Jaobs was born near the Perkiomen Creek in Providence Township in the Province of Pennsylvania.
Later, he was engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits,[1] and was a member of the colonial Pennsylvania Assembly 1770–1774.
[2] 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 that year, also included his brothers Joseph (b.1728) and Benjamin (b.1731).
[3] Their sister, Hannah Jacobs, married the noted American astronomer David Rittenhouse.