Johannes George Kistler was born 1671 in Aarberg, near Berne, Switzerland and migrated to the German Palatinate or French Alsace at an early age. This seems to be quite coincidental to the family lore about our ancestor Lodowick Metz, who is also said to have been born in the Alsace vicinity. 

A memorial marker in the Jerusalem (Red) church (PA) cemetery indicates Johannes, was a native of the Palatinate, but his parents were lifelong residents of Berne. Another parallel with our Lodowick, who seems to have found his way through Switzerland and the Palatinate on his was to Pennsylvania.

Some records show he was a descendant of Peter Kistler (above).

The name Kistler is a shortening of Kistermacher or Chest or Box Maker and was originally a guild name. Along with a number of other local families, the Kistler family is depicted in a stained glass window of the guild hall in Aarberg.

Johannes Kistler is a direct ancestor of our great-great grandmother Christianna Kistler (1801-1870). I have followed her ancestors back and have discovered a wealth of information: Hagenbuch, Rothrock and Levan to name a few. These ancestors were Swiss, German and French. Such a rich heritage and so interesting learning about their lives and the times and locations in which they lived.