Jacob Hespeler (1810 in

Eningen unter Achalm Eningen (full name Eningen unter Achalm; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Ẽnenga ondr dr Achl'') is a municipality in the Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated at the foot of the Swabian Alps an ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

– March 22, 1881 in

Hespeler, Ontario Hespeler is a neighbourhood and former town within Cambridge, Ontario, located along the Speed River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In 1973, Hespeler, Preston, Galt, and the hamlet of Blair were amalgamated to form the ...

, Canada) was a prominent businessman in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

and the founder of the town of Hespeler (since 1973 a part of

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 Canadian census, 202 ...

Early life

Born Jakob Hespeler in

Ehningen Ehningen is a town in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Ehningen is in Korngäu, on the northwestern edge of Schönbuch nature park. Historically, the city of Ehningen was located north of the Würm, but th ...

in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, Hespeler was the eldest son of Johann Georg Hespeler (born 1784) and Anna Barbara Wick (1791–1881). His mother was a granddaughter of Count Károly Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (1723–1795), a Hungarian nobleman. His father was a businessman with the house of

Mayer Amschel Rothschild Mayer Amschel Rothschild (23 February 1744 – 19 September 1812; also spelled ''Anschel'') was a German-Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance", Rothschild w ...

. His younger brother was

William Hespeler William Hespeler (December 29, 1830 – April 18, 1921), born ''Wilhelm'', was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary co ...

. Hespeler received his education in Nancy and moved to North America where he worked in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

for several years, working first for

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

in Chicago and then with the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

Business activities in Preston

Around 1835 Hespeler settled in Preston, Upper Canada (now part of Cambridge, Ontario), which was then a major German-speaking centre and a focus for German-speaking immigrants from both Europe and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Jacob Hespeler Grist Mill - Cambridge, ON

Hespeler began as a co-owner of a store, which he soon owned outright, and then expanded his business operations in town. He purchased a site along the Grand River intending to build a mill which would compete with the existing mill owned by the Erb family. After beginning the digging of the

millrace A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel (sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mil ...

, he was forced to abandon the project as he could not secure the necessary water rights from the Erbs. He instead bought up some land on King Street in Preston and built a grist mill, general store, and distillery. He held a number of public positions in Preston, serving as reeve, postmaster, and town councillor.

Development of New Hope / Hespeler

Beginning on February 6, 1845, Hespeler made a series of purchases of land on the west bank of the Speed River northeast of Preston, near a small settlement called New Hope, further removed from competition with the Erbs. He greatly enlarged the existing dam on the Speed, and within the next five years erected a gristmill, a sawmill, a cooperage, and a distillery. He also built stone lodgings for single men working in his buildings, and made significant donations to both the local Catholic and Lutheran churches. His distillery was unusual in Canada at the time in making use of the "German method" for producing vinegar, which allowed vinegar to be fermented through a chemical process much faster than traditional methods. In 1851 Hespeler sent a vinegar sample to

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

and subsequently began exporting vinegar to Britain regularly. In 1857 he organized a census of New Hope with the aim of seeing it incorporated, and the settlement of New Hope was proclaimed the "Village of Hespeler" in his honour effective January 1, 1859. He was elected as the first reeve of the village, serving from 1859 to 1862.

Later years

In 1861 Hespeler ran for election to the 7th Parliament of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate for South Waterloo, but was defeated by the Liberal James Cowan. Around 1861 he sold his properties in Preston and erected a large stone wool mill in Hespeler near the

Speed River The Speed River is a river that flows through Wellington County and the Region of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows south from its source near Orton, through Guelph, where it is joined by the Eramosa River, then through the tow ...

. After this mill was severely burned in 1869, Hespeler retired to California for several years before returning to Hespeler, where he died in 1881. He was buried at the New Hope Cemetery in Hespeler. One of his younger brothers,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, became a prominent

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

politician. His daughter Laura married John Walker, a prominent industrialist who served as a member of the House of Commons. A high school has been named in his honour,

Jacob Hespeler Secondary School Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 24 prior to 1999) is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 105 elementary schools, 16 secondary ...

References

External links