William Jacobs
  b: 1754/1755
  d: 1839 - Clay Co., KY

Father: William Wood Jacobs
Mother: Elizabeth *****

Spouse: Lydia Suttle
  m: 3/Apr/1787 - Frederick Co., VA

Child-1: Elizabeth - b: 1792
                              d: 27/Feb/1865 - Carter Co., KY
                             m: Benjamin Morris - 27/Mar/1808 or 9/Apr/1808 - Floyd Co., KY
          2: William Wood - b: 6/Mar/1808 - VA
                                       d: 25/Jun/1893 - Carter Co., KY
                                      m: Rhoda Prewitt - 19/May/1827 - Floyd Co., KY
          3: Madison G. - b: 5/Aug/1813 - VA
                                   d: 18/Dec/1881 - TX
          4: John M. - b: 21/Jan/1815

Biographical Details:

The birth date of William Jacobs is unknown; however, a probable birth year of 1755 is implied from his age given as sixty-three in a court appearance made in Floyd County, Kentucky, to apply for a pension.1  He was probably born in Virginia, the son of William Wood and Elizabeth Jacobs.  The maiden name of his mother is uncertain.  In his pension declaration, William Jacobs stated that he enlisted in the the Eighth Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army at Winchester, Virginia, on January 15, 1776.  He further stated that he served in Captain Thomas Berry's Company under the command of "Colonel Mughlenburg".  Captain Berry was probably Thomas R. Berry and there is no doubt that Colonel Mughlenburg was John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, the famous Lutheran clergyman-soldier.2  Subsequently, William re-enlisted for three years in Captain Abraham (or Abel) Westfall's Company of the same regiment.  However, he subsequently was transferred to the unit in which his brother, Roley, was serving and, consequently, was honorably discharged in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1782 by General Daniel Morgan.  Thus, his service record implies that he served in the Continental Army for, perhaps, as long as six years and, hence, may have either extended his second enlistment or enlisted again for a third time.  Moreover, by implication it is probable that William Jacobs would have served in major battles in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, then in the Carolinas, and finally at the Siege of Yorktown.  Although the given name of William's wife seems to have been "Lydia" or "Lyddy", her maiden name is not definitely known.  It may have been either "Suttle", "Tuttle", or even "Luttle".  Nevertheless, there is good evidence that they were married in Frederick County on April 3, 1787.3  It is likely that they moved to southwestern Virginia before 1800; however, by 1810 they appear to have been living in Floyd County, Kentucky, as indicated by the census population schedule of that year.  Indeed, the household of William Jacobs was listed in population schedules of both the 1820 and 1830 US Census for Floyd County.  Even so, in his pension affidavit, William Jacobs claimed to be living in Clay County, Kentucky, in 1818 and according to family tradition, he died in Clay County in 1839.  Within this context, between 1806 and 1820 Clay County adjoined Floyd County immediately to the southwest and, moreover, both had substantial territory, which has become quite reduced by formation of daughter counties.  Therefore, one might suppose that in the second decade of the nineteenth century the extended Jacobs family was living somewhere near the common Floyd-Clay county boundary.  Subsequently, the two counties became separated by some forty or fifty miles beginning with the erection of Perry County in 1820 and 1821 and continuing with the formation of several other intervening counties.  Accordingly, this implies that before his death William Jacobs may have later moved further south and west.  Of the children of William Jacobs, two, Elizabeth Jacobs Morris and William W. Jacobs, seem to have been closely associated with their first cousin Carter Henry Jacobs.  A third child, Madison G. Jacobs moved to Texas and fought in the Texas War of Independence.4
Source Notes and Citations:
1. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, Washington DC:  William Jacobs S36614, (microfilm: roll M805_466; imgs. 441-6).

