Pvt., 3rd Ohio Cavalry
GAR – Hanscom Post 97, Iowa
1842-1903
Jacob Homer Searles was born in 1842 in Meigs County, Ohio. He was the son of Gideon and Sarah (Hill) Searles. Pictured here is Jacob with his wife Josephine, but the little girl is unidentified. It is presumed that she is one of their granddaughters.
Jacob married Josephine Jividen in Mason County, West Virginia on August 25, 1860. They went on to have six sons and three daughters. Jacob enlisted in the United States Army on November 20, 1861, serving in Company C, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Ohio. He later transferred to Company K, 13th Regiment, West Virginia Volunteers, serving as 1st Corporal. Upon discharge, it was noted that he suffered from a shell wound and chronic illness.
Jacob and his family moved to western Iowa, first to Onowa (Monona County), where he was a member of the #97 Hanscom G.A.R. Post. He passed away at his home in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1903.
