JACOB C. FERRIS SR. was the son of Isaac Ferris Sr., a shoemaker who came to New Jersey, settling in the neighborhood of Broadway and Ferry Avenue in what was then Newton Township, and after 1871, was the Eighth Ward if the City of Camden.

Isaac Ferris Sr. was born in December of 1827 at Easton, Pennsylvania. He wed Dorothea Laird around 1850. A daughter Emma, was born in 1850 in Pennsylvania. A son, Isaac Ferris Jr. was born October 4, 1854 in Philadelphia and a daughter,  Dorothea Ferris was born in Pennsylvania around 1858. Isaac Ferris Sr. and family came to New Jersey soon afterwards.

Jacob C. Ferris was born in New Jersey on March 10, 1859, and it is probable that he was born in Newton Township. The Ferris family lived there when the Census was taken in 1860. Son John L. Ferris was born on January 15, 1861 in Camden County. The family moved to Burlington Township for a few years in the 1860s. Sister Kathryn M. “Kattie” Ferris was born most likely in Burlington  Township, as it is known from Civil War draft records that on July 1, 1863 Isaac Ferris Sr. was living there, following his trade as a shoemaker. A son, Washington Ferris was born around 1866, and the Ferris family was still in Burlington when daughter Cora arrived on February 3, 1868.

Soon after her birth, Isaac Ferris Sr. and his clan returned to Newton Township, and Isaac Ferris established a shoemaking enterprise. The Ferris family is listed there in the 1870 Census. In 1871 Newton Township dissolved and the Ferris family became residents of the City of Camden. The 1872 City Directory shows Isaac Ferris Sr. and Isaac Ferris Jr. at Ferry Road and Webster Street, the 1874 Directory indicates that they were still there. The family was blessed with two more children in the 1870s, daughters Adelaid “Addie” Ferris on June 21, 1871 and son Harry Laird Ferris on December 25, 1875. Sadly, there was loss, as John L. died on November 6, 1876. 1876 was also the year that son Isaac Ferris Jr. went into business with a shoemaking factory of his own, the beginning of a business career that would take him into banking. The Ferris family was living at 1702 Fillmore Street when the 1876 City Directory was compiled

Jacob C. Ferris followed his father and older brother into the shoe manufacturing business. The 1880 Census shows the Ferris Family, living at 1702 Fillmore Street, consisting of Isaac and Dorothea Ferris and eight children, Isaac Ferris Jr., Dorothea Ferris, Jacob Ferris, Kathryn Ferris, Washington Ferris, Cora Ferris, Adalaid Ferris, and Harry Ferris. By 1885 Isaac Jr. Dorothea and Jacob had all gone out into the world.

On July 26, 1882 Jacob Ferris married Susanna Sweeney. A daughter, Eliza “Lydia” Charlotte Ferris was born on April 27, 1883 in  Camden. The 1887-1888 City Directory  lists the family at 1703 Broadway, they were at 1618 Broadway in 1888. They were still there in 1895. Two more children came, Son Jacob Herbert Ferris on May 28, 1892, and Miriam H Ferris on December 6, 1894 in Camden. By 1896, Jacob Ferris family had moved to at 546 Stevens Street.

Jacob C. Ferris fell ill around the end of 1903. He died as a result of gas asphyxiation on December 26, 1904. His father had died only a few months previously.