Jacob Yoder, pioneer, born in Reading

Reading, Pennsylvania

Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, 11 August, 1758 : died in Spencer County

Spencer County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,766 people, 4,251 households, and 3,358 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 4,555 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.50% White, 1.13% Black or African American, 0.22% Native...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, 7 April, 1832. He was of Swiss descent.

After serving through the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 in the Pennsylvania line, he built a large boat at Fort Red Stone (now Brownsville

Brownsville, Pennsylvania

Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...

), on Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

, which he freighted with flour and carried to New Orleans in May, 1782. With the profits of this venture he bought peltries which he sold in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, investing the proceeds in sugar for the Philadelphia market. This was the first attempt to navigate the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for commercial purposes. Subsequently he settled in Spencer County, Kentucky, and took part in equipping and keeping in the field the military forces in the northwest territory.

He is known for his invention of the flatboat

Flatboat

Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...

.