The estate papers of James Germany (housed in Amite County, MS) establish Jacob as one of the heirs. A land deed identifying Hannah Elizabeth as the wife of James suggests she was Jacob's mother. I do not have definitive information about Jacob's birthdate. Over the Mountain gives it as 1805-1808. I think it was 1810. The 1805 territorial census of MS suggests that Jacob was not born yet. Later census records (1860 & 1870) provide estimates of birthdates for Jacob's brothers Henry H. and James. This, coupled with the 1850 census information for Benjamin, can help identify Jacob in the age brackets for the 1820 and 1830 census records. In 1820, he falls in the 10-16 bracket (born 1804-1810); in 1830 he is in the 15-20 bracket (born 1810-1815). The only date that fits both criteria is the year 1810. Based on the probable date, Jacob was born in the Amite/Wilkinson area of Mississippi where his father appears in the 1810 census and as postmaster in 1815.
Residence
The family was still in the Wilkinson/Amite area of Mississippi, as evidenced by census records of 1810 and a Power of Attorney that James Germany signed in 1815 in Amite County, Mississippi. Jacob's mother and father (James and Hannah Elizabeth) sold land in Amite County to Henry Hanna in 1819 (originally purchased in 1818 from Joseph Thomas). This is probably when they left the area because James Germany appears as the head of household in Feliciana Parish, LA, just south of Amite & Wilkinson counties, in the 1820 census. Marriage records from that area show several people with the surname GERMANY: Elizabeth R., Benjamin, Henry H., Jacob C., Washington, and William, all of whom married between 1824 and 1837, so it looks like the family stayed in the Feliciana area. Papers submitted to the estate of James Germany in 1844 show Jacob still lived in West Feliciana, LA at that time.
Spouse/Children
Jacob married Margaret Lemon in West Felicana Parish, LA, on 14 May 1837. I have not found Jacob in the 1840 census. Papers in the estate file for James Germany show Jacob died between 1844 and 1846. His widow, Margaret Germany, age 33 from Ireland, appears with her father, William Lemon (age 51 from Ireland) in the 1850 census of West Feliciana, LA but no child with the surname of GERMANY is present. Thus, it appears that Jacob died without leaving children. His father-in-law served as the administrator of his estate and collected Jacob's inheritence from James Germany's estate. Later on, Jacob's nephew, John Land, died sometime between 1860 and 1866 and the estate was distributed to the cousins on the GERMANY side (through his mother, Elizabeth). These papers help in tracking James Germany's grandchildren and also suggest Jacob died childless. John Land's estate was divided among his deceased mother's brothers. In the event a brother had also died, his 1/7th portion was divided among his children. (John Germany's children are an example of this.) Elizabeth had 8 brothers, including Jacob C. Germany. The division in to portions of 1/7 instead of 1/8 suggest Jacob died without children and his portion was turned back into the whole rather than left to his widow (perhaps she had remarried by then).
Census Records
LA 1830
West Feliciana Parish
head of household: Benjamin Germany
1 WM 10<15 (Henry)
2 WM 15<20 (assume Jacob & James)
1 WM 50<60 (James)
1 WF 50<60 (assume: Hannah Elizabeth)
s
1 male slave 10<20
1 male slave 20<30
3 female slaves <10
1 female slave 10<24
Death/Burial
Jacob submitted a claim against his father's estate in January 1844 for $465. William Lemon, as administrator of Jacob's estate received payment with interest and cancelled the debt in April 1846. These two dates provide all of the information I have pertaining to Jacob's death.
References
A * indicates a book is part of my private collection.
Crabb, Martha L. Over the Mountain: A Narrative History of the BEAN, SELMAN, and GERMANY Families. 1990, Baltimore: Gateway PressInc.
This book is available from the author at 414 Floyd Ave. Dumas, TX 79029. It is also part of the collection at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN. *
Louisiana Marriages: Early to 1850. Compiled by Liahona Research 1999, Bountiful: Heritage Quest.
This book is part of the collection at Clayton Genealogy Library in HoustonTX.
Estate Papers of James Germany (Amite County, MS, courthouse file #3678).
