Jacob P. Mitchell, one of the oldest settlers of the township of Lancaster, and whose portrait is given in this connection, is now living in retirement at his commodious residence on section 11, where he has resided since June 11, 1842. He was born in what is now Clinton County, but formerly Center County, Pa., Sept. 18, 1818. His father, William Mitchell, was born in the Highlands of Scotland and came of pure Scottish ancestry. When a boy he came to the United States in company with some relatives and his brothers and sisters. They first located at Liverpool, Pa., but later removed to Penn’s Valley, where the father of our subject was married to Miss Rebecca Knoss, who was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and of German extraction, her grandfather having come to the United States with William Penn and his colony. The Knoss family were sturdy, hard-working people, and usually long-lived, the grandfather having lived to be over a century old, while other members of the family also became very aged.

William Mitchell, the father of our subject, was a resident of what is now Clinton County, Pa., where he died, which event occurred at his home in Brush Valley, when he was but thirty years of age. At that time his son, Jacob P., was but a child, one of seven who were left to his mother’s care. After they had all grown up they came West by the river route to Galena, then to Buena Vista, in Stephenson County, where a short time afterward the children scattered about, each seeking to make his own living. The mother resided, until her death, at the homes of her several children. She died in Lancaster Township at the residence of her widowed daughter, Margaret Sedan, at the venerable age of seventy-eight years, full of years and full of honor. Mrs. Mitchell was a member of the Evangelical Church. She was a woman noted for her kindness, a beloved mother and a devout Christian. Her seven children still survive her: Mrs. Margaret Sedan, living at Hickory Grove, Dakota Township, Stephenson County, and now aged eighty years; Mrs. Emily Brown, now aged seventy-seven, resides in Dakota Village; Massina resides in Lancaster Township, his age being seventy-five, and William, who is seventy-two, is also a resident of the same township and is a farmer; our subject is the next in order of birth; Mrs. Anna Needler, aged sixty-five, now resides at Long Grove, Lake Co., Ill., and Robert, aged sixty-two, now resides on a farm in Dakota Township.

Our subject, Jacob P. Mitchell, grew to manhood in his native county under the charge of his good Christian mother, working around some of the time to earn his own living, his mother being in reduced circumstances. Just five days before coming to Illinois, May 5, 1842, he was married at Coverley Hall, Nitney Valley, Pa., to Miss Ellen Pollock, who was born in Buffalo Valley, Nov. 5, 1821. She was the daughter of John Pollock, a Pennsylvania farmer of Irish descent. His wife, as well as himself, died before their daughter Ellen was married. Mr. Mitchell with his bride departed with the other members of the family for Illinois on May 10, 1842, and, having reached Stephenson County, engaged in farming on his own account. At that time he entered forty acres of Government land, upon which he erected a house, and from that day to this has made his home here. At the time of his coming this county was sparsely settled, and in fact it required one year before he could obtain his title from the Government, the land at that time not having been put upon the market. He began to make improvements and from time to time added adjoining land, until he now owns 206 acres on section 11, all of which is well improved and contains excellent buildings.

Mr. Mitchell lost his first wife at their home by death on March 14, 1882. She was the mother of eight children, two of whom are now deceased, and six married, viz: Norton, who married Margaret Chambers, now resides on a farm in Lancaster Township; Robert married Ellen Deery, and also resides in Lancaster Township; Martha is the wife of William Yarger, who resides on a farm in the same township; James married Miss Sarah Ertel, and lives in Marshall County, Iowa; Austin, the third son, now living in Chicago, is a painter by trade; Sarah, the wife of John Lapp, resides on a farm in Dickinson County, Iowa.

Mr. Mitchell was married the second time July 3, 1884, his choice being Mrs. Mary Babcock, who was the relict of Frederick Babcock, who died Oct. 4, 1877. She is the daughter of James Kelly, who lived and died in New York State. Mrs. Mitchell is the mother of two children by her former husband: Omer, who married Miss E. Potter, now living in Waterloo, Iowa, and Elnora, who resides with her brother. Mrs. Mitchell is a member of the United Brethren Church, to which she has been attached for fourteen years.

Mr. Mitchell is a very prominent citizen in the township where he lives, and is active in all public enterprises, and in the estimation of his neighbors there is none more highly respected or more influential among the farmers of Stephenson County. He is a man who has a fixed political belief and is a member of the Republican party, which he gives a very active support.

Contributed by Carol Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (1888), p. 300