John Pfister Sr.

Lifespan: June 19, 1830 – January 2, 1908

Summary

Born June 19, 1830 in Wittenberg, Germany. Emigrated to America in 1853. Arrived in Door County, Wisconsin in the late 1850s with brother Phillip Pfister — among the very first settlers in the county. Located on lands in the northwestern part of Nasewaupee township. Phillip died in the Civil War in 1863; John stayed behind to care for both families. Moved to the northern part of Door County (Gibraltar) in 1880. Twice married, both wives preceded him in death. Eight surviving children. Died January 2, 1908 in Gibraltar, Door County, Wisconsin, age about 77.

Relationships

• Brother: “Phillip Pfister” per the 1908 obituary — came to Door County together, died in the Civil War. Probable actual identity [2026-07-15]: David Pfisterer, Pvt, Co. E, 11th Wisconsin Infantry — drafted Mar 23, 1865, died Aug 2, 1865 at Mobile, Alabama, of disease; buried Mobile National Cemetery, Plot 2, Grave 425. No Phillip Pfister (any spelling) exists in any Wisconsin Civil War roster; David Pfisterer is the only Pfisterer, and his widow Margretha (Kleinknecht, b. Stuttgart 1829, m. David 1853 in New York) remarried John Bink Sr. in Door County Apr 10, 1866. David’s son Philip Pfisterer, b. Oct 29, 1863, Door County — likely source of the obituary’s name conflation, and “1863” a garble of the son’s birth year / draft-era memory. Sibling link to John still needs primary proof (pension file or church records). See Civil War connection notes.
• First wife: Unknown — died before second wife
• Second wife: Annie M Pfister — per 1900 census (indexed as “Annie C” but image reads “Annie M”). Born Nov 1846, Germany. Both parents German-born. Married c. 1872 (28 years married in 1900). 9 children born, 8 living. Died c. mid-1906 (“about a year and a half ago” from Jan 1908 obituary). Maiden name lead [2026-07-15]: Anna née WEIDNER — per daughter Margaret’s FindAGrave memorial #126312039 (user-contributed, secondary). Emil × Margaret’s original 1902 marriage record (WHS Vol 2, p. 243) would confirm it.
• Children (at least 11 known — 8 survived to 1908 obituary):
  • John Pfister Jr. (c. 1870–?) — Green Bay, WI (1908). Born Wisconsin. In 1900 census, age 30, single. Born BEFORE Annie’s marriage (~1872) — likely first wife’s child.
  • William Pfister — L’Anse, Michigan (1908). Not in 1900 household.
  • [Daughter, Nov 1872] — in 1900 census, age 27, single. Name hard to read (indexed as Mary). Born Wisconsin. Could be the “Miss Mary” of 1908 obituary, or a different daughter.
  • Margaret Pfister (Aug 16, 1876–Feb 17, 1962) — direct line. m. Emil Mielke. Listed as “Mrs. Emil Meikle, Clay Banks” in 1908 obituary. Not in 1900 household (already married by then).
  • Polena Pfister (c. Jun 1883/84–?) — in 1900 census, age 16, single. Not in 1908 obituary by first name — likely married by then (may be Mrs. Felhofer, Miller, or Lyman).
  • Frank Pfister (c. Mar 1886–?) — in 1900 census, age 14. In 1908 obituary. Probable WWI service: “Pfister, F.”, private, Co. F, 5th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, departed for Camp Douglas Aug 17, 1917 (Holand 1917, Ch. L) — age 31 at the time, the only Pfister in the county roster.
  • Edward Pfister (c. Mar 1886–?) — in 1900 census, age 14. Possible twin with Frank (same birth month/year). Not in 1908 obituary — may have died before 1908.
  • Casper Pfister (Feb 8, 1893 – Dec 9, 1975 per Blossomberg headstone; 1900 census said c. Feb 1892) — in 1900 census, age 8. Mother’s birthplace listed as Wisconsin (anomaly — all others show Germany). Not in 1908 obituary. Alive in 1962 per Margaret’s obituary (Sturgeon Bay). Buried Blossomberg Cemetery next to his father John, shared stone with wife Ethel (Mar 6, 1896 – Jun 6, 1963) — per Peninsula Genealogical Society Blossomberg transcription [2026-07-15].
  • Mrs. Matt Felhofer — Sevastopol, Door Co, WI (1908 obituary). Possibly Polena; but Margaret’s FindAGrave [LEAD 2026-07-15] gives her first name as Anna (Anna Felhofer).
  • Mrs. Louis Miller — Sturgeon Bay town, WI (1908 obituary). First name Pauline per Margaret’s FindAGrave [LEAD]; matches WHS index “Pauline Pfister” Door Co marriage, 1903.
  • Mrs. Richard Lyman — Gibraltar, Door Co, WI (1908 obituary). First name Josephine per Margaret’s FindAGrave [LEAD]; matches WHS index “Josephine Pfister” Door Co marriage, 1899.
• Also in 1900 household:
  • Charles Howland (c. Jul 1898, age 1) — listed as grandson or stepson? Born Wisconsin, father from Illinois, mother from Wisconsin. Possibly child of one of the married daughters.

