OLIVER PERRY NISWONGER, [page 1028] a traveling salesman of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, was born in West Senora, Preble county, Ohio, November 21, 1853, and is a son of John D. and Mary (Ruse) Niswonger, both natives of Montgomery county. His paternal grandfather, Samuel, and great-grandfather, John Niswonger—both from Fincastle, Va., and of Swiss descent—were among the pioneer farmers of Montgomery county, Clay township, where they lived and died, and are buried in the cemetery at Salem, Ohio. The wife of Samuel was a Miss Dillon, of Irish birth, and their children were Polly (Mrs. Louis Kimmel), Betsey (Mrs. John Overhulser), John D., James, Sally (Mrs. Slengsby Barnes), Samuel, Catherine (Mrs. Andrew Faulkner), Eliza (Mrs. Ruel Vorhees), Prudence (Mrs. Andrew Spitler), and Levi. Of these the father of Oliver P. was born in Clay township, Montgomery county, April 13, 1811, where he grew to manhood. His business has been farming, buying and shipping stock and dealing in grain, and he has been a resident of Preble county, Ohio, for upwards of fifty years. His wife was a daughter of John and Mary (Heckathorn) Ruse of Madison township, Montgomery county, who bore him eight children—Horace, Maggie, Ann, Eva (deceased), Samuel (deceased), Levi, Oliver P. and James B.
Oliver P. Niswonger was reared in Preble county, was educated in the common schools, and began life for himself in 1876 as a traveling salesman for agricultural implements, which business he has followed up to this time. He has been a resident of Miamisburg since 1882. He married, September 2, 1876, America, a daughter of Henry and Delilah (Harsh) Frazer, of West Senora, Ohio, and has three children, Charles H., Myrtle and Dorman D. Mr. and Mrs. Niswonger are consistent members of the German Reformed church, and in politics Mr. Niswonger is a republican. Socially the family stands very high in the community, and Mr. Niswonger's genial qualities have not only made him popular on the road, but have won for him hosts of friends at and near his immediate home. In his business career, Mr. Niswonger has been in the employ only of firms of national reputation, such as W. N. Whiteley, of Springfield, the McCormick company, of Chicago, and the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner company, of Springfield, Ohio.
