Not much is known about Reiersen's early life in Norway, other than that he was born on April 17th, 1810, in Vestre Moland, Aust-Agder, in Lillesand to Ole Reiersen (1780-1852) and Kirsten Gjerulfsdatter Reiersen (1790-1860). His father was a schoolteacher. As a young man, he managed to create a controversial reputation for himself while attending a university in Christiania (current-day Oslo). He entered the university in 1832 and was expelled before he could graduate after an incident in which he stole a money order for $30 from another student, signing the name of his fellow student Knud Knudsen, and thus blaming him for the theft.

According to Knudsen, this was just one of Reiersen's many escapades that got him in trouble during his younger years. The plot was quickly uncovered, and hoping to avoid the legal consequences of his actions, Reiersen fled to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen he edited several newspapers. On August 5, 1836, Reiersen married his first wife Henrietta Christine Waldt (1818-1851). Upon his return to Norway in 1838, he founded the newspaper Christianssandsposten. By this time, he was established as a journalist and politician.

The land that flows with milk and honey was finally reached

By 1843, Johan was involved with a group of prospective immigrants in Lillesand. They sent him on a journey to America -- where he traveled to Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, down to St. Louis and on to New Orleans. From New Orleans he went along the Mississippi and Red Rivers through Louisiana and Texas. This trip to America was sponsored for the purposes of investigating which regions would be best for prospective Norwegian emigrants to settle. It was during this trip that he met Cleng Peerson. Peerson encouraged him to settle in Texas -- though he had not yet done so himself by this time. Reiersen also met with Sam Houston, the president of independent territory of Texas. Houston expressed that he would like to have a colony of Norwegian emigrants in his republic, which was encouraging to Reiersen.

Reiersen's trip to America is well-documented thanks to his book, Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants to the United North American States and Texas. Originally published in Norway upon his return in 1844, he laid out thorough descriptions of several regions of America, devoting a special chapter to the Republic of Texas. This guide was considered extremely valuable to future emigrants. Not only was it very descriptive of the landscape and farming conditions, but also contained opinions regarding which lands would be most fruitful. It was clear that he favored Texas over all other lands.


To the left is a page from the original travel journal that Johan Reiersen kept in the year 1846. At the top of the page, you can see the name "General Houston.” According to Derwood Johnson, “he came to the Republic of Texas traveling through Nacogdoches to Austin where he met President Sam Houston who encouraged him to establish a Norwegian settlement in the Republic.”

In his comprehensive book, Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants to the United North American States and Texas, Reiersen wrote: "Nearly all parts of Texas have sufficient land for the founding of even the largest colonies, especially in the high country between the Trinity, Colorado, and Brazos rivers...  As everywhere in Texas, the open prairies are more extensive than the timberland; there are nevertheless good belts of woodland along the riverbanks, as well as numerous groves and glades both on and around the grasslands... The region is considered very healthful, and I have found no local causes of disease. The summer heat is intense but not oppressive, because a refreshing, steady breeze from the Gulf of Mexico blows regularly every day. And mosquitos do not torment one. The climate is supposed to be especially good for people who are sickly or suffer from weak lungs." (Reiersen, pg. 215-216)

In a letter to Christianssandsposten in 1844, Reiersen wrote: "Congress had just assembled and I easily gained admittance to the president of the Republic, General Houston, who was intensely interested in having immigrants choose Texas as their new fatherland. He assured me that Congress would give a colony of Norwegians all the encouragement that could reasonably be expected. He believed that peace and quiet were as good as insured since the President of the United States, in his last message, had emphatically declared that a continuation of warlike invasions and forays from Mexico would not be tolerated. He doubted that Texas would be admitted to the Union in the near future... Now it seemed that nothing could hinder the rapid progress of the republic in prosperity and wealth, with an industrious and virtuous people occupying the vast stretches of fertile land." (Reiersen, pg. 108)

Return to Norway

Following his return to Norway, Reiersen began a monthly magazine called Norge og Amerika with the purpose attract Norwegians to emigrate to America. The magazine first appeared in July 1845 and was famously edited by another future Texas-Norwegian settler, Elise A. Wærenskjold for a time. Reiersen also promptly organized a party of Norwegians that would emigrate to America in the fall of 1846. They were unsure of their final destination, but hoped to end up in Texas.

The party, led by Reiersen, traveled from Norway to France, and then to the port of New Orleans. Once they reached New Orleans, they wanted assurance that Texas would be annexed as a state before settling there. When they got word that Texas was to become a part of the United States, they traveled by wagon to Texas and bought a settlement, which Reiersen called Normandy. This name was quickly changed to Brownsboro -- the name it bears today. 

On this journey Reiersen brought his family: his wife Henrietta and their 6 children, 2 of which died at ages 3 and 7 on the journey. They also had an infant who died in childbirth along with Henrietta in 1851. The remaining children included: Oscar Reiersen (1836-1913), Johan Reiersen (1840-1921), Christian Reiersen (1842-1910), and Carl Reiersen (1849-1871).

Reiersen then returned to New Orleans to wait for the arrival of his father Ole. Several of his brothers, including Jens Reiersen (1820-1894), Gerhard Reiersen (1812-185?), Carl (Charles) Reiersen (1817-1899) and their families, and other Norwegian emigrants travel with Ole Reiersen. Upon their arrival most of these people decided to settle in Missouri instead of Texas. Reiersen and the members of the colony at Brownsboro tried their best to convince more Norwegian settlers to homestead in Texas, however the settlement did not grow much. In 1850, there were only 105 Norwegians in the state of Texas. The issue of slavery and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 essentially halted emigration to Texas for a few years.

Reiersen wrote to his brother, Christian Reiersen: "Our land lies in what is called eastern Texas, which extends from the Red River to the Trinity. On the whole it is high, rolling country, overgrown with timber but so open that in most places one can plow between the trees after first cutting down the smaller ones. The most important species are oak, ash, hickory, and walnut. The water is generally clean and clear and comes from springs. The soil is of mold mixed with fine sand, sometimes red and sometimes grayish. Both kinds are fertile and produce maize, wheat, rye, barley, and oats as well as cotton, tobacco, and sugar. I am firmly convinced that this is the most healthful region in America. It is the place where a farmer can lead a happy and independent life with the least toil." (Reiersen, pg. 217)

Later Life and Legacy

Following the death of his first wife Henrietta, Reiersen remarried to Oulina Orbeck Reiersen (1829-1919) in 1858. He lived in Texas from 1846 until his death on September 6, 1864 at Four Mile Prairie. Despite being staunch proponents of Texas, the settlements did not take off the same way that settlements in the Midwest did. Reiersen's settlement is remembered as the first Norwegian colony in Texas, and as the main figure in Norwegian emigration to Texas. His enthusiastic praise for the region through his publication provides a clear record of his opinions likely spurred the interest of many eventual emigrants back in Norway.

Sources to explore:
The Ole Reiersen Realm: Texas Pioneers and Colonizers by Derwood Johnson
Cleng Peerson and Norwegian Immigration by Theodore C. Blegen
Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants by Johan R. Reiersen, translated by Frank G. Nelson