The Wiser Family

Very little is known about John's early life other than that when he was eight, his father died, and his mother remarried. Soon after the marriage, the family moved to Illinois. On Feb 22, 1849, John married Sarah Ann Silsbee in Jackson County, Iowa. Sarah died the same year due to complications in childbirth. Their child also died.

After the death, John joined a group of miners going to California to find gold. In Autumn 1850, the company arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah to gather supplies. John was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized Dec 6, 1850. The following year, John married Martha McKenney Frost in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. After their marriage, they moved to Draper and later Alpine, Utah. In 1860, the Wiser family moved to Richmond.