Peter Reesor (December 25, 1775 – November 16, 1854) was one of the original settlers of Markham,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He was born on December 25, 1775, in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, to Christian Reesor (1747–1806) and Veronica (Fanny) Reiff (1751–1818). Reesor's grandparents Peter Rieser (1713-1804) and Elizabeth Hershey had moved from Switzerland to Bavaria and then to America in 1739.

First visit to Canada

At the close of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, many

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

left the newly formed

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in loyalty to the British Crown which guaranteed them exemption from military service. In 1798, Peter Reesor was appointed by his family and community to travel to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

and explore newly opened lands for settlement. He saddled up a horse and packed a few things for his seven-week, 500 mile journey to

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(

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). Upon arrival Peter was directed to travel up the Rouge River trail to an area which later became known as Cedar Grove. There was ample amount of good timberland. On his short stay here he met a mercenary German army officer, Frederic Baron de Hoen. The officer apparently offered Peter roughly 500 acres of land around a

kettle lake A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

in Whitchurch Township ( Reesor Lake, later Preston Lake) in exchange for his horse and saddle. Reesor took the offer. However, when the officer wanted the bridle as well, Reesor—always a shrewd business man—stated it was not part of the original deal. According to family tradition, Peter Reesor walked back to Pennsylvania carrying the bridle on his shoulder.

Reesor family emigration

In 1804, Peter Reesor led a larger group of

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

families on the long journey to

for settlement along the Rouge River. Peter had chosen Lot 4, on Concession 9 (five acres of land) on the Little Rouge River for his own homestead. His brother-in-law and cousin Abraham Stouffer settled further north and founded the community of Stouffville. The first task of the pioneer families was to clear large numbers of trees in preparation for farming. At the time, pioneers only had axes and hand saws to cut down the three to four foot diameter maple and pine trees. This was very dangerous work. In 1806, shortly after arriving in Canada, Christian Reesor (Peter's father) was killed by a falling tree. After a few years of tree clearing there was enough land to start farming wheat. Initially they would take their wheat and travel miles to a grist mill to be turned into flour. But Peter Reesor, like his brother-in-law Abraham Stouffer, was both a farmer and miller. Soon Reesor had built a saw mill and a grist mill on the Little Rouge River, and by 1850 he and his son Peter Jr. had acquired a third mill as well. Another son, Abraham Reesor, became a co-founder of the hamlet of Altona, where he constructed two mills in 1850. A third son, Samuel, is considered the founding minister of the Cedar Grove Mennonite Church. Daughter Esther married Captain William Armstrong, joined the Anglican Church, and together they operated a distillery and hotel in the Village of Markham and established the Markham Fair. A nephew,

David Reesor David Reesor (January 18, 1823 – April 28, 1902) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal member of the Senate of Canada for King's division from 1867 to 1901. He was born in Reesorville (l ...

, became well known as a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Reserve Militia in York (against his pacifist Mennonite tradition—he became a Methodist) and was appointed to the

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Founding a town

The settlement between Peter Reesor's farm and mill and his brother's farms became known as Reesorville. In 1825, Reesorville was renamed the Village of Markham to coincide with the Township of Markham.

Death

Peter Reesor died November 16, 1854, at his home in Markham (11 Reesor Road), Ontario at the age of 78. Peter Reesor is buried in Cedar Grove, Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reesor, Peter Canadian Mennonites Canadian farmers 1854 deaths 1775 births Canadian people of Swiss descent People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada