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FRANCIS HOSTETTER was born about 1739 and died before 19 Apr 1806[1] in the St. Charles District, Louisiana Territory, present day St. Charles County, MO. The identity of his parents is unknown, at this time, though clues to his lineage will be discussed later in this chapter. The marriage records of Francis' daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, in St. Charles County, Missouri Borromeo Parish records[2] report their parent's names as Francis Hostetter and Franqui[3] Sheets. The records of Francis' estate administration also give his widow's name as Frances. Franz Hochstadter and Franzina Schutz were married[4] 20 Nov 1764 in Hanover Township, York County, PA. Deeds and other records place Francis in Baltimore, MD, very near this place, shortly after this time.
Frances Schutz Hostetter was born about 1745, the daughter of John Frederick and Elizabeth Schutz of York

Frances Schutz Hostetter was born about 1745, the daughter of John Frederick and Elizabeth Schutz of York County, PA. Frances was left a featherbed in her father’s will, proved in York County in 1758, and Francis and Frances Hostetter are mentioned in the distribution records of the estate[5] of Frederick Schutz. John Frederick Schutz arrived in Philadelphia, PA on 11 August 1732 in the company of his cousin, Philip Schutz. I suspect that the family of Frances Schutz may have followed the Lutheran faith, since Francis and Frances were married in a Lutheran church. Frederick and Philip Schutz are mentioned in the records of this church and may be related to Frances. Franz Hochstatter is mentioned twice more in these records, once with his new wife, as witness to the baptism of an infant. Frances was apparently deceased before her husband's estate was settled in 1813, as she is not mentioned in the records of Francis’ estate after the inventory, in 1806.

According to family tradition[6], Francis was brought to America by his family at the age of nine years, in 1748 or 1749, arriving at Philadelphia. Several county histories and other sources disagree as to the origins of the Hostetter family and report their homeland as either Switzerland or Germany, in one instance Baden, Germany.

Francis was residing in Baltimore, MD by August 1770 when his son, Isaac, was born. According to the biography[7] of a descendent, Francis was engaged in the meat business in that city. This assertion is supported by the likelihood[8] that the family of Francis' son-in-law, John Hull, were employed as butchers and tanners for several years in Lexington, Kentucky in the early nineteenth century. I deduced this from several notices that appeared in the Kentucky Gazette. This may indicate that the Hostetters and Hulls were engaged in this trade before leaving Baltimore.

The same biography[9] contains the claim that Francis was an "active and prominent Tory" while residing in Baltimore. Francis Hostetter did refrain from signing the Oath of Fidelity[10] in 1777, while a resident of Baltimore. I believe this assumption to be in error, however. In 1787, Francis Hostetter and others, trustees of the Dunkard Church of Baltimore City, made a deed[11] for the purchase of property for their church. Members of this sect were forbidden to take oaths or render military service and, had historically, suffered much persecution for their beliefs. It is more likely that Francis did not render service during the Revolutionary War due to his religious convictions than because of any Tory sympathies. A quote from a history[12] of the church best conveys this:

" The Church of the Brethren never sanctioned, never encouraged, never participated in a war. Peace as a fundamental principle was and always has been honored by members. Every war that has swept the country was steadfastly opposed by the church. The Revolutionary War was a severe test. Many of the members were anxious to see the new government prosper and succeed. But they could not, they did not fight....."

The earliest reference I have been able to locate that mentions Francis' supposed Tory affiliations is in the 1921 biography[13] of a descendent, nearly one hundred and forty years after the fact. The same tradition appears again in a later biography of this same individual.

A local historian who knew all of the parties involved related the following story concerning Francis' supposed Tory affiliations. Around the turn of the 19th century, a lady Hostetter descendent joined the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution, claiming that Isaac Hostetter, son of Francis Hostetter, was actually the child of Uhlrich Hostetter, a Revolutionary War veteran. A tombstone in the Fairview Cemetery in Frankford, MO includes a commemoration of her DAR membership. This was obviously incorrect as family tradition had preserved the name of Francis Hostetter as the true ancestor. Jefferson Davis Hostetter, apparently "to get the goat" of this lady, correctly identified Isaac's father as Francis and claimed he was a Tory in his biography, which appeared in a widely published history of the state of Missouri. It is this and a later biography of J. D. Hostetter, probably based on the first biography, that are the first and only original sources claiming that Francis was a Tory. This DAR line was later closed due to lack of proof of a relationship between Isaac and Uhlrich Hostetter.

