History states that Hannah and Lt. George W. Jacobs arrived in the city of Evansville in 1818, after embarking on a flatboat down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh in 1817. The couple had been married only a year before they started their journey, exchanging vows on May 1, 1816, in Sutton, Massachusetts.
Their trip was made during the winter (if the historic statements are true), and they came upon Evansville early enough for George to be on the first Grand Jury of the newly created Vanderburgh County in February 1818 and then be appointed the first county treasurer in March.
The Jacobs brought building supplies with them on the flatboat. As a result, when they built their house on the site of what is now the McCurdy Hotel, it was the first home with a glass window. On Nov. 9, 1828, George died leaving Hannah alone with six young children. Although she did have some other relatives nearby, Hannah was left only with a War of 1812 pension and her possessions.
In subsequent years, several more of her children passed away, but in 1836, she was able to buy 40 acres of land north of Evansville city limits. In 1852, Hannah platted the town of Jacobsville and began selling lots. The town continued to grow and, after the Civil War, was annexed into the city of Evansville.
Hannah lived until May 28, 1883, in her Maryland Street home adjacent to Jacobsville, the small town and now Evansville neighborhood that still bears her name. Hannah, who had to make her mark when she signed her will, had survived and thrived on her own for 55 years. The family was reunited in death in Oak Hill Cemetery.