Sources

• Obituary, Door County newspaper (January 1908) — primary source. Full text with birth details, immigration, Civil War history, settlement narrative, all children named.
• Margaret Pfister Meikle obituary (Feb 1962) — names parents as “Mr. and Mrs. John Pfister”
• Find A Grave: Memorial #53504406, Blossomberg Cemetery, Fish Creek, Door County, WI
• 1900 US Census, Gibraltar town, Door County, Wisconsin, ED 43 — primary source. Full household: John Pfister (70, Germany), Annie M (55?, Germany, 9 children/8 living), John Jr. (30, WI), [daughter] (27, WI), Polena (16, WI), Frank (14, WI), Edward (14, WI — twin?), Casper (8, WI), Charles Howland (1, WI — grandson?). Immigration 1853. Married 28 years.
• Holand, History of Door County (1917), Chapter L (WWI roster) — “Pfister, F.” listed among privates, Company F, Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, departed for Camp Douglas August 17, 1917. Probable match for son Frank Pfister (b. Mar 1886, age 31 in 1917). http://genealogytrails.com/wis/door/history/history1917_chapter47.htm
• Wisconsin Veterans Museum “Wisconsin in the Civil War” database + printed Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers (1886, archive.org) — David Pfisterer, Co. E, 11th Wis. Inf., drafted Mar 23, 1865, died Aug 2, 1865, Mobile, AL, disease. No Phillip Pfister under any spelling in either. https://wisvetsmuseum.com/learning-research/rosters/wisconsin-in-the-civil-war-database/
• NPS Soldiers & Sailors index — “Pfesterer, David,” Co. E, 11th Wis. Inf., film M559 roll 23 (cross-cards Pfesterrar/Pfetarrar).
• VA interment records, Mobile National Cemetery (via interment.net) — Pfisterer/Pfiserer, David, Pvt Co. E (dup. entry Co. H), 11th Wis. Inf., d. Aug 1–2, 1865, Plot 2, Grave 425.
• WHS pre-1907 vital records index (wisconsinhistory.org) — Pfisterer/Pfister entries incl. Margaret Pfisterer remarriage to Bink (Apr 10, 1866, Door, MR2175478); Johann Pfisterer marriage (May 18, 1863, Brown, MR2175505); Philip Pfisterer birth (Oct 29, 1863, Door, BR3020291, reel 50 rec 2711); Pfister deaths Henry (Jan 31, 1888) and John (Jun 14, 1888), Door.
• Peninsula Genealogical Society — Bink/Pfisterer family page (descendant-contributed, secondary): http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wipgs/PGS/PGSBINKPFISTERERfamfrmJohnELLENBECKER18Nov2010.htm ; Blossomberg Cemetery transcription (John/Casper/Ethel Pfister): http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wipgs/PGS/TownofGibraltarCemBlossomberg.htm

Obituary (full text)

PFISTER — In the town of Gibraltar, Door county, Wis., January 2, 1908, JOHN PFISTER, Sr., aged about 77 years.

It was in the latter part of the 50s that John Pfister and his brother Phillip came to this county, and located on lands in the northwestern part of Nasewaupee, being among the very first to penetrate the wilderness, which stretched in an unbroken line in all directions. In 1863 Phillip having been summoned by an imperilled government to assist in subduing an unholy rebellion, his brother John remained behind to look after his own family and that of the absent one. The latter having died in the line of duty in the south, John remained on the place until 1880, when he moved to the northern part of the county, which has been his home ever since. He was born in Wittenberg, Germany, June 19, 1830. He came to America in 1853. He was twice married, both wives having preceded him, the last one about a year and a half ago. The surviving children are eight in number, namely: John, Green Bay; William, L’Anse, Mich.; Mesdames Matt. Felhofer, Sevastopol; Emil Meikle, Clay Banks; Louis Miller, Sturgeon Bay town; Richard Lyman, Gibraltar; Miss Mary and Frank. Owing to the failure of the letter, which was dispatched announcing his death, to reach the relatives in this vicinity, these did not know of the passing away of their father until after the funeral had occurred, but they nevertheless made the trip to the home of the deceased, reaching there two days after the obsequies. Mr. Pfister was an industrious and hard-working man, who had a great deal to contend with owing to a long illness in his family, and he has gone to his final home mourned by grateful children and other near relatives.

