He came to the United States in 1857 and settled in Dover, Fayette County, Iowa. He came to Minnesota in 1871 (Star Tribune, August 9, 1908).
He was known as "the Norwegian Giant from Lac qui Parle" or "King Jake. He was elected on the republican ticket" (Lovoll, Odd. Norwegians on the Prairie: Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town, 2006).
His nicknames include: Jake, King Jake, and Lac Qui Parle War Horse.
He was an at-large candidate to the 1892, 1912, 1916 National Republican Convention (Minneapolis Journal, Feb. 17, 1906; Star Tribune, April 21, 1938).
He did not secure GOP endorsement for the 1906 governor's race. He was a candidate for governor in the 1908 race (Star Tribune, August 9, 1908).
His topics of interest were with regulation of railroad (such as the 4% gross earnings tax, the open market law, and the "y" law) and the creation of the State Board of Control (Star Tribune, August 9, 1908).