John was the third child of thirteen born to Joseph Poyser, Jr. and Martha Magdalena Reed.

The following was written about John Reed Poyser in Canton and Stark County, Ohio newspaper around 1895: "John had an Aunt Jane Poyser who was a school teacher in Sugar Creek township and John Reed attended her school in 1833. It was a typical school house of the place and period. It was a round-lob, one-story structure, with greased paper windows, a door with wooden hinges, and benches made of split logs with long pegs for legs. Spelling and reading formed the principal studies, but John was an apt pupil and endeavored to faithfully make the best use of his opportunities, limited though they were. The school was far from his home and the path through the dense woods was a lonely one, so his father would frequently come to the school in the afternoons to take him home. John Reed spent two terms in this school, but his education was then interrupted by the removal of his father to Canton township, where no schools had been formed at that time of study for the following five years. He was fond of hunting and was a good shot, and during these five years he indulged his passion to the utmost. In 1838, he resumes his studies in Perry township, arithmetic being at this time added to his other studies. His school days ended in 1842, by which time he had acquired a fair education, though not by any means as complete as he desired. Mr. Poyser remained under the parental roof until in March 1846, he went to Canton and apprenticed himself to John B. Hoover to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner. He served three years under verbal contract and then followed his trade as a journeyman until 1851. He then engaged in contracting on his own account, in which he met with immediate and satisfactory success. The first building her erected was a house for Samuel Smith in Perry township and he afterward erected the building formerly owned by the Farmer's Union, but no occupied by Durbin & Wright. He also erected the Harter block, two-thirds of the Eagle block, the Whit-building and Poyser block and part of the Cassilly buildings. He assisted in the erection of the second court house and constructed many fine dwellings in Caton and vicinity. In all his enterprises he was uniformly successful, and, because of his painstaking care and strict attention to details, coupled with an evident desire to please all who had dealings with him, he soon acquired and retained the utmost confidence of all who had dealings with him. In 1891 he gave up the contracting business and that year supervised the erection of the present post office building, a responsible position, and one for which he was well qualified by reason of his previous experience in the building line. About the time his duties in this capacity were completed he was elected to the office of county commissioner and was serving in this capacity at the time of the erection of the present county court house. Mr. Poyser became a stockholder in the Bucher & Gibbs Plow Company and is now serving as vice-president of the same. Although he does not now take as active a part in business affairs as formerly, yet he still retains a keen interest in passing events and keeps in close touch with all questions concerning the varied interests of his city, county or nation. Although now almost seventy-years of age, he possesses to a remarkable degree his physical and mental vigor..."

John Reed Poyser married Mary Mellen (daughter of Patrick Mellen and Nora Lynch) on 28 Oct 1852 in Canton, Stark county, Ohio. They had four children:

Ella J.
Frances Mary
William John
Joseph Arnold.

One daughter, Mary Frances, preceded them in death at the age of nine. The family resided in Canton. They were Catholic.

"[son] William J., who is Secretary of the Bucher & Gibbs Plow Company, married Helen Bucher and they are the parents of three children, Edna, Helen, and John R.; Joseph died at the age of three years; Ella is the wife of Frank Alexander, of Canton. Politically, Mr. Poyser was originally a Whig, but upon formation of the Republican party he identified himself with it and has been firm in his allegiance to its principles. His first vote was cast for Jackson, and he still has a vivid recollection of the Harrison campaign of 1840. He has always taken a keen interest in political matters and in his active years performed much effective service in advancing the interests of his party.

John gave a gold plated cane to a Mr. Martin Wikidal, a banker in Canton, Ohio whose grand-daughter married William John Poyser. In 1962 the cane was owned by William John Poyser II of 7816 Stickney Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin."

Source: "Joseph Poyser and his Descendants 1769-1983" by Josephine Lois Poyser Fullerton pg 11, 13-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pedigree Resource File

name: John Reed /Poyser/
gender: Male
birth: 9 DEC 1825
Canton,Ohio
death: 1902
Canton,Ohio
status
Parents
father: Joseph /Poyser/
mother: Magdelena ( Martha) /Reed/
Marriages (1)
spouse: Mary M. /Mellen/
marriage: 28 OCT 1852
Canton,Ohio
children (2)

child 1: Frances M. /Poyser/
gender: Female
birth 4 FEB 1854
Canton,Ohio
death 1863
Canton,Ohio
burial St John's Cemetary

child 2: Joseph Arnold /Poyser/
gender: Male
birth 2 APR 1859
Canton,Ohio
death 1862
Canton,Ohio
burial St John's Cemetary

Submission
submitter: parrien1102576
submission date: 28 Mar 2005
submission id: MM7Q-H15
person count: 1,289
Notes
Status Description: MARRIED

Source Citation
"Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/ST1W-8GB : accessed 16 September 2012), entry for John Reed /Poyser/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"United States Census, 1880," John R. Poyser, Canton, Stark, Ohio

name: John R. Poyser
residence: Canton, Stark, Ohio
birthdate: 1826
birthplace: Ohio, United States
relationship to head: Self
spouse's name: Mary Poyser
spouse's birthplace: New Jersey, United States
father's name:
father's birthplace: Pennsylvania, United States
mother's name:
mother's birthplace: Pennsylvania, United States
race or color (expanded): White
ethnicity (standardized): American
gender: Male
martial status: Married
age (expanded): 54 years
occupation: Carpenter And Contractor
nara film number: T9-1067
page: 366
page character: B
entry number: 2357
film number: 1255067

Household Gender Age Birthplace
self John R. Poyser M 54 Ohio, United States
wife Mary Poyser F 51 New Jersey, United States
son William J. Poyser M 23 Ohio, United States
dau Julia E. Poyser F 18 Ohio, United States
Anna B. Myers F 18 Ohio, United States
Elsworth Young M 18 Ohio, United States

Citing this Record

"United States Census, 1880," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8SR-Y1X : accessed 16 Sep 2012), John R. Poyser, Canton, Stark, Ohio; citing sheet 366B, family 0, NARA microfilm publication T9-1067.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"United States Census, 1900," John R Poyser, ED 111 Canton Township, Precinct B Canton city Ward 7, Stark, Ohio, United States

name: John R Poyser
titles & terms:
event: Census
event date: 1900
event place: ED 111 Canton Township, Precinct B Canton city Ward 7, Stark, Ohio, United States
birth date: Dec 1825
birthplace: Ohio
relationship to head of household: Head
father's birthplace: Pennsylvania
mother's birthplace: Pennsylvania
race or color (standardized): White
gender: Male
marital status: Married
years married: 46
estimated marriage year: 1854
mother how many children:
number living children:
immigration year:
page: 11
sheet letter: B
family number: 246
reference number: 88
film number: 1241322
digital folder number: 004117788
image number: 00056

Household Gender Age Birthplace
head John R Poyser M 75 Ohio
wife Mary Poyser F 71 New Jersey
servant Elizabeth Shario F 50 Ohio
servant Harry Shriver M 51 Germany

Citing this Record

"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMX7-1YD : accessed 16 Sep 2012), John R Poyser, ED 111 Canton Township, Precinct B Canton city Ward 7, Stark, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 11B, family 246, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241322.