(Work in progress)

On Friday, June 29, 1906 not long after his 75th birthday, the  Barnesboro Star ran an article about Jacob. Because it was contemporary, I think it is a good place to start on discovering what we can about him. It read,
"Jacob Schirf, of Nicktown, is hale and hardy at age 75. He is a native of Germany. He was orphaned at at "tender age" and worked for $.40 cents a week for a shoemaker. By age 21 he had accumulate $76. At 23 he came to the United States. He worked as a shoemaker at Pittsburgh, having government contracts for two years to make shoes for soldiers in the Civil War. Eventually he moved to Nicktown, where he has lived for 42 years. He is now retired. He reared a family of children."

Schlier
Jacob was born in Schlier Germany (see his first daughter, Catherine's, baptismal papers). Schlier is a small town in Baden, Germany, not far from Ravensburg. To the north is the Altdorfer Forest, the largest continous forest in Germany. To the south is Lake Constance, seperating Germany from it's neighbors. Weingarten Abbey, although at the time not in Catholic control, was not far away, and it's extensive irrigation canal is throughout the area. Schlier was primarily Catholic despite the changes in the region. 

Although beautiful and idyllic in appearance. it was a hard period of time for the region. The Napoleonic wars had caused a lot of death in the region. The destruction of land, and industrial infrastracture had made matters worse. Well into the mid 1800s the region struggled with bad crops, famine, and disease. Not long before Jacob's immigration there were early signs of revolution in the region. The idea of a new life, and a stable income, in a new place full of opportunity must have been very exciting. It is easy to understand why he was so determined to leave.

Pittsburgh