John Jacob was the first child of John Daniel Stonesifer and his second wife -Maria Elizabeth Yingling, and the sponsors for this event were his maternal grandparents - John and Margaret Lenore Bankert Yinglinq. As with his older brother, Hartin, his exact date of birth is not known. For some years he lived in Carroll Co., Md. (but in his day it was still Frederick Co., Md.), then about 1810 the family moved to the area of Littlestown, Adams Co., Pa. where he continued to farm. There is some indication he was also a miller. The Family, composed of parents and nine children, also became members of Christ Reformed Church nearby. Jacob, his wife, and other members of their family are buried at Christ Church, just east of Littlestown, Pa.