Wilder B JACOBS

                   From the Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock,
Green,
Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Wisconsin, J. H. Beers & Co., 1901, Chicago,
IL.
Pages 723 - 724 ~ Iowa County
WILDER B. JACOBS, of Avoca, Iowa county, is oneof the most highly
esteemed
citizens, and an honored survivor of years of dangerous service in the
war of
the Rebellion.  Worthily has he been placedin the position of commander
of the
Henry Lawton Post, No. 279, G.A.R., atMuscoda, Wisconsin.
Mr. JACOBS was born in the town of Dansville, Livingston Co., N.Y., in
November,
1843, a son of Gustavus and Harriet (PERKINS) JACOBS, both of whom were
born in
the town of Rutland, Rutland Co., Vt.  GustavusJACOBS was a sergeant in
the war
of 1812, and his father, the grandfatherof Wilder B., was a captain in
the war
of the Revolution, and perhaps the patriotic blood of his forefathers
flowed
with vigor in the veins of our subject, and produced the results which
won for
him such a record for gallantry.  By trade Gustavus JACOBS was a ship
carpenter,
and his assistance was required in the building of the fleet by which
Commodore
Perry gained the victory of Lake Erie.  For many years he followed his
trade,
and at the timeof the birth of our subject he was engaged in boat
building on
the GeneseeValley canal at Mt. Morris, N.Y., but later removed to
Angelica,
Allegany county, but in 1855 the family, comprising the parents and three
sons,
cameto Wisconsin and settled in Sauk county, the children being:
Palmedus P.,
Burley A., and Wilder B.  In the fall of 1855 another son, Henry, with
his
family, also came to Wisconsin, these being all who located in this
State.  The
present survivors of the family are: Gustavus Jr., Palmedus, Wilder B.
and
Hannah.  The parents removed from Sauk county to Platteville, Wis., about
1869,
where they died in 1875, the father surviving the mother by a few
months.  They
were far advanced in life, the father aged ninety-four and the mother but
a few
years younger.  Both were highly esteemed and consistent members of the
M. E.
Church.  Mr. JACOBS was a powerful man physically and intellectually, and
was a
profound student of the Bible, his knowledge of thatBook being
remarkable.
Wilder B. JACOBS passed his young manhood on the farm in Sauk county
until his
enlistment at Prairie du Sac, on Sept. 23, 1861,in the 6th Battery, Wis.
Light
Artillery, as a private, and remained in the service until July 3, 1865.
This
battery served in Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama and Georgia, and Mr.
JACOBS
participated, with his command, in these battles, which are enrolled upon
the
pages of American history as examples of bravery for which a nation must
ever be
proud: Island No. 10; siegeof Corinth, in the spring of 1862; battle of
Corinth, on Oct. 3-4, 1862; PortGibson; Willow Springs; battle of
Raymond;
battle of Jackson; Champion Hills; siege of Vicksburg; Missionary Ridge;
and
battle of Nashville, and other minor engagements.  This battery lost a
large
number of men; at the battle of Corinth alone it lost eighteen brave men,
while
twenty-three were wounded.  As worthy of mention, Mr. JACOBS took part in
all
these battles, andwas never absent from the battery when even a skirmish
took
place.
After the close of the war Mr. JACOBS was engaged by the Prairie du Chien
division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad as a conductor, and in this
position he remained for seventeen years.  In 1879 he went to Minnesota
and
South Dakota, running in the same capacity from St. James, Minn. to Sioux
Falls,
S. Dak., for the following three years, and was then employed on the St.
Paul
system, running from Sanborn, Iowa, to Mitchell, S. Dak.  In the fall of
1896 he
came to Avoca, where he has since resided.  His long and exhausting army
service
told upon his health, though he did not