Jacob Latch was born in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1758. He was the oldest son of Rudolph Latch and his wife Jane or Jeannette Rose. With his father and brother, Jacob Latch enlisted in the Continental Army in Lower Merion in August 1776 at the age of seventeen. He was enlisted in Captain John Young's Company of Colonel Paschall's Regiment.

Valley Forge

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Latch was quartered with the army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. He had been trained in the trade of shoemaker/cordwainer, and from time to time traveled home to make shoes for some of the soldiers. He became a messenger or "runner" for General Washington. In August, 1780, he became a sergeant in Captain Richard Robert's company of Colonel James Berry's Regiment. He is mentioned in the Annals of Montgomery County and in the Pennsylvania Archives. Jacob Latch died in Lower Merion on June 29, 1845.