Jacob was the 3rd child of Heinrich Wissler, he was born the year after the family arrived in PA. His father bought land around Lancaster, PA, the year he was born, and every 2 or 3 years after that for years. One assumes that by the time Jacob was of an age to work, there was plenty of work to do.

m. Catherine Gruber (Krubenstein)

Children:

John Wissler1770, Elizabeth1771, Jacob1773, Henry "Whistler" Wissler b.1775, Jacob1776, Joseph1787, Abraham1778, Christian1778,(twins) Catherine Magdalena1780, Daniel1781, Rudolph1784, Peter1785.

After Peaceful Conestoga Indians were murdered in Manor Twp. Lancaster Co. PA, Jacob Wissler was app. Caretaker of the Indian Lands, a job he held for 5 years. (See Below) He lived in Manor Twp. until 1786, and is shown as a miller at the Sam Herr Mill. He later moved to York Co. and then to Donegal Twp. in Lancaster Co., where his brother Benjamin lived.

The Family Farm at Lancaster Pennsylvania

        The Genocide of the Conestoga Tribe        

The Susquehannocks (Conestoga, as they called themselves) were the first tribe that Capt. John Smith met in 1608, when he explored the upper Chesapeake. By the end of the 1600s there were only several hundred left of the once great tribe. Before the end of the 1700s, they were exterminated.

 In 1763, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawas led uprisings against settlers in the Great Lakes region, including western Pennsylvania. Although the Conestoga Indians were peaceful farmers and craftsman, with no connection to the rebellion in the west, they were attacked by a vigilante group known as the Paxton Boys, who found the Conestoga an easy target. The Paxton Boys murdered the six people they found in the village. The provincial council ordered the rest of the Conestoga to be taken into protective custody, but the measures failed. The Paxton Boys broke into the workhouse and slaughtered all fourteen members of the tribe. Two residents of Conestoga, a husband and wife known as Michael and Mary, survived the attack only because they had been away, working at another farm. Governor John Penn eventually issued them papers of protection until their death. (They were placed under the charge of our ancestor, Jacob Wissler) When they died of natural causes, the history of the entire Susquehannock Nation died with them.

Murdered at the Lancaster Workhouse:

Kyunqueagoah (Captain John)  Koweenasee (Betty, his wife) Tenseedaagua (Bill Sack)Kanianguas (Molly, his wife) Saquies-hat-tah (John Smith) Chee-na-wan (Peggy, his wife) Quaachow (Little John, Capt John's son) Shae-e-kah (Jacob, a boy) Ex-undas (Young Sheehays, a boy) Tong-quas (Chrisly, a boy) Hy-ye-naes (Little Peter, a boy) Ko-qoa-e-un-quas (Molly, a girl) Karen-do-uah (a little girl) Canu-kie-sung (Peggy, a girl)

Survivors on the farm of Christian Hershey:        Michael                 Mary (his wife)

Link to the Original Narrative of the Conestoga Indian Massacre      (there is evidence to suggest that this account was written by our ancestor, Jacob Wissler)