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, Floyd County, Sct:
     On the 19 day of October 1818, before me the subscriber, one of the Judges for the Circuit Court, in and for the same aforesaid, personally appeared, W Jacobs aged sixty three years; who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath, make the following statement and declaration, in order to obtain the provision made by the late law of Congress entitled, "an Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the Land and Naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war;" that he is a citizen of the state of Kentucky, and a resident of the County of Clay and that he was enlisted for one year at Winchester in the state of Virginia on or about the 15- day of January 1776 and served in the company commanded by Captain Tho. Berry of the eighth Virginia Regiment commanded by Colo. Mughlenberg that he continued to serve in the said corps, or in the service of the United States, in the continental army, against the common enemy, until about the 15- day of Jany 1776 (sic. - 1777) and before he received his discharge from his first enlistment he reenlisted for three years under Capt. Abraham Westfall in the same regiment which then he served out, & was honorably discharged by Gen. D. Morgan in Frederick County Virginia in the year 1782 ------ That he is now a cripple and unable to labor in support of a family which he has to maintain and that he is in reduced circumstances and stands in need of assistance of his country for support; & that he -- has no evidence in his power, of his services and discharge; other than that which is here transmitted.
     Sworn and declared before me the day and year aforesaid.

Also Roley Jacobs being sworn duly that he is the brother of the aforenamed William Jacobs & that he knows that his brother William was enlisted the first time above named and also knows of his second enlistment of three years, and that he served in the same brigade with the deponent & that he was exchanged out of the 8th Virginia Regiment into the same corps under Morgan in which the deponent was placed & that he afterwards had an honorable discharge which this deponent has seen granted by Gen. Morgan - That he knows his brothers circumstances and that he is poor indeed and that his estate is not worth over one hundred dollars, & that he is decrepit and unable to labor, and his wife is decrepit also - and that he is really in such indigent circumstances as to require the aid of his country -

I, B. Mills Judge, &c. as aforesaid, do certify that it appears to my satisfaction, that the said Will. Jacobs did serve in the revolutionary war, as stated in the preceding declaration, against the common enemy, for a term of nine months and upwards, on the continental establishment; and I now transmit the proceedings and testimony taken and had before me to the Secretary of the department of war, pursuant to the directions of the aforementioned act of Congress; and it further appears to my satisfaction, that the said applicant is in such indigent and reduced circumstances, as to require the aid of his country, pursuant to the above recited act.  Given under my hand this 19 October 1818  /s/Benjamin Mills

Kentucky   Floyd County} Sct   William Jacobs a Revolutionary Solidier ... late a private in the Army of the Revolution inscribed upon the pension list roll of the Kentucky Agency at the rate of eight dollars per month to Commence on the nineteenth day of October 1818 which pension Certificate was dated 31st May 1819.  Signed J L Edwards in the absence and on behalf of the Secretary of War ... renders the following as a Schedule of his property to wit,  One horse $30.  One Colt Ten dollars.  One Cow & calf Twelve dollars  8 hogs a sow & 7 shoats $6.  Oven & Skillet at 10/6  One ax $2-  four d...ph plates & 4 Tin Cups One Tin pan at one dollar & fifty cents  One bed & furniture Ten dollars.  As witness my hand this 16 Oct 1820  /s/William Jacobs
     Witness Thos F Platt(?) a citizen of Floyd County
back to bio.

2. "Three Hundred Years of German Immigration to America 1683 - 1983", Final Report of the Presidential Commission for the German-American Tricentennial to the President and Congress of the United States, Horst G. Denk and Kenneth Rush, Co-Chair., 1983.  (www.usembassy.de/usa/etexts/ga-tricentennialreport.htm, 2001.)
     "German immigrants of the colonial period made indelible mark on America in the formative years of the new Republic.  The breadth and importance of these contributions are symbolized by a remarkable family, the Muhlenbergs of Pennsylvania.  Pastor John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg ascended his Lutheran pulpit in Woodstock, Virginia one Sunday in January, 1776.  Declaring 'There is a time for all things, There is a time to preach and a time to fight,' he removed his pastoral robe to reveal the uniform of a Volunteer regiment.  Three hundred members of the community then spontaneously enlisted to fight the British with their pastor.  This friend and supporter of Patrick Henry went on to raise - and command the Eighth Virginia Regiment, to distinguish himself at the Battle of the Brandywine, and to lead the units - which stormed and took the British redoubts before Yorktown.  Muhlenberg was the eldest of six sons of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, generally acknowledged as the first organizer of Lutheranism in America.  Other sons were also prominent.  One became a renowned botanist and was speaker of the First Congress of the United States.  Another was Vice-Governor of Pennsylvania after the Revolution."
back to bio.

