Jacob Zoller Biography
Surnames: Dygert, Sanders, Van Alstine, Zoller; Zoller photo
Towns and villages: Fords Bush, Little Falls, Minden, Palatine Bridge, St. Johnsville
Counties: Herkimer - Montgomery
Source: History of the Mohawk Valley - Gateway to the
West - 1614-1925
Covering The Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie,
Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer and Oneida.
Volume IV, Illustrated
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925
(Pages 808-811)
Jacob Zoller was born in Fords Bush, in the town of Minden, Montgomery County, New York, on April 15, 1833. He died at his home in the city of Little Falls, Herkimer County, New York, on the 27th day of January, 1907. He came from a family which had long been influential in the Mohawk Valley. His father was Hon. John I. Zoller, a farmer, who represented his district in the state legislature in 1843 and 1844, and his mother was Eliza Sanders Zoller. He was the oldest of seven children.
Authorities differ as to the European source of the Zoller line. Some think the family was originally Swiss and others have evidence that it came to America from the German Palatinate. The Zoller family in America was established in Montgomery County more than a century and a half ago, having come thither from Schoharie, where, so the story runs, they had been unable to secure good title to the land. One of the family was killed, one wounded and a third was taken prisoner in the battle of Oriskany, while fighting under General Herkimer in the Revolutionary war.
The life of Jacob Zoller was one of much accomplishment. He possessed a fine sense of integrity and of fair dealing with his fellowmen. He believed in the honesty and good faith of others. Although primarily a business man, Mr. Zoller was interested in farming, banking, and in the development of real estate. The business of buying and selling butter, cheese and eggs, which he began in a small way as a young man, became a large and successful wholesale business, whose products were shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada. Upon Mr. Zoller's death in 1907 the business which he founded and established was incorporated, and was continued as the "Jacob Zoller Company".
At the time of his death Mr. Zoller owned nine dairy farms in Herkimer and Montgomery counties, all of which were maintained in the highest state of cultivation and development, and he also owned many cheese factories and creameries in this rich agricultural region. For many years he was a director of the Little Falls National Bank, the National Herkimer County Bank of Little Falls, New York, the Fort Plain National Bank of Fort Plain, New York, and the First National Bank of St. Johnsville, New York, and gave much time and thought to their sound and successful growth. He owned a large amount of real estate in the city of Little Falls consisting of business blocks, mill properties and houses, many of which he built, and all of which were kept in an improved and attractive condition. In 1898 Mr. Zoller founded Fairview Cemetery, which is located just beyond the limits of Little Falls, on the old Post road leading to Sacketts Harbor through Middleville.
Mr. Zoller was a lifelong republican, having cast his first vote for Fremont in 1856. He was never actively identified with politics, except that in his early life he was supervisor of the town of Minden for several terms. In recognition of his splendid service as supervisor he was endorsed by the democratic party after his first term, and thereafter was returned to the board unopposed. In religion Mr. Zoller was a firm believer in the Universalist faith and he contributed generously toward the support of the Universalist church in Little Falls and the one in Fords Bush, and to denominational purposes in general. For generations his ancestors had been ardent supporters of the doctrines of the Universalist church.
Jacob Zoller married Mary Jane Dygert, daughter of James and Jane Ann (Van Alstine or Van Alstyne) Dygert, who resided in the town of St. Johnsville, Montgomery County. Her maternal grandfather, Gilbert Van Alstine, lived in the town of Palatine Bridge, where he was highly respected as a prominent aristocratic gentleman farmer of the old school. He owned slaves in those early ante-bellum days and was one of the most influential men in the neighborhood. Jacob and Mary (Dygert) Zoller became the parents of five children, namely: John I., Maude Jane, Thomas J., and Abram and Zaida, twins. Mrs. Zoller and her five children are all residents of Little Falls.
Of this family Thomas J. Zoller, the secretary and treasurer of the Jacob Zoller Company, was born on the 1st of May, 1878. He then entered the business world in association with his father, and when the Jacob Zoller Company was incorporated after the latter's death, Thomas J. Zoller was made secretary and treasurer of the concern. He has gained an enviable reputation as a shrewd, forceful, straightforward and capable business man. He gives his political support to the republican party and belongs to the best clubs of his home community.
Jacob's
grandparents were Jacob Zoller and Katherine Ehle, daughter
of Johan Christian Ehle and Maria Lipe.
Biography of Jacob's son, John I. Zoller
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See Also: Ehle Haus
