Jacob Hespeler
Canadian businessman
About Jacob Hespeler
Lived 1810 – 1881 (aged 70–71).
Jacob George Hespeler (né Jakob Georg Hespeler; 28 January 1811 – 22 March 1881) was a German-Canadian businessman. He is best known as the founder and namesake of the town Hespeler, Ontario, which since 1973 has been a neighbourhood in the amalgamated town of Cambridge, Ontario.
Early life Born Jakob Hespeler in Ehningen in the Kingdom of Württemberg, Hespeler was the eldest son of Johann Georg Hespeler (born 1784) and Anna Barbara Wick (1791–1881). His father was a businessman with the house of Mayer Amschel Rothschild.
One of his younger brothers, William, became a prominent Manitoba 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 in Cambridge, Ontario.
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Important facts
People in Jacob Hespeler's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jacob Hespeler's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jacob Hespeler?
Canadian businessman
When was Jacob Hespeler born?
Jacob Hespeler was born in 1810 in Ehningen.
When did Jacob Hespeler die?
Jacob Hespeler died on 22 March 1881 in Hespeler, Ontario.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jacob Hespeler. https://biography.guide/jacob-hespeler/
MLA: "Jacob Hespeler." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jacob-hespeler/.
Chicago: "Jacob Hespeler." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jacob-hespeler/.
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