3. Dodd, Jordan R., Virginia Marriages, Early to 1800: a research tool, Precision Indexing Publishers, Bountiful, UT, 1990-1.  (Available online at www.ancestry.com)  These extracts are taken from original civil records.
back to bio.

4. A partial descendancy for the family of William Jacobs has been extracted from a database compiled by Jacobs family researchers, which has also been augmented using census data and other independent sources (additional cited information indicated by italics) and appears as follows:

First Generation

William Jacobs, married on April 3, 1787, in Fredrick County, VA, Lydia Luttle, Tuttle, or Suttle.

1. Elizabeth Jacobs, born 1792; married on 27 Mar 1808 in Floyd County, KY, Benjamin Morris, born 1775 in VA, died 1855 in Carter County, KY.
2. William W. Jacobs, born 6 Mar 1808 in VA*, died 25 Jun 1893 in Carter County, KY; married Rhoda Pruitt, born 2 Feb 1805 in VA, died 25 Aug 1870 in Carter County, KY.
3. Madison G. Jacobs, Sr.**, born 15 Aug 1813, died 18 Dec 1881 in TX.
4. John M. Jacobs, born 21 Jan 1815.
*Some researchers place the birth of William W. Jacobs in Tazewell County, Virginia.
**"Madison G. Jacobs; went to Texas with Fannin's men to fight for Texas independence from Mexico; was captured with others at Goliad but escaped the massacre by pretending to be dead and fled during the night; received grant of a large tract of land (16,000 acres) from the State of Texas on account of his war services on which he lived until his death, December 18, 1881.  He left a widow and ten children."

a. Tim Mattingly and others have included a daughter, Celetha or Celesta Ann Jacobs in the family of William and Lydia Jacobs.  Moreover, her birthdate is given either as about 1790 or May 9, 1825.  Clearly, these two dates are highly inconsistent and the later one seems improbable in consideration of the likely age of her mother.  Therefore, without additional evidence, this daughter should be considered spurious. (op. cit. (Tim Mattingly))

Second Generation

1. Elizabeth Jacobs, born 1792; married on 27 Mar 1808 in Floyd County, KY, Benjamin Morris, born 1775 in VA, died 1855 in Carter County, KY.

1-1. Elizabeth Morris, born 1809; married James Easterling on 18 Sep 1829.
1-2. Ezekiel Morris, born 1812 in Floyd County, KY.
1-3. Louanna Morris, born 1815; married John Morris, born 1810.
1-4. William Morris, born 1820.
1-5. Henry Cloud Morris, born 6 Feb 1825 in Floyd County, KY, died 1907 in Carter County, KY; married (1) on 13 Sep 1852 in Carter County, KY, Nancy Eddington Burchett, born 15 Jan 1835, died 17 Mar 1865 in Carter County, KY.  Their known children were William, John Green, Burrell, Lucy Mary, Elizabeth, and Annie Marie Morris; married (2) on 25 Apr 1867, Margaret McKinney; married (3) 16 May 1884, Margaret A. Underwood; married (4) 28 Sep 1896, Annie Wells.
b. "William Jacobs is the grandfather of Rev. Henry Morris of Carter County, Kentucky, great grandfather of Green Morris, the present County Attorney."  (Joseph Gordon Jacobs, "Jacobs Family History", 1904, unpublished. (donated to the Knott County Historical Society by Larry Jacobs, Hamden, OH; April 2, 1998)  (Tim Mattingly, "Mattingly/Chapman Ancesters", www.gencircles.com/users/gurney3/1/data/620, 2002.))