Research Notes

Immigration and settlement

• Born in Wittenberg, Germany per the obituary — but “Wittenberg” is now suspected to be a garble of Württemberg [2026-07-15]: Pfister/Pfisterer is a southern-German (Swabian) occupational surname (“baker”), the first-generation family spelling was the even-more-Swabian Pfisterer, and sister-in-law Margretha Kleinknecht was born in Stuttgart, the Württemberg capital. Unproven until an emigration or church record surfaces — test via the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg emigration database (leo-bw.de → Auswanderer module → Personensuche; search “Pfister” and “Pfisterer,” emigration 1850–1856, destination North America; the form is session-bound and must be searched manually in a browser).
• Emigrated 1853 — age 23. Arrived in Door County late 1850s. 5+ years between arrival in America and settling in Door County — may have lived elsewhere first.
• Among the very first settlers in Door County — located on wilderness land in Nasewaupee before the Civil War. Pioneer family.
• Moved from Nasewaupee (southern Door County) to Gibraltar (northern Door County, near Fish Creek/Ephraim) in 1880.

Civil War connection — brother identified as David Pfisterer [REVISED 2026-07-15]

The obituary’s “Phillip, died 1863 in the line of duty in the south” doesn’t match any record. The actual Civil War Pfisterer from Door County:

• David Pfisterer (indexed as “Pfesterer” in the NPS Soldiers & Sailors database, film M559 roll 23) — Pvt, Co. E, 11th Wisconsin Infantry. Wisconsin Veterans Museum roster: “DRAFTED; DIED AUGUST 2, 1865, MOBILE, ALABAMA, DISEASE,” enlisted (drafted) Mar 23, 1865. Confirmed in the printed Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers (1886). Buried Mobile National Cemetery, Mobile, AL, Plot 2, Grave 425 (VA interment records; duplicate entries under Pfisterer/Pfiserer).
• Widow: Margretha (Kleinknecht) Pfisterer — b. Oct 17, 1829, Stuttgart (Württemberg); married David 1853 in New York (same year as John’s emigration); remarried John Bink Sr., Apr 10, 1866, Door County (WHS index MR2175478, Vol 1 p. 19). Per Peninsula Genealogical Society Bink/Pfisterer family page (descendant-contributed — secondary), she walked from Nasewaupee to Sturgeon Bay through the 1871 fire devastation; d. Nov 4, 1912; unmarked grave, Bink plot, St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, Sevastopol.
• David’s children (WHS pre-1907 birth index, Door County, reel 50 — consecutive record numbers suggest a batch/delayed registration): John b. Aug 9, 1854 (rec 2707); David b. Aug 6, 1857 (rec 2708); Philip b. Oct 29, 1863 (rec 2711) — plus Mary 1859, Casper 1860, William 1861, Peter 1862, Catherine 1865 in the wider Pfisterer birth index (counties unverified). The 1863-born son Philip is the probable source of the obituary’s “Phillip… 1863.”
• How the obituary garbled it (reading, not proof): written 45 years later — brother’s name swapped for nephew’s, death year pulled toward the son’s 1863 birth, “died in the south” correct (Mobile).
• Negative evidence (all confirmed): no Phillip Pfister/Fister/Phister/Pfeister/Pfisterer in any Wisconsin unit (NPS index + WVM database + 1886 printed roster); no Pfister in Holand’s Door County Roll of Honor (167 names); no Pfister on the 1883 Door County pensioners list — expected, since the widow’s pension ended at her 1866 remarriage and minors’ pensions ran out by ~1881.
• Caveat: David-as-brother rests on the PGS descendant page plus record convergence (only Pfisterer family in Door County, Nasewaupee residence, “both families” line in the obituary). No primary document yet names David as John’s brother. The pension file would settle it.
• The first-generation surname was consistently PFISTERER, shortened to Pfister — which corroborates Margaret’s 1902 marriage record spelling her surname “Pfisterer.”

