Jacob Sevits was born in March of 1839, in Allen County, Indiana. He was the son of Moses Sevits and Mary Cupps and one of nine children. Moses was born in 1799 and Mary was born in 1801. Both were born in Pennsylvania. The couple were married in Pennsylvania in 1813 had moved to Indiana by 1834. Mary died in 1848 and Moses died in 1854.
By 1850, Jacob was living with his father and four of his siblings, and next door to his brother Moses Jr. and his family. According to the 1860 Census, Jacob was living with his brother, Moses, and family in Adair County, Missouri. He was a farm laborer and had Real Estate worth $400. His older brother, Jonathon, was a little down the road with his own family.
With the coming of the Civil War, Jacob first enrolled in Company B of the 22nd Missouri Infantry on December 5, 1861 and served until about February 15, 1862. At that time, he, along with others in Company B, was transferred to Company I, 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry to serve for 3 years. In March, Jacob was detached and assigned to building a block house on the Chariton River to protect the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad crossing. In that same month, Jacob’s brother, Jonathon, died of disease while serving in another Missouri unit. By May, Jacob was present for duty with the rest of his unit.
It appears he was in the fighting at Lone Jack, but he was not wounded, and it does not appear that he lost the government’s horse or equipment. Jacob was able to leave the field with the rest of his unit. On March 21, 1863, he was promoted to Corporal, a rank he held to the end of his service. In late 1864, he was temporarily transferred to Company D and continued to serve with that company until the expiration of his term of service. He was mustered out on December 10, 1864 at Little Rock, Arkansas. At that time, he had not been paid since June 30, 1864.
Sometime shortly after leaving the service, he met Amanda Everhart. She was born on June 9, 1845 in Ohio. By 1860, she was living in Adair County, Missouri with her parents and six siblings. After her marriage to Jacob, their first child, William E., was born on July 7, 1866. Their second son, George F., was born on February 4, 1869.
On the 1870 Census, the family was still in Adair County, near Kirksville. Sometime during 1871, their third son, Charles E, entered the world. According to the 1880 Census, Jacob, Amanda, William, George and Charles are living in Nineveh Township, Adair County. They are lived next door to his brother, Daniel and his wife and two houses away from Sarah, the widow of Jacob’s brother Moses.
Jacob filed for a Veterans Pension on August 28, 1886, listing his service in Companies D and I of the 7th Mo Cav. On June 9, 1898, Amanda died and is buried in the Hazel Creek Union Cemetery. On the 1900 Census, only Jacob and Charles remained in the household. They were both farmers and Jacob owned his farm. On February 17, 1903, Jacob died and was buried alongside his wife.