2. William W. Jacobs, born 6 Mar 1808 in VA, died 25 Jun 1893 in Carter County, KY; married Rhoda Pruitt, born 2 Feb 1805 in VA, died 25 Aug 1870 in Carter County, KY.

2-1. Nancy W. Jacobs, born 25 Nov 1824, died 15 Aug 1863 in Carter County, KY; married on 1 Sep 1849 in Carter County, KY, Samuel R. Gilbert, born 1827 in Lee County, VA.  Their known children were Elizabeth, William Nathaniel, Rhoda Caroline, James Carter, John Franklin, Martha Ellen, and Jackson Harrison Gilbert.
2-2. William Jacobs, born 1 Sep 1826, died 21 Nov 1869; married on 13 Jan 1853, Nancy Cornett.
2-3. Ira Jacobs, born 16 Dec 1827 in KY; married on 4 Dec 1856, Martha Gee, born 1834.  Their known children were George W., Charles, James W., Lizzie, Frank, Laura, and Robert Jacobs.
2-4. Carter H. Jacobs, born 20 Sep 1829; married on 22 Mar 1853, Nancy Roe.
2-5. Hiram Jacobs, born 22 Dec 1831, died 20 Dec 1916; married on 12 Oct 1856, Elvira Counts, died 29 Aug 1869.  Their known children were Robert, Lewis, Madison, Mordecai, and Harrison Jacobs.
2-6. John W. Jacobs, born 16 Jan 1833; married on 26 Feb 1861, Susan Burton.
2-7. Celetha Ann Jacobs, born 25 Sep 1834 or 1835, died 22 Jan 1883 in KY; married on 25 Dec 1860 in Carter County, KY, Robert Gee, born 6 Mar 1840 in Greenup County, KY, died 29 Feb 1924 in Carter County, KY.  Their known children were Frank, Sarah Celitha, William David, Rose, Champness, Virginia B., Lillie, and John R. Gee.
2-8. Lydia Jacobs, born 16 Apr 1836, died 19 Nov 1839.
2-9. Madison G. Jacobs, born 16 Dec 1837, died 18 Nov 1839.
2-10. Jackson H. Jacobs, born 17 Jan 1840; married on 23 Feb 1868, Frances (Fanny) Stephens.
2-11. Rhoda Jacobs, born 22 Aug 1842; married on 27 Feb 1861, Madison Green Morris, born 1837.
2-12. George W. Jacobs, born 22 Aug 1842, died 7 Aug 1852.
2-13. Mahala Jacobs, born 24 Feb 1847, died 6 Jun 1848.
2-14. Francis M. Jacobs, born 13 Dec 1848; married on 11 Oct 1875, Myrtilla Gee, born 1849.
c. The household of William W. Jacobs appears in both 1850 and 1860 census records.  (1850 US Census Population Schedule for Carter County, Kentucky, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 221A, (microfilm roll M432_195; img. 439) & 1860 US Census Population Schedule for Carter County, Kentucky, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 252, (microfilm: roll M653_361; img. 253).)

d. Dodd, Jordan R., Kentucky Marriages to 1850, Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 1997.  (Available online at www.ancestry.com)  These extracts are taken from original civil records; however, this source gives the name of the wife of William Jacobs as Rachael Prewitt.  Census records and other sources uniformly give her name as Rhoda.  Of course, it is possible that this is not an error and her name was actually Rachael Rhoda or some variation of the same.

This extract has been reformatted, numbered, and obvious typographical errors have been corrected, which do not affect content.  (Tim Mattingly, "Mattingly/Chapman Ancesters", www.gencircles.com/users/gurney3/1/data/627, 2002.)
back to bio.


Additional Citations:

5. 1810 US Census Population Schedule for Floyd County, Kentucky, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 95, (microfilm: roll M252_6; img. 102).

6. 1820 US Census Population Schedule for Floyd County, Kentucky, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 44, (microfilm: roll M33_22; img. 53).

7. 1830 US Census Population Schedule for Floyd County, Kentucky, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 87, (microfilm: roll M19_36; img. 178).

Return to Index