Jacob Wesley Routson was born on 20 Sept 1867 in Franklin Twp, Darke County, Ohio, to Josiah Routson and Abbie Swank. Josiah was a son of Jacob E. Routson and Ediah Hahn and was a farmer in Miami County during most of his working life. Abbie, a native of Miami County, Ohio, was the daughter of Joshua Swank and Rebecca Large.

J. W. Routson at an early age worked out to a farmer for 8 months at $12.50 a month. He fed and groomed the horses and chopped wood before breakfast and then helped with the day's farming work. At the end of 8 months he received $96 with $4 expenses for clothes and amusement. Later he worked for $15 a month for another farmer for 2 years. The farmer, a former county school teacher, had an extensive library so J. W. took to reading. As a result, he became interested in education and entered Ohio Northern college. He passed the teachers examination the next summer and taught school at PS #7, #14, #3, and #4 in Newberry Twp, Miami County, Ohio, for 20 years. He farmed during the summer months owning several farms on Bradford Bloomer Road in Newberry Twp.

On 28 August 1892, J. W. married Virginia Victoria Jennie” Routson, daughter of Thomas Edward Routson and Margaret Elizabeth Apple. To them were born four children, Cletus, Zeldia, Goldie, and ML.

In 1916 J. W. made a career change selling his land and moving the family to Bradford where he opened a shoe store on Miami Avenue with Fred Dively on the site of the present bank in Bradford, Miami Co. Several years later they sold the land to the bank and moved across the street to Darke Co., and opened a new shoe store. On 3 August 1920 there was a disastrous fire and those stores south of the shoe store burned to the ground. The shoe store was protected by an open lot and a slate roof. After the fire, J. W. built new buildings in the open lots, moved his shoe store there, and leased several apartments and two stores to a confectionery and the post office which had burned to the ground during the fire. Behind, he built a movie house. When the confectionery shop keeper abruptly left town leaving a wife and five children behind, J. W. became owner of a confectionery and ice cream shop business. J. W. was active in politics, being elected to two terms as mayor of Bradford in 1920 & 1922. He was elected to the State Legislature from Darke County in 1923-1924 and 1927-1928. He served 16 years as a member of the Bradford Board of Education (1917-1933) and president of the Miami County School Board 12 years from 1935 until his death. He ran for the state senate in 1940 but was defeated. During WWII he worked at a factory in Piqua, Ohio, to support the war effort. J. W. and Jennie were members of Friedens Lutheran Church, Bloomer, Ohio. J. W. was a 32nd degree Mason.

J. W. died on 10 May 1948 at his home and was buried at Highland Cemetery, Covington, Miami Co., Ohio. He was survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.