Born in the hamlet of Irgenhausen in the municipality of Wetzikon, he was the son of Luise née Schellenberg and Caspar.

[1] His father, Caspar Heusser (1836–1910), was a cotton manufacturer who sold his products in Kempten and the surrounding area.

His professional success enabled him to purchase the Spinnerei Stauber in Kempten (with 1,200 spindles) in 1869 and to introduce mechanical weaving with 36 machines.

In 1883 he bought a cotton mill in Bubikon (6,000 spindles, 80 workers), where he also added a weaving factory.

[1] In 1900, Jakob Heusser became a textile industrialist in the city of Uster, the industrial centre of the region.

In 1917 the Uster Castle was acquired and renovated to house an agricultural and domestic management school.