JOHN W. PRISER, [pages 1106-1107] whose post-office is Pyrmont, Ohio, and who is one of the thriving farmers of Perry township, is a grandson of one of the old pioneers of Montgomery county. His grandfather, Philip Priser, was born in Pennsylvania, and in that state married Mary Foutz, who was of German antecedents in Maryland. Philip Priser removed to Ohio in 1816, and settled on Bear creek, in Perry township, on 160 acres of land, but little of which had been cleared. The rest of his land he cleared and made a good home for his family. His children were as follows: Frederick, Michael, Daniel, Sarah and Mary. In 1832-33 a cyclone passed over his land, laying low a great deal of his timber, and barely missing his house, a double log cabin, in which fifteen people had taken shelter. Philip Priser was a member of the German Baptist church, and lived to be eighty-six years of age, dying at Sharpsburg. He was well known as one of the sturdy pioneers of Perry township, and a trustworthy, honorable man.
Michael Priser, the father of John W., was born in Pennsylvania, and came with his father to Ohio when he was sixteen years of age. In Perry township he married Sarah Flory, whose parents came from Germany. The ship in which they crossed the ocean was boarded by pirates, and robbed of all its supplies. They lost all the money they possessed and the grandmother died of fright.
To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Priser there were born five children: Barbara, Samuel, John W., Mary and Joseph. Mrs. Priser died in 1834, at the age of sixty-two years, and Mr. Priser again married, his second wife being Margaret Shepler, by whom he had one son, William. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Priser married Catherine Fiant, who was born in 1806, To this marriage there were born four children: Elizabeth, Daniel, James and Noah. Mr. Priser first entered eighty acres of land, which he afterward sold, and then entered eighty acres in Perry township, which latter he improved and made into a good farm and home. He was a member of the German Baptist church. His death occurred in 1875, at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife survived him eleven years.
John W. Priser, the subject of this sketch, was born March 27, 1830, in Perry township. Reared a farmer's boy, he became a farmer, and was married, October 5, 1851, in Preble county, to Miss Jemimah Wysong, who was born in November, 1829, and was a daughter of Charles and Margaret (Gustin) Wysong. Charles Wysong was of German ancestry and came from Virginia, and was a son of Jacob and Jemimah (Cottrell) Wysong. Jacob Wysong was one of the pioneers of Preble county, who settled there in the woods about 1818, and cleared up a farm of 160 acres. He was a member of the German Baptist church, ,and lived to be over seventy years of age. His children were as follows: Stephen, Charles, John, Joseph, Robert, Matthew, James, Elizabeth, Lydia, William, Henry, Jacob and Valentine. Mr. Wysong, father of Mrs. Priser, married Margaret Gustin, by whom he had the following children: Hannah, Harrison, Jemimah, Stephen, Lydia, Betsey, Rachael, Jacob, Margaret, Dorothy, Annie and Mary, the last of whom died in infancy. Mr. Wysong was engaged in sheep husbandry, and died in 1890. Politically, he was a democrat.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Priser settled in Perry township on a farm, and lived there until 1856, when Mr. Priser bought seventy-two acres of land, which he cleared of its timber and converted into a home. His children are as follows: Catherine, Benjamin F., John H., Rachael A., Joseph, Perry, Nora, Minnie and Mattie. Politically, Mr. Priser, though formerly a republican, is now a democrat. He has held the office of township trustee one year, and that of treasurer six years. He has also served as a member of the school board, and as justice of the peace four years. He has reared his children in such a manner that they have all won for themselves respectable positions in society, and they, like their parents, are esteemed for their many excellent qualities of mind and heart.
