Johann Jacob Gaumer was born Apr 15, 1756 in Macungie Twp., Northampton Co., PA. the twin brother of Johann George Gaumer. The boys were the son of Johannes Dietrich (Dieter) Gomer born Jan 22, 1722 in Würtemburg Province, Germany. The family came to America aboard the ship,"The Snow Molly" which arrived in Philadelphia on Sep 10, 1737. Dieter was too young to be listed but his parents were and their lineage can be traced back to Johann Deitrick Gomer born circa 1620 in Germany.

The family settled in Pennsylavania in Bucks Co. The area would later be known as Northampton County and then Lehigh County. Jacob and his brothers went to Philadelphia to work as blacksmiths. Family tradition has it that Jacob was a drum-major in the American army at Yorktown, Va at the time of Cornwallis' surrender.

It was after the war that Jacob moved west to Frederick Co., MD, on the edge of the Potomac in what would become Old Town, Allegheny County, MD. He worked there as a blacksmith and farmed on leased land. It is unknown whether he married Maria Catharine Sowash, born 1759, before or after the move as the Sowash family is found in Lehigh and in Somerset counties, Pennsylvania. After the birth of their first two children, the couple moved north into Wellersberg, Londonderry township, Bedford Co., Pennsylvania. In 1795, this township became part of the newly formed Somerset county and was renamed Southampton township. It was here the rest of their eight children were born.

In 1800 he went west into Ohio looking for suitable land to settle. It was during this trip he found land in Washington County, soon to become Muskingum County. In 1806, Jacob secured land in Gilbert, Washington Twp, 7 miles up the Muskingum from Zanesville. In the next few years, he would clear the land, making it suitable to farm and live on. Family history says it was 1809 when he returned to Pennsylvania for his family and returned to Ohio along with several other families from Southampton including the Stoners, Scheurers and Sturtz. Either the Scheurers and Stoners came earlier, or that date is wrong as Valentine Scheurer was in Madison township in 1804 and with family in 1807. It could be that Valentine also made a trip to secure land and actually returned in 1809 with his family and the Gaumers, but tax records in Southampton Twp, Somerset County, PA seem to suggest the 1807 date is correct. Other records indicate he was in Muskincum Co., Ohio in 1803. Other families would follow such as the Leydigs and Shroyers.

While in Gilbert, which was located on the lowlands along the Muskingum, the family became afflicted with ague, a malarial type of fever. So often and seriously were they afflicted that they soon after moved into the hills where a more healthful location was found, the air was more envigorating and healthful springs issued from almost every hillside. This location was section 28 of the school lands district of Salem Township and the move came about in 1811.

With the move, Jacob's family thrived and spread through the township. Jacob worked not only as a farmer but was probably one of the first blacksmiths in the northern quarter of Muskingum County. Age and hardship were catching up to the couple as Catharine was the first of the family to die in this new land. Jacob's family followed the Lutheran faith and upon Catharine's death, he donated part of his land to be used by the newly formed New Hope Lutheran church for a cemetery. Catharine was the first person buried in it's ground having died September, 1814. Part of Jacob's land would later be used for the church building made of hewn logs. It would later be replaced by a larger structure across the road with the old church location being used for more burials.

Jacob would follow his wife to the grave, May 05, 1820. He is buried beside her in New Hope cemetery. Their stones have been decimated by time and have recently been replaced with a new stone commemorating the families contribution to the church. He left a lasting legacy not only in Salem township but in Muskingum County, as his descendants would make many contributions to the county in mumerous ways.

Jacob's great grandson, Daniel H. Gaumer, was the owner and editor of the Zanesville Signal and a former postmaster of Zanesville. He also served on the state legislature and served as a state senator. Daniel's brother, Charles Newton Gaumer, served in the state legislature. Another brother Dr. Thomas M. Gaumer served as a physician in Adamsville and also was part owner of the Zanesville Signal. Dr. T. Gaumer's son Charles E. Gaumer also was in the publishing business, holding the position of editor for the Zanesville Times Recorder and then owner of the Middletown, Ohio Evening Signal and as editor of the Urbana Daily Democrat and Citizen along with his brother Frank C. Gaumer, owner of the Gaumer Publishing Co. in Urbana. Another brother Bruce was publisher of the Union County Journal, in Marysville, OH. and was formerly the editor of the Adamsville Register.

The Gaumer family is large and has spread west into many states. Some of Jacob's children were some of the first settlers in Kansas and Missouri. There are also many Gaumer families found in Coshocton as the family land has grown from Salem and Adam townships across Wills creek into Linton township, Coshocton Co. There are few families in the northeast quarter of Muskingum whose families do not connect to the Gaumers or their descendants in some way.