Bios: John W. Fisher 1849-: Douglassville, Berks Co, PA

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From:  Morton L Montgomery, "Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks
County, Pennsylvania.  Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co., 1909.  p 1236

Surnames mentioned:
Ammons, Breidenbach, Fisher, Gauger, Jones, Mells, Messerchet,
Pennick, Potts, Quay, Shenkel, Sheradin, Weiser, Wessner, Willaner.

Note: Surnames of related families have been capitalized, but are lower case
in the original.

JOHN W. FISHER, a resident of Douglassville and one of its representative
men, was born in Chester county, North Coventry township, Oct. 19, 1849, a
son of Evans FISHER, grandson of Jacob FISHER and great-grandson of Henry
FISHER.

  (I)  Henry FISHER was a carpenter and lived near Port Union, in Chester
county, where he died.  He is buried at Shenkels church.  The following
were his children:  Nicholas, John Henry, Levi, Jacob, Samuel and Sarah,
m. John AMMONS.  The Fishers nearly all were carpenters and lived in the
vicinity of Port Union.  The early generations were Episcopalians, but the
later ones became Baptists and Methodists.

  (II)  Jacob FISHER, son of Henry, lived nearly all his life in the
vicinity of Douglassville, in Union township, Berks county, where he
worked as a laborer.  He died at the age of 73, and is buried at Shenkels
church, in North Coventry township, Chester county.  His wife was Rebecca
SHENKEL, who died at the age of 90, and came of a large and influential
family of Upper Chester county.  These children were born to Jacob FISHER
and wife:  Susanna WILLANER, who still lives at Linfield, Montgomery
county, with her son-in-law Jacob GAUGER, and is over 90; Elizabeth, widow
of Thomas SHERADIN; Mary Ann m. Mahlon WESSNER, both deceased; Rebecca,
deceased, m. Mr. JONES; Ann; Evans; Isabella, who married (first) George
POTTS, and (second) David W. PENNICK, and who is still living in Reading,
82 years old and blind; Jacob, who died at Fricks Locks in Chester county;
John, who died unmarried.

  (III)  Evans FISHER, son of Jacob, was a native of North Coventry
township, where he was born in 1824, and he died in August, 1904, in the
80th year of his life.  He was a farmer and owned a small farm in the
district where he was born.  This property is now owned by his son John W.
FISHER.  He was a Methodist, and in early life was prominent in church
work.  He, too, is buried at Shenkels Church.  His wife was Sophia MELLS,
who died in 1903, aged 77 years.  They had issue as follows:  John W.;
Mary, m. Franklin BREIDENBACH of Pottstown; Solomon, of Douglassville; and
Warren, who at the age of 6 years was drowned in the canal at Laurel Hill
Locks.

  (IV)  John W. FISHER was reared on the homestead, and attended the public
school, and when 18 began to learn the carpenter trade from Jacob Haas of
Douglassville.  This occupation Mr. Fisher has always followed.  He served
an apprenticeship of 2-1/2 years, and in 1879 engaged in contracting and
building at Douglassville, and he has had the contract for all the work
done on the MESSERCHET's estate for the past 25 years.  He has built many
very fine residences in the lower end of the county.  He gives employment
to from ten to twelve men.  Mr. Fisher lives at Douglassville in his own
home, which he built in 1885.

In politics Mr. Fisher is a Republican, and is active in local matters.  He
and his family are Methodists, and very popular in their church.

In 1873 Mr. Fisher was married to Bessie WEISER of Pottstown, a descendant
of the great Indian interpreter, Conrad WEISER.  They have had children:
Stella, who died at the age of six; Amy, who died at the age of 10 years;
Daniel, of Kenilworth, Chester county, a pattern maker, who married Lucretia
QUAY, a distant relative of U.S. Senator M.S. QUAY, and has two children,
John and Mary; Lillie, who died in infancy.