The Niswonger family came to this area from Lincoln County, North Carolina, in a caravan of 20 families, crossing the river on ice near Ste. Genevieve on January 1, 1800, and then moving south to the Whitewater creeks, along which they settled. The family included three generations. A 1996 correction states that the 110-year-old man who died in 1802 was not George Christopher and that his identity is not known for sure. Ulrich Neuswanger, later rendered Niswonger, was the father of Joseph Sr. Joseph married Katherina Statler, the daughter of Peter Statler Sr. They had three children: Joseph Jr., who was 12 years old, Catherine, who married Joseph Baker, and Elizabeth, who married Martin Thomas. Joseph Jr. married Katy Limbaugh, and their children, the first generation of Niswongers born in Missouri, were Peter, David, Polly, Manuel, Joseph, Betsy, and Aught. David founded the Niswonger Church in 1847 and was the first person buried here. He married Mary A. Stearns, and they had 10 children: John, Joseph, Cordelia, Srelda, Rachel, Manuel, Busey, David B., Sarah Ann, and Mary. Before 1891, family members were buried in the old cemetery 1 mile east near the original homesite. Katherina died on June 13, 1821, and Joseph died in 1833; both are buried in the Old Niswonger Cemetery.