Wives

• Twice married, both wives preceded him. Last wife (Annie M) died c. mid-1906.
• Candidate first marriage [2026-07-15]: “Pfisterer, Johann” — married May 18, 1863, BROWN County (WHS pre-1907 index MR2175505, Vol 1, p. 48, Index Vol A, seq 13344). Green Bay was the regional hub; timing fits a first wife who bore John Jr. c. 1870 and died before ~1872. High-priority pull — the record would name the bride and may state John’s birthplace.
• Confirmed negatives (WHS pre-1907 index): no John Pfister/Pfisterer marriage c. 1872 in Door County (the ~1872 marriage to Annie M was likely never state-registered — enforcement was lax before ~1880 — or is county-level only); no Annie Pfister death c. 1906 and no Edward Pfister death anywhere in the index; John Sr.’s own Jan 2, 1908 death is correctly absent (index ends Sept 30, 1907).
• First wife: Unknown name. Died before Annie. John Pfister Jr. (b. c. 1870, before Annie’s marriage c. 1872) is likely the first wife’s child. First wife may have been Wisconsin-born (Casper’s mother listed as Wisconsin in 1900 census — but this could be an error).
• Second wife: Annie M Pfister — born Nov 1846, Germany. Both parents German-born. Married c. 1872 (28 years in 1900). Had 9 children, 8 living in 1900. Died c. mid-1906.
• Margaret was born 1876 in Fish Creek — but John didn’t move to the Fish Creek/Gibraltar area until 1880. Either Margaret was born in Nasewaupee (and “Fish Creek” was approximate), or the family had connections to the northern part before the permanent move.
• Margaret (b. 1876) was born ~4 years after Annie’s marriage — she is almost certainly Annie’s daughter.

Edward and Frank — possible twins

• Both listed as sons, both born March 1886, both age 14 in 1900 census. Likely twins.
• Frank survived to the 1908 obituary. Edward did not appear in the obituary — may have died between 1900 and 1908.

Family geography

• Children scattered across Wisconsin and Michigan by 1908:
  • Door County: Sevastopol, Clay Banks, Sturgeon Bay, Gibraltar
  • Green Bay (Brown County)
  • L’Anse, Michigan (Upper Peninsula — copper/lumber country)
• “Clay Banks” for Margaret/Emil Mielke — a township on the Lake Michigan shore, southern Door County. Margaret’s obituary says she lived in Fish Creek “all her life” — she may have moved from Clay Banks to Fish Creek later.

Casper Pfister — resolved

• Margaret’s 1962 obituary names “one brother, Casper Pfister of Sturgeon Bay.” The 1900 census confirms Casper is in John Pfister’s household — he is John’s son and Margaret’s brother.
• Casper was not listed in John’s 1908 obituary, but the obituary itself explains why: “the failure of the letter, which was dispatched announcing his death, to reach the relatives” — the obituary writer may not have had the full family list.
• Casper lived to at least 1962 (alive at Margaret’s death, age likely 70s-80s).

Funeral note

• The obituary mentions that the letter announcing his death failed to reach relatives, and they didn’t learn of his passing until after the funeral. They traveled to his home two days after the burial. Poignant detail about rural communication in 1908.

Next steps [reworked 2026-07-15 after Civil War identification]

1. Pension file (highest yield): General Index to Pension Files (T288, Fold3/Ancestry) under Pfisterer/Pfesterer/Pfiserer, David, 11th Wis. Inf. Co. E, widow Margaretha — then order the file from NARA. Should contain the 1853 New York marriage proof, children’s names/birthdates, possibly German origin, and would prove or break the David-is-John’s-brother link.
2. LEO-BW emigration database, manual browser search (not scriptable): leo-bw.de Auswanderer module → Personensuche → “Pfister” and “Pfisterer,” emigration 1850–1856, North America. Johannes b. ~1830 + David; any Oberamt near Stuttgart is a strong signal.
3. Pull Brown County marriage, May 18, 1863, Johann Pfisterer (WHS Vol 1, p. 48) — candidate first marriage of John Sr.; would name the bride and possibly his birthplace.
4. Pull Door County births, reel 50, records 2707–2711 and neighbors — parents’ names separate David’s children from John’s; may state parents’ German birthplace.
5. David’s compiled service record (NARA M559 roll 23, filed under “Pfesterer”) — draft residence (Nasewaupee credit test), age, death details. Also the 1863 draft registration consolidated lists for Door County.
6. FindAGrave in a normal browser (site 403-blocks fetch tools): memorial #53504406 (John Sr. — bio/photos/links), Blossomberg Pfister list, “Pfisterer” at Mobile National Cemetery, and the Bink plot at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Sevastopol.
7. Search 1860, 1870, 1880 census images for John Pfister(er) in Door County — would show first wife and children. Also check Ahnapee/Kewaunee 1860.
8. Confirm Edward/Frank as twins — birth records (Mar 1886, Door County — post-1876 so possibly in the pre-1907 index; not yet searched).
9. Casper Pfister confirmed as John’s son — resolved; dates now from headstone (1893–1975, wife Ethel).