Jacob Jasper Welch, also known as J. J. Welch, was the second youngest son of William Welch Jr. and Elizabeth Raper Welch. He was born on January 24, 1840 on a farm in Guilford County, North Carolina. At the age of 15, Jacob likely had a relationship with a girl named Annie Pitts, who was a slave of Jacob's parents. This relationship resulted in the birth of a child named Columbus Christopher Pitts. DNA testing proved that Jacob, or his brother Austin, was the father of Columbus. The other brothers were eliminated as possibilities due to lack of shared DNA between the descendants and also through birth and death dates. A few years later, J. J. attended school at Oak Ridge Institute and later at a Kernersville school. It was while attending school in Kernersville that he was called to serve in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. J. J. was captured and held as a prisoner but was later released. After the war, he returned to High Point, North Carolina and married a woman named Elizabeth Teresa Pickett. Together they had a daughter named Julia Florence Welch who was born on February 15, 1867. The family lived on a farm right next door to Columbus C. Pitts. In 1872, J. J. joined in a partnership with his brother-in-law, W. P. Pickett, to form a tobacco company called W. P. Pickett and Company. He continued in this business until 1895. This is when he became involved with the manufacture of furniture. J. J. earned the title of President of the High Point Furniture Company. In addition to this, he also served on the Board of Alderman for High Point. It was in July of 1903 that J. J. Welch was elected Mayor of High Point, after the death of Mayor J. J. Cox. Before he died, Jacob had become a director of the Commercial National Bank and the High Point Savings and Trust Company. In addition, he was president of the Rankin Coffin and Casket Company and second vice-president of Pickett Cotton Mills. He was also a stockholder and officer of the High Point Buggy Company, the Marsh Furniture Company, and the Welch Furniture Company. Jacob passed away on October 18, 1914 in High Point, North Carolina.