Jacob started his journey alone, with only a leather bag on his back and hope in his heart. Jacob Fretz, a 20-year-old in 1750, worked on the drought-decimated family farm in the Palatine region, which would later become part of Germany. The Prince of the manor took his serfs and made them into an army of protection. Jacob’s father and brother were taken and died in the war. The farm, even in a good season, didn’t support his mother, brother, and two younger sisters. The responsibility was heavy on his shoulders. He left with a heavy heart but hope for a new home in America, for all of them.