Johannes Albrecht and his wife, Anna Barbara, both born in either Austria or Palatine depending on the source, came to America on the ship Johnson in 1732.

In addition to speaking Pennsylvania Dutch, he spoke German and taught himself enough English so he could deliver a sermon in that language.

A German Lutheran in his heritage, he was converted after 1790 to Methodism, when several of his children died of dysentery, causing him to go through a religious crisis.

He asked Anthony Houtz, a Dutch Reformed pastor affiliated with a study group organized by Philip William Otterbein (Otterbein's groups eventually formed the United Brethren in Christ Church) to conduct the funeral.

Albright was so moved by his funeral sermon that he continued discussions with a neighbor who was a lay preacher in Otterbein's followers.

Although he felt that he was unfit to preach, contemporary records reveal that he was a powerful and moving speaker, converting many to Methodism.

[3] The next year, weakened and in poor health from exhaustion and tuberculosis, Albright fell ill while traveling from Linglestown, Pennsylvania, northeast of Harrisburg.

Albright Seminary was established by the Pittsburgh Conference in Berlin, Pennsylvania in 1853 and lasted about 5 years.

Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, formed by the merger of several Evangelical institutions, is a United Methodist affiliated school.

The main source for his life is a short biography written in 1811 by George Miller, an elder of the Evangelical Association.

A biography of his evangelistic work, including experiences where he was rejected by his listeners, is entitled Jacob Albright: The Evangelical Pioneer[5] written by Robert Sherer Wilson, A.B., Th.

The first doctrinal book Practical Christianity, written in 1811 by George Miller, was published in 1814 by twenty of Albright's followers known as "The Patrons of the First Edition" who financially supported the publication.

"These patrons fathers constituted the vanguard of the gospel heralds who followed the westward streams of migration, bearing the missionary zeal and spirit of Jacob Albright".