Jacob H. Bortles was a journeyman and a pressman. He had a familial connection with Fayette Lapham, who married Sophia Bortles. Jacob did the presswork on the Book of Mormon. It took nearly three days to print each form. In 1830, he purchased a portion of the Wayne Sentinel and became a part owner of the newspaper until his death.[1] He was also an editor of the Wayne Sentinel.[2]
Jacob married Mary Colt on March 5, 1834 in the Zion Episcopal Church at Palmyra.[3] To their union was born one child, Harriet Elizabeth Bortles (1835–1836). Jacob died on August 11, 1836, at age twenty-eight. He was buried in the General John Swift Memorial Cemetery in Palmyra.[4]
Jacob Bortles’s Timeline
1808: Jacob H. Bortles is born.
1830: Purchases a portion of the Wayne Sentinel and becomes part owner and editor of the newspaper.
1830s: Completes presswork on the Book of Mormon, with each form taking nearly three days to print.
March 5, 1834: Marries Mary Colt at Zion Episcopal Church in Palmyra, New York.
1835: Jacob and Mary Colt Bortles welcome their daughter, Harriet Elizabeth Bortles.
1836: Harriet Elizabeth Bortles dies. Jacob H. Bortles passes away on August 11 at the age of twenty-eight.
Post-1836: Jacob is buried in the General John Swift Memorial Cemetery in Palmyra, New York.
[1] Weight, Miracle on Palmyra’s Main Street, p. 22; Black and Tate, Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, p. 53.
[2] 10,000 vital records of Central New York, 1813–1850. FamilySearch.
[3] New York Marriages, 1686–1980.
[4] “Jacob Bortles,” Find a Grave Index.