It's not known when Jacob and Margaret came to the states or whetherthey were already married when they crossed the Atlantic. During thatperiod, 1.5 million Germans, in the wake of a destructive revolution,crop losses and corrupt landlords, fled their homelands. Many came tothe rolling hills of southern Indiana. Jacob and Margaret were amongthe immigrants who settled in Spencer County, Indiana.
In 1881, at the age of 45, Jacob rented the 450 acre Leman farm,mainly for the purpose of cutting the timber for railroad ties. Threeyears later, he bought the farm for about $50 per acre.
A newspaper account, at the time of his death, referred to Jacob as"...one of the leading farmers of Daviess County ...a worthy Germancitizen, of the type industrious, frugal, which so often characterizesthat nationality."