I do not know if descendants of Francis Hostetter followed the Dunkard faith after leaving Kentucky, but many later became members of the Anabaptist, Baptist or Campbellite churches. Most were, however, very devoutly religious men and women. Many of the Hostetter men were ministers. Francis, himself, is identified[14] as an Anabaptist minister from Maryland in the history of a related family. It is likely that, with the passage of time and distance from the principles of the Church of the Brethren, some of Francis Hostetter's descendants could have mistakenly interpreted his opposition to war as opposition to the Revolutionary government and support of the British.

“..… Mr. Zumwalt was friend of the preachers, and whenever they came into the neighborhood they held services in his house. Rev. Jesse Walker and a German minister named Hostetter preached there as early as 1800…..

FIRST LOCAL PREACHERS IN NORTH MISSOURI. - One of the first Protestant preachers in North Missouri was a Dutch Tunker - Hostetter - who occasionally preached in “Dutch” in the region of Flint Hill, to his American neighbors, who sat quietly under his ministry of which they understood not a word - drinking in the gospel in an unknown tongue, and he as rigorously supplied it as if they understood it all…”

The daughter and nephew of the Mr. Zumwalt, mentioned above, married children of Francis Hostetter.

The 1787 Baltimore “Trustee’s” deed is also an important clue to the past of Francis Hostetter. The Dunkards, or Church of the Brethren, as they prefer to be known, first arrived in America in 1721. They eventually settled in the York and Lancaster county areas of Pennsylvania. In later years, these Dunkard families tended to migrate together in groups to the frontier. Several of the families that the Hostetters were frequently associated with in later generations were members of this church as well, notably the Roland, Keithly, Hendricks and Nichols families.

I found two Hostetter men, Christian and Nicholas, on the 1770 membership lists of the Little Conewago congregation of Dunkards, or Church of the Brethren, of Hanover Township, York County, PA. I believe these are the two men mentioned[16] in the Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler by Harvey Hostetler. Christian and Nicholas are thought by Mr. Hostetler to have been brothers, who, with a third brother, Ulrich[17], came to America in 1749 on the ship Phoenix, arriving at Philadelphia on 15 September. The passenger list of the ship Phoenix includes the names of Christian and Niklaus Hochstatter and Ulrich Hostetter. The "France" Hostetter who appeared on the 1779-1781 tax lists[18] of Heidleburg Township, York County, PA is thought by the author of The Descendents of Jacob Hochstetler to have been a son of Ulrich Hostetter, but no proof of this is given.

The marriage of Nicolaus Hochstatter and Magdelena Euler is recorded on 27 May 1754 and Nicolaus Hochstatter is again mentioned, in 1759 and 1760, in the records of St. Matthews Lutheran church, where Franz Hochstadter was married in 1764. A history[19] of 18th century Pennsylvania Lutheran churches reports that relations were cordial between the Brethren and Lutherans in Hanover Township. This may account for the appearance of the Hochstatter family in Lutheran church records. It is also possible that the Hochstatter family were originally Lutherans and joined the Church of the Brethren. The fact that baptisms are not recorded for any of the children of Franz and Franzina Hochstatter in this church seems to indicate no strong connection to the Lutheran church. One child, John, of Niclaus and Magdelena Hochstatter was baptized in St. Matthews Lutheran Church in 1760.

There were several men named Wine and Moyer associated with the Little Conewago congregation of the Brethren. Christian Wine and Daniel Moyer were among the Trustees who executed the deed with Francis Hostetter in Baltimore in 1787. I have included this deed in Appendix A.

In another deed[20] recorded in Baltimore, MD, the recorder of deeds either closely copied Francis' signature in German script or allowed him to sign the deed book. The body of the deed contains the name Francis but the two "signatures" appear as Frantz. With this deed, in October of 1791, Francis Hostetter sold his Baltimore property to John Hull. A John Hull married Catherina Hoofstetter in Baltimore in 1783. This John Hull was probably Francis' son-in-law. The list of the property in the deed is very impressive and includes a house and lot on Frederick Street, several pieces of mahogany furniture, silver spoons, pewter ware, Delft ware, china, crystal, substantial furniture and assorted household goods. I have included this deed in its entirety in Appendix A. Whatever Francis' occupation, he was apparently very successful. As was the custom with members of the Dunkard church, he was probably preparing to move west with other members of his church.

