He was born in Schoharie, New York in 1770, the son of German immigrants; the family name was originally spelled Krausler or Kruessler.
Crysler operated a tavern, cut timber to supply the Royal Navy with masts and built gristmills and sawmills.
He became lieutenant-colonel in command of the Dundas County Militia in 1838 and led his regiment into combat at the Battle of the Windmill.
His son John Pliny served in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
The former location of his farm was submerged when the St. Lawrence Seaway was built; a monument erected in 1895 on the site of the battle was moved to Upper Canada Village in 1958.