These days, no ink is spilled on Julia Eyster Jacobs, wife of Dr. Michael Jacobs. Likewise, little has been said or written in decades about their daughter, Mary Julia. But these were powerful women, steeped in deep faith who made tremendous sacrifices for their beliefs.

The first time we find mention of Julia Eyster is at her marriage to Dr. Jacobs. Here, it is mentioned quickly among other society notes:

Note that Julia’s correct first name was Juliana and that she was the daughter of Jacob Eyster, Esq., of Harrisburg, PA. Who was Jacob Eyster? The Eysters were, in fact, prominent in Pennsylvania society and had long histories of faith and service to the nation. The following is excerpted from History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: biographical and genealogical 1883:

“Jacob Eyster, eldest son of George Eyster and Margaret Slagle, was born three miles west of Hanover, in what is now Adams County, Pa., June 8, 1782. He was a descendant of John Jacob Eyster, a native of the kingdom of Würtemberg, Germany, who emigrated to America between 1717 and 1727. Christian Eyster, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Germany in 1710. The family settled first at Oley, in Berks County; from thence Christian removed, in 1736, to York County. The eldest son of Christian was Elias, born in 1734, who lived until almost a centenarian. His eldest son, George, born June 6, 1757, was a farmer and tanner, a soldier of the Revolution, captured at Fort Washington, and confined for some time on board the British prison-ships. He married, in 1780, Margaret, daughter of Jacob Slagle and sister of Col. Henry Slagle, of the Revolution. About 1783 they removed to near Hunterstown, within five miles of Gettysburg, where their son Jacob passed his youth and early manhood. When first enrolled among the militia of Adams County he was appointed first sergeant, rose to captain, and then major, and in 1814 appointed by Governor Snyder brigadier-general Second Brigade, Fifth Division, Pennsylvania militia.

“During the invasion of Maryland by the British that year he was employed by the Secretary of War (Armstrong) and the Governor of Pennsylvania in distributing and forwarding arms and supplies to the militia who were called into service. In 1811 he removed to Gettysburg and engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1818 he was a candidate for the House of Representatives, defeated by sixty-two votes, while the remainder of the Democratic ticket fell from three hundred to fourteen hundred behind. The year following (1819) he was nominated State Senator for an unexpired term, elected, and subsequently for a full term. Previous to the nomination of Governor Shulze, Gen. Eyster was spoken of as a gubernatorial candidate. In 1822 he removed to Harrisburg, and in 1824 he resigned his seat in the Senate and was appointed deputy surveyor-general, an office he retained for fifteen years. He afterwards became cashier of a bank at Hagerstown, Md., but after a year’s absence returned to Harrisburg, where he passed the remainder of his life. He died there on the 24th of March, 1858. He married, in 1810, Mary Middlecoff, of Adams County, who died at Harrisburg, March 24, 1867, at the age of seventy-five years.”

Michael Jacobs was from a similarly prominent family that had spread all over the border areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The union of the two brought two powerful families together, and it’s clear that Julia was his equal. Their oldest son, Henry, became a Lutheran minister; their youngest son George became an optician and a teacher at Gettysburg College; he also opened the first Five and Dime store in Gettysburg.

It’s likely that no one carried on the family traditions of Lutheran and faith and education quite like their daughter Mary Julia. Mary Julia married Reverend John Henry Harpster, another prominent Lutheran minister and a former captain in the Union II Corps (he was wounded twice). Together, the couple embarked on a ministry far different from that of the rest of their family.

After leading a variety of congregations in Pennsylvania, the reverend and his wife departed for foreign missionary service in India. Their first stint in India went from 1892 to 1895. The couple were credited with the creation of Indian Lace Day in the Lutheran Church—on that day, money was collected throughout the church, then sent to India where women used the money for the materials to make lace. Poor health forced them to return to the United States where they served in churches ranging from California to Kansas to New Jersey. In 1893, Reverend Harpster reentered missionary service, and the couple again headed to India. Though it had some periods of interruption, their ministry in India lasted until 1909, whereupon they returned to the United States and worked to help organize other missionary efforts. Dr. Harpster passed away in 1911, while Mary Julia lived until 1935.