John Oyler

OYLER, STRICKLER, SHAFFER, SMITH, BRAYSHAW, DOLPH, CLAYBERG, MATHEASON, MATHIASON, MICHELSON, ODONNELL, SATHER, SARSFIELD, MILLER, LUTHER, ROBERTSON, WHITE, PHILLIPS, CARVER, COUGHENOUR, LUND, TORRY, SKOW, COFFMAN, MEESE, HOLMES

Posted By: Deborah Gilbert (email)
Date: 9/9/2016 at 10:54:48

Maxwell Book: 1883-1983

John Oyler, a sister and two brothers were left orphans at the close of the Civil War. He knew his father's name but didn't really know how old he was or when he was born. His brothers were younger so there was no one able to help him. His daughter Maria White, interested in family history, had tried for several years to obtain information for him, writing to various places. Finally through the National Archives in Washington, D.C., she was able to get the 1860 census of the Hiriam Oyler famiy of Stoystown, Pennsylvania and at last found out that he was the son of Hiriam Oyler and Ellen Shaffer, that he was born in 1856 and that he was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. This means he was born ten years before Iowa became a state, coming to Story County from Somerset, Pennsylvania in 1865. John was only nine years old when he came from Pennsylvania with friend of the family, George Meese and his family.

As a young boy he herded cattle on the prairie and knew the hardships of long cold bleak winters, muddy roads and transportation only by horse and wagon. The Meese family bought a farm about two and a half miles south of where Peoria was later located.

On January 1, 1879, he married Nancy Jane Strickler and they had ten children.

John knew little of motion pictures, airplanes or radio, but did have a chance to enjoy electricity a few years before his life ended. He lived most of his life in the Collins, Nevada and Maxwell communities. He lived in Maxwell for 31 years. The rest of the time he was a farmer, a little over 50 years as a tiller of the soil. He died May 23, 1947 at the age of 91 years-old. He was one of the old pioneers.

The following are John and Nancy Strickler Oyler's ten children:

James, whose children are Sylvia Oyler (Smith), John Oyler, twins Fay and Ray Oyler, James Oyler and Alean Oyler (Brayshaw)

Daughter Hannah became Hannah Dolph.

Florence Oyler (Clayberg), whose children are Gladys (Matheason), Erma (Mathiason), Nina (Michelson), Earl, Helen (O'Donnell), Jessie (Sather), Lowell, Harold, Richard and Donald.

The next son was John Oyler, Jr.

Tilghman Oyler died at age nine months.

Lucinda Oyler (Sarsfield), whose children are Arthur, Mildred (Holmes) and Orville, Jr.

Clifford Oyler, whose children are Nancy (Miller), Kathleen (Luther) and Robert.

Jessie Oyler (Robertson) whose children are Morris and Maxine (Phillips).

Marie Oyler (White) whose children are Naomi (Smith) and Esther (Carver).

Cora Oyler (Coughenour) whose children are Isabelle (Lund), Betty (Torry), Jean (Skow), Kathryn (Coffman), Donald and Gerald.