Peter Risser was born in Friedelsheim, Germany on Sept. 3rd, 1713. Elisabeth Hershey was also born in Friedelsheim in about the year 1714. They were married in 1736. Note: As stated above, Peter may have been born in Bern, Switzerland.
Peter and Elizabeth were Mennonite Anabaptists who were driven from Switzerland to Rhenish Bavaria by religious persecution. Peter and his four brothers (Ulrich, Jacob, Johanns, and Philip) accepted sanctuary through the auspices of William Penn's American settlement program. Peter, Elizabeth, their two children Esther and John, along with Elizabeth's parents - Christian and Esther (Egle) Hershey, sailed from Rotterdam on the ship "Robert and Alice" and landed at Philadelphia on September 3, 1739.
Having arrived in America at 26 years of age, they received a grant of 271 acres of land for a homestead near Elizabethtown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He built a mill on the site and soon became a prosperous farmer and miller. He donated land for the Risser Mennonite Meeting-House and adjoining cemetery
Peter Risser died in 1804 at the age of 91 years and is buried in the Risser Meeting House Cemetery.
Sources:
The Reesor Family in Canada Genealogical and Historical Society
The Relations of Milton Snavely Hershey By Lawrence Berger-Knorr
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~weavers/index_files/Page343.htm
In addition to Esther and John, Peter and Elizabeth had eight other children, among whom was Christian Reesor (1746-1806), who was killed by a falling tree.
Peter Risser was born in Friedelsheim, Germany on Sept. 3rd, 1713. Elisabeth Hershey was also born in Friedelsheim in about the year 1714. They were married in 1736. Note: As stated above, Peter may have been born in Bern, Switzerland.
Peter and Elizabeth were Mennonite Anabaptists who were driven from Switzerland to Rhenish Bavaria by religious persecution. Peter and his four brothers (Ulrich, Jacob, Johanns, and Philip) accepted sanctuary through the auspices of William Penn's American settlement program. Peter, Elizabeth, their two children Esther and John, along with Elizabeth's parents - Christian and Esther (Egle) Hershey, sailed from Rotterdam on the ship "Robert and Alice" and landed at Philadelphia on September 3, 1739.
Having arrived in America at 26 years of age, they received a grant of 271 acres of land for a homestead near Elizabethtown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He built a mill on the site and soon became a prosperous farmer and miller. He donated land for the Risser Mennonite Meeting-House and adjoining cemetery
Peter Risser died in 1804 at the age of 91 years and is buried in the Risser Meeting House Cemetery.
Sources:
The Reesor Family in Canada Genealogical and Historical Society
The Relations of Milton Snavely Hershey By Lawrence Berger-Knorr
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~weavers/index_files/Page343.htm
In addition to Esther and John, Peter and Elizabeth had eight other children, among whom was Christian Reesor (1746-1806), who was killed by a falling tree.
Inscription
The days and months listed on the marker are different from those found in some historical resources.