Israel Jacobs (June 9, 1726' December 10, 1796) was a colonial Pennsylvania Legislator and
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district
Pennsylvania's third congressional district includes several areas of the city of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, most of Center City, and parts of North Philadelphia. It has been represented by Democrat Dwight Evans since 2019. With ...
.
Biography
Jaobs was born near the
Perkiomen Creek in
Providence Township in the
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...
. and attended the public schools. Later, he was engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits,
[''Biographical Directory''] and was a member of the colonial Pennsylvania Assembly 1770–1774.
In 1765, Jacobs became involved in land speculation in Nova Scotia when he joined a land company headed by
William Smith, Provost of the
College of Philadelphia. The company, which was granted
The Township of Monckton
The Township of Monckton was a 100,000-acre (40,468.6-hectare) tract of land situated on the Petitcodiac River in colonial Nova Scotia (in today’s Canadian province of New Brunswick). It was granted by the British government at Halifax in 1765 to ...
that year, also included his brothers Joseph (b.1728) and Benjamin (b.1731). Their sister, Hannah Jacobs, married the noted American astronomer
David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society ...
.
In 1790, Jacobs was elected to the
Second Congress and served from March 4, 1791 to March 3, 1793.
He resumed agricultural pursuits, and died in Providence Township. His interment was probably in the graveyard of the Friends Meeting House in Providence.
[''Political Graveyard'']
References
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The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Israel
1726 births
1796 deaths
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania