When Jacob Widener was born in 1755, in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, United States, his father, Isaac Widener, was 30 and his mother, Barbara Wolf, was 30. He married Mary Elizabeth Dye in 1787. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States in 1790 and Barnwell, Barnwell, South Carolina, United States in 1810. He died in December 1821, in Fairfield, South Carolina, United States, at the age of 66.