Jacob was born on April 26, 1902 in Spruce Grove, Alberta. He was the first Ulmer born in Canada, his parents and older siblings having immigrated to Canada from Galicia (formerly part of the Austrian Empire) in 1899. At that time, Alberta was not yet an official province, it was part of the Northwest Territories.  He is the 3rd of 10 children born to Jakob W. Ulmer and Maria Hollinger.

Nothing much is known about his childhood. According to census data, he lived at his parent's residence until sometime between 1921 and 1926. This residence was outside of Spruce Grove and was located at LDS Section 28, Township 53, Range 27, West of the 4th meridian. 

Katie wasn't Jacob's first wife. He married Maria Hoffman on March 25, 1928 in Stony Plain. Maria, citing abandonment, filed for a divorce in November 1931. It was finalized on May 27, 1934. There were no children and it is unknown what became of Maria after the divorce.

Jacob's life between 1931 and 1941 is a mystery. He broke his back in July 1941 when an automobile slipped off its jack and fell on top of him.  It's unknown if he knew Katie at that time, but on November 18th of that year, they were married in Edmonton. 

a Little bit about Katie pihulyk

Katie was born on December 5, 1917 in Beverly, Alberta (later became an Edmonton community) to Mike Pihulyk and Dora Holenchuk.  According to a birth certificate obtained at the time of applying for OAS, her birthdate was actually November 5, 1917. It is also recorded on her marriage registration that she was born in Manitoba, town unknown. She was the 4th of 13 children. 

Nothing is known about her childhood. In about 1934 her family moved from Beverly to Holborn where she was living when she got married. 

Married life

Jacob and Katie were married on November 18, 1941 in Edmonton, Alberta

Residence

It's not known where Jacob & Katie lived when they were first married. Sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s, they made a farm in Section 51, Township 27 their home where they and their children resided until Jacob's death in 1969. In 2021 the house was listed for sale as a Historical house, and was believed to have been built around 1896. 

It was a 2 story house with 2 bedrooms for 2 adults and 7 children! It didn't have running water or indoor plumbing and had a coal burning furnace in it's dirt basement. Originally a wood clad exterior, it was stuccoed over in the mid 1960s. It underwent some modernization between 1970 and 1999. The property also had a garage and barn, which were also later renovated.

Children

In Passing

Jacob lived the remainder of his life on the family farm. He died at the age of 67 in the Stony Plain Memorial hospital, on August 16, 1969 after suffering a heart attack (coronary thrombosis). He was buried on August 20, 1969 in the Zion Lutheran Church cemetery in Golden Spike. 

After Jacob's death, Katie and her three youngest children: Jack, Gordon and Kathy, moved to Edmonton. They initially lived in a 2 bedroom apartment on 163 street near her daughter Bernice. Katie lived the remainder of her life in the Jasper Place community until she entered a care facility. Katie died at the age of 80  on February 24, 1998 in Edmonton. She is interred at the Westlawn cemetery in Edmonton.