Jacob Albright

Jacob Albright (Jakob Albrecht) (May 1, 1759 – May 17, 1808) was an American Christian leader, founder of Albright's People (Die Albrechtsleute) which was officially named the Evangelical Association (Evangelische Gemeinschaft) in 1816. This church underwent various mergers and schisms and today is a part of the United Methodist Church.

Jacob Albright was born May 1, 1759 to John Albright (Johannes Albrecht) and his wife, in the region of Fox Mountain (Fuchsberg) in Douglass Township (now Montgomery County) northwest of Pottstown, Pennsylvania and was baptized into the Lutheran Church. His parents were German immigrants from the Palatine Region of Germany, but sources disagree on when they immigrated to the United States. (Johannes Albrecht and his wife, Anna Barbara, both born in either Austria or Palatine depending on the source, came to America on the ship Johnson in 1732. There were seven children: Jacob, aged 5 among them. This Johannes and his family settled in Bern Township, Berks County where Johannes died in 1751 or 1752. His son, Jacob, left Berks County in 1760.) Jacob Albright was educated in a German school where he learned reading, writing and arithmetic. In addition to speaking the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, he spoke German and taught himself enough English so he could deliver a sermon in that language.

During the American Revolution, Jacob Albright served in Captain Jacob Witz's Seventh Company, Fourth Battalion, Philadelphia Militia as a drummer boy and later as a guard for the Hessian prisoners at Reading, Pennsylvania. Although uncertain, several sources indicate that he served through 1786.

In 1785, he married Catherine Cope and they had six (or nine) children. Only three children survived to adulthood: Sarah, wife of Noah Ranck; Jacob, who died childless; and David, married to Mary Riedenbach (Raidenbach or Raidabaugh), who had children. There are descendants of Jacob Albright through his son David living today. The young family moved to Earl Township, Lancaster County, and they lived near Ephrata, Pennsylvania, where the young Jacob took up farming and was in the business of manufacturing tiles and bricks.

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