Francis Hostetter next appears in records when he was listed on 25 March in the 1792 tax list of Bourbon County, Kentucky and was taxed there again in 1793. Harrison County, KY was created from Bourbon and Scott Counties in 1794, and Francis was enumerated on Harrison County, KY tax lists after that county's creation. Francis and Jacob Hostetter were both on the 1795-7 tax lists of Harrison County, KY. Francis and Jacob Hostetter do not appear on the Kentucky census for 1800 that has been reconstructed from tax lists, though Jacob is listed in 1799. The 1798 tax list is apparently lost.

In 1798, the fall of 1798 according to tradition, Francis' son, Isaac, arrived at the St. Charles District of New Spain, which was under Spanish control. Isaac appeared in the 1795 Harrison county, KY tax list with his father, but was not on subsequent lists. This area of New Spain was later a possession of France and, eventually, became part of the Louisiana Territory and ultimately part of the state of Missouri. By 1800, Francis had joined Isaac and received a Spanish land grant[21] of 500 arpents[22] of land, dated 10 February 1800. This grant was bounded to the south by his son's 1797 grant. Family tradition says this move was spurred by the death of Francis' wife. This tradition seems to be in error, however, since Francis' wife is mentioned in the records of his estate. In October of 1800, Spain ceded her territories to France and Francis and Isaac Hostetter were now citizens of that country. By 1803, with the Louisiana Purchase, without moving one inch, Francis and Isaac Hostetter and their relations were the subjects of a Spanish king, a French emperor and an American president in just three years!

Francis Hostetter died early in 1806 and his estate was administered[23] in the District of St. Charles, Louisiana Territory. His estate was inventoried 19 Apr 1806. A typed copy of his estate inventory is included in Appendix A. Francis’ son, Isaac, was administrator. In 1812 Isaac was ordered to render an account of his administration for the orphan's court in the town of St. Charles and District of St. Charles. This would seem to indicate that the youngest known child of Francis Hostetter was born about 1791 and that Frances Hostetter was also then deceased. Francis' and Frances' burial places are unknown, but, since several deaths occurred in the Hostetter family in the St. Charles District in the early 19th century, it is likely that there is an unmarked cemetery on the grants of Isaac or Francis Hostetter in that county, just north of present day O’Fallon.

1Missouri, St. Charles County, St. Charles County Historical Society, Probate Box 64, File 12, Hostetter, Francis.

2 St. Charles Borromeo Rectory, 709 N. Fourth Street, St. Charles, MO 63301, marriage records.

7 The History of Pike County, Missouri, Mills & Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1883, page 1012.

Stevens, W. S., Centennial History of Missouri, 1921, Biography of Jefferson Davis Hostetter, pp. 662-660.

Stevens, W. S., Centennial History of Missouri, 1921, Biography of the Hon. Jefferson Davis Hostetter, pp. 662-660.

Residents of Baltimore City and Maryland counties were required pledge their allegiance to the Revolutionary government.

Brumbaugh, Martin Grove, A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America, Brethren Publishing House, Mount Morris, Ill., 1899, pp. 537-538.

Centennial History of Missouri, page 663, biography of Jefferson Davis Hostetter.

Reed, Paul L., The Andrew Zumwalt Family Volume 1, Deford & Company Inc., Baltimore, 1964, p. 72.

14 Bryan, Wm S. and Robert Rose, A History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri, Bryan, Brand & Co., St. Louis, MO, 1876, pps. 196 & 423. Flint Hill is located a few miles north west of Francis Hostetter’s Spanish land grant.

Hostetler, Reverend Harvey D.D., Descendents of Jacob Hochstetler, 1912, pp. 941, 945. This book is available from The Gospel Book Store, Berlin, Oh 44610.

This Uhlrich Hostetter is not the same man who rendered service during the Revolutionary War.

Glatfelter, Charles H., Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1717-1793, The Pennsylvania German Society, Breinigsville, PA, Volume 1, pp. 464-466.

Missouri, Jefferson City, Missouri State Archives, Microfilm #F390, Volume A, page 237.

Missouri, St. Charles County, St. Charles County Historical Society, Probate Box 64, File 1512, Hostetter, Francis.

FIRST GENERATION