Jacob Garman Albright was born on March 3, 1834, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, to William and Catherine Albright. His father was a farmer. He grew up in West Beaver, Pennsylvania, and he probably moved to Indiana in the 1850s. He married a woman named Mary in the 1850s, and they had at least two children: Melissa, born around 1858; and Henry, born around 1864. By 1860, he was working as a farmer in Mottville, Michigan, and he owned $150 of real estate and $125 of personal property.
He enlisted in the Union army on February 22, 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Company F of the 12th Michigan Infantry two days later. He expressed devotion to the Union, urging his friends and family to "stick up fore the Union and Old Abe and Andy and to have thair flag on a long pool and if any body Copper snake goes to pull it to batter his head with clubs." He mustered out on February 15, 1866. He returned to Michigan after the war. His wife died sometime in the 1860s, and he married Malinda Wimmer on September 4, 1867. Their daughter Harriet was born around 1869. The family moved to Bristol, Indiana, in the late 1860s, and he earned a living as a carpenter. By 1870, he owned $500 of real estate and $100 of personal property. He died in Elkhart, Indiana, on May 3, 1874.