John Reister (1715–1804) was a German

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to America who founded the town of

Reisterstown, Maryland Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968. Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reisterstown is located ...

in 1758. Born in 1715 and raised in Germany, John Reister moved to America in September 1738. Departing from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and arriving in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Reister originally settled in

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

and began using his background in farming to start earning a living. In 1746 he married a York innkeeper's daughter named Margaret Sohn and moved south into Maryland where he had purchased a tract of land just to the west of modern-day

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a great ...

.http://www.bcplonline.org/community/history-reisterstown The Reisters used this land for farming and were able to create a comfortable life for themselves. While living on this farm, the Reisters had their six children John Jr., Mary, Margaret, Catherine, Philip, and Elizabeth. On March 2, 1758 Reister purchased a plot of land to the east of his original property. This land was located at the intersection of several roads that led to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and points to the north in

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, ...

. It is believed that Reister decided to purchase this land while traveling along the road on his way to

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. He probably noticed its strategic location and decided to open an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

for travelers moving along the road. To meet their farming needs, Reister purchased an additional of land adjoining his property and named it ''Reister's Desire''. By 1785, all of the Reister children had moved out on their own and settled around their father's inn. The town started to grow more rapidly at this point as the Reister children opened up businesses of their own in the surrounding area. John Reister, Jr. was married to Mary Yohn and moved into a house across from the inn where he worked as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, carpenter, and a

distiller Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heatin ...

rye whiskey Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and ...

. Mary Reister also married a blacksmith named John Beckley who began operating in the area. Margaret Reister married Peter Trine, a tanner, and after a short while in the town moved back to York with her husband. Catherine Reister and her husband Roland Smith opened up the "Reister Store" near the inn and made available many everyday necessities. Philip Reister took over management of the inn with his wife Eve Gardner, and his sister Elizabeth married Henry Weist and opened up a tannery. While the town originally catered to travelers, other businesses were soon attracted to the area and more land was eventually purchased for farming and the planting of an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

. By 1787, town and state officials began referring to the town officially as ''Reister’s Town'', and eventually simply ''Reisterstown''. John Reister lived out his life in Reisterstown and died at the age of 89 in 1804.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reister, John 1715 births 1804 deaths German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies American city founders Reisterstown, Maryland People of colonial Maryland People of colonial Pennsylvania