Wisler family
Wisler (Whisler, Whistler), a Mennonite family, found in the Emmental, Switzerland. Some immigrated to the Palatinate, Germany, where Heinrich Wissler was a preacher of the Erpolzheim-Friedelsheim congregation 1762-ca.1790, and Johann Wissler (Wiesler) preacher of the Ruchheim congregation from 1775, elder 1790-after 1802. From Switzerland or the Palatinate the family came to America, now occurring most frequently in the Deep Run area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in Mahoning-Columbiana counties of eastern Ohio, and in Elkhart County, Indiana. For Mennonite history the most significant branch of the family goes back to Christian Wisler (d. 1830), who did service in the Revolutionary War and married Susan Holdeman (1774-1838) of Bucks County. They were probably affiliated with the Deep Run Mennonite Church after marriage. Christian and Susan were the parents of eleven children. About 1820 the family removed to Columbiana County, Ohio, settling in the portion that became Mahoning County in 1846. Susan is buried in the Midway cemetery. Three of the children moved to Elkhart County: John Wisler (1800-90), Jacob Wisler, who was ordained preacher at the Oberholtzer church (now Midway) in 1833, and bishop at the Yellow Creek church in Elkhart County in 1851; and Susanna Wisler (b. 1813), who married Henry Yoder. Bishop Jacob Wisler founded the Old Order Mennonite Church in Indiana and Ohio in 1872. Contrary to the beliefs of the family in Elkhart County, there seems to be no close connection between this family and that of the Quaker artist, James Whistler (1834-1903), who was born in Massachusetts, the son of Major George Washington Whistler. One of Bishop Jacob Wisler's sons, John H., changed his name to Whisler; he was the father of Jonas L. Whisler (b. 1872), proprietor of Whisler Brand Meat Products, Goshen, Indiana.
| Author(s) | John C Wenger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, John C. "Wisler family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 25 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wisler_family&oldid=119564.
APA style
Wenger, John C. (1959). Wisler family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wisler_family&oldid=119564.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 965. All rights reserved.
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