The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Jacob Idol was born at Bucks County, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1761, a son of Barnett Idol [Johan Bernhart Eitel] and Elizabeth Meier of Wallburg, North Carolina. His family moved from Pennsylvania to the area between present-day Davidson and Forsyth Counties, near Abbott’s Creek.
Jacob’s father was an indentured servant upon arriving in America. He was likely from Stuggart, Germany. Jacob’s mother had German and Swiss lineage. Barnett and Elizabeth married at Pennsylvania, and eventually moved to North Carolina. They operated a tavern in the vicinity of Abbott's Creek along with a 240 acre farm. It was at this time the family anglicized the spelling of the last name to Idol, with Johan changing his middle name to Barnett or Barney.
Jacob was one of ten children, and most likely spent his working at the Idol Farm and Tavern. During the American Revolution, Jacob served for three months in 1781 with a militia company of mounted light infantry commanded by Captain James Billingsley. William Davis was Jacob’s Lieutenant or the closest officer over him. During this three month tour, Jacob reported in his pension deposition that he saw little combat. Jacob’s unit was focused on moving around the county to keep the Tories or Loyalists in check. At the end of three months, he received a discharge with the rank of corporal.
Within two weeks of his discharge, Jacob was called up again, as Cornwallis was marching from South Carolina toward the area of Guilford Courthouse. Jacob served as a private under Captain William Davis to keep check of local Loyalists, but was taken prisoner by the Tories and handed over to regular British Army units. He was moved nearby to Guilford Courthouse, on the day of the battle, March 15, 1781. Jacob records he was “…marched with the guard and baggage towards Center Meeting House in said County, within sound of the cannon, where the news came that the British had gained the day.” Jacob was able to escape from the British and spent the few weeks at home.
Later in 1781, Jacob volunteered again for another three months of service, in a company of mounted light Infantry, commanded by Captain Lop, with Lieutenant Bodenhamer. His company marched towards Wilmington with skirmishes against Tories at the Raft Swamp. Jacob’s company marched near the mouth of the Cape Fear River with another attack on a nearby British garrison. Finally, his company marched towards Georgetown, South Carolina, and then returned to the Wilmington area to encamp, until the news arrived that Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown. Jacob was discharged from the service during this tour as a first sergeant.
After the war, Jacob married Chloe Johnson, April 1, 1782. They lived out their lives at Stokes County, which is present-day Forsyth County, as farmers.
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.