine Street.  He served as a member of the first city council after Alliance was incorporated in 1854 and also as a member of the first public school board in Alliance.

In 1819 Matthias Hester married Susan Gaskill of Salem, and they were parents to ten children: David G; John N.; Sarah; Eliza; George W.; Charles M.; Thomas; Rebecca; Harrison; and another that died in childhood.  Matthias Hester died Feb. 11, 1890 and is buried in Alliance City Cemetery.

[Sources: 1881 Perrin, pp. 728-729; Arney article;   Hester House, 1869, Hester Block 1838]