Montgomery County PA Archives Biographies.....Acuff, Jacob June 2, 1817 - October 2, 1898
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Source: Biographical Annals of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, T. S. Benham & Company and the Lewis Publishing Company, 1904
Author: Ellwood Roberts, Editor

JACOB ACUFF, Son Of David And Margaret (Scheetz) Acuff, For 
Many Years The Landlord Of The William Penn Hotel At 
Gwynedd, Was Born There June 2, 1817, And Died There October 
2, 1898.

Jacob Acuff Was Educated In The Pay Schools Of The Vicinity 
Until His Sixteenth Year, When His Father Required Him To 
Engage In The More Active Pursuits Of Farming And Assisting 
In The Management Of The Hotel. For A Time He Was Absent 
From Home, Being With A Sister Whose Husband Was Engaged In 
The Hotel Business In Philadelphia, And With Whom He Spent 
Several Years. Returning To Gwynedd, He Entered Into Life At 
The Hotel. He Married, February 20, 1849, Elizabeth, 
Daughter Of Abraham And Sarah (Baker) Rhoads, Born November 
5, 1823. The Rhoads Family Were Among The Earliest Settlers 
Of That Section Of Montgomery County, And Are Related To The 
Jenkins, Castner And Other Old Families Of The Vicinity. 
After His Marriage The Couple Took Up Their Residence At The 
Hotel And Conducted It Until 1874, When He Retired To The 
Farm House Adjoining The Hotel, Having Rented The Hotel 
Privileges To Other Parties. In 1877 His Oldest Son David 
Having Married, He Succeeded His Parents In The Management 
Of The Farm. Jacob Acuff Again Took Possession Of The Hotel, 
Where He Remained Until 1882, When He Built A House 
Adjoining The Hotel, Where He Lived The Remainder Of His 
Life, And Where His Widow Still Resides.

Jacob Acuff, In 1847, In Conjunction With His Brother, 
Justus And Charles Loeser, Purchased The Hotel And Farm For 
The Sum Of $12,000, Jacob Acuff Eventually Succeeding To The 
Possession Of It.

The Children Of Jacob And Elizabeth (Rhoads) Acuff: David, 
Born February 24, 1851, Attended Friends' School At Gwynedd, 
And Also The Public Schools Of Gwynedd Township, And Later 
The Lewisburg Institute, Now Known As Bucknell University, 
Until His Eighteenth Year, After Which He Returned To His 
Home And Engaged In Work On The Farm. He Married, April 12, 
1877, Emma, Daughter Of Ezekiel And Hannah (Meredith) 
Shoemaker, Who Resided Near Norristown, And Settled 0n The 
Homestead, Where David Remained Until March, 1899, When He 
Retired To The Home Of His Widowed Mother, With Whom He Now 
Lives, His Wife Having Died Many Years Ago, Leaving No 
Children. In Politics He Is A Republican, And Has Been For 
Some Years Tax Collector Of Lower Gwynedd Township; Annie 
Rhoads, Born December 15, 1856, Attended Friends' School At 
Gwynedd, And Swarthmore College; And Married, April 13, 
1872, Dr. Moses R., Son Of A. Phelps And Mary (Worrall) 
Knapp, They Having One Child, Kenneth Rudolph, Born April 3, 
1890, And Residing On A Property Adjoining The Hotel At 
Gwynedd; Mary, Born May 23, 1858, Died November 27, 1859; 
Justus, Born July 13, 1861, Attended The Friends' School At 
Gwynedd, And Sunnyside Academy At Ambler, Engaged With W. J. 
Buck & Sons, Manufacturers Of Gas Fixtures In Philadelphia, 
In 1874, With Whom He Was Employed For Ten Years, When He 
Engaged With The American Gas Fixture Company At Race And 
Broad Streets, Philadelphia, With Whom He Still Remains; 
Married December 30, 1897, Hannah, Daughter Of John And 
Barbara (Jeffries) Melcher, Of Philadelphia, Where Mr. And 
Mrs. Acuff Reside; George Collyer, Born January 22, 1867, 
Died March 15, 1869.
 
David Acuff (Father Of Jacob Acuff) Was The Son Of Jacob And 
Mary (Ulrich) Acuff. He Was Born In Upper Dublin Township, 
On A Farm At That Time Managed By His Parents. He Received 
An Ordinary Education, And Married Margaret Scheetz, 
Belonging To An Old Family Long Settled In That Section Of 
Montgomery County, Her Parents Being Residents Of Whitemarsh 
Township. Their Children: Annie, Married Elias Cleaver; 
Justus; Mary, Married Charles Loeser; Jacob, Subject Of This 
Sketch; Emily, William, Cynthia And Jones. David Acuff 
Followed Farming For A Livelihood For A Time, And When Quite 
A Young Man Became The Proprietor Of The Hotel At 
Springhouse, Which He Conducted Very Successfully, And, 
Later Took The Hotel At Gwynedd, Afterwards Conducted For So 
Many Years By Himself And His Son Jacob.

Abraham Rhoads, Father Of Mrs. Jacob Acuff, Was The Son Of 
Jacob And Ann (Morris) Rhoads, Of Norriton Township. They 
Owned A Farm Which Is Now Included In The Tract With Forms 
The Site Of The State Hospital For The Insane At Norristown, 
Pennsylvania. 

The Children Of Abram And Sarah Rhoads: Jacob Baker, Born 
June 20, 1820, Married Ann Jenkins; Elizabeth, Widow Of 
Jacob Acuff: Annie, Born March 5, 1827, Died 1857, Married 
George Collyer; Samuel, Joseph, Morris, Issachar, Catharine, 
Ellen And Ezekiel. Abraham Rhoads Was Born December 4, 1782, 
And Died November 22, 1866. His Wife, Sarah Rhoads, Died 
April 3, 1840. Ann, Mother Of Abraham Rhoads, And 
Grandmother Of Elizabeth Acuff, Died March 16, 1839.

Jacob Acuff Was An Active Whig In Politics, And Later A 
Republican. The Family Were All Efficient Workers In The 
Ranks 0f The Party. Jacob Acuff Was For Many Years A Member 
Of The Board Of School Directors F Gwynedd Township, And 
Served Faithfully The Interests Of Education. As A Hotel 
Proprietor He Was A Model Of What A Man Should Be In Such A 
Position. Under His Management It Was Famed As A Place Where 
Travelers Could Always Find The Most Ample Provision For 
Their Needs. Mrs. Acuff Was A Notable Landlady, And Ably 
Seconded The Efforts Of Her Husband To Maintain The Hotel In 
Proper Condition And To Keep Up The High Reputation Which It 
Enjoyed.

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