Conrad Jacob was born in Mecklar, Germany in 1842. Mecklar is a small town just north of Hersfeld (now called Bad
Hersfeld) in what was Kurhessen (Electoral Hesse) or Hesse-Cassel. He married Eva Elisabeth Grebe (or Crabbe) in about
1864. She is said to have been of Dutch extraction, but her parents were born in Hessen. They died when she
was young. Of the children Conrad and Eva Elisabeth had while still in Europe, only Valentin Heinrich (Valentine
Henry) and Heinrich Valentin (Henry Valentine) survived. The family set off for America in 1872, along with Conrad's
older brother Valentin and his family. Conrad's group settled near Toledo, Ohio, and his brother went to Riga, Lenawee
County, Michigan.
Four more surviving children were born to Conrad and Eva after they arrived in Ohio:
Robert Byron Jacob, born in 1875
August Clifford Jacob "Cliff" born in 1879
Frederick William Jacob, born in 1882
Lillian E. Jacob, born in 1888
