Jean Frederic Loba was born in Lusanne, Switzerland, the son of Frederic Loba and Julie Sider. In 1852 his family joined the Mormon Church and emigrated to the United States to settle in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1857 Jean's father decided that he could no longer live among the Mormons and resolved to escape Utah with his family. After their departure, they moved from place to place in Kansas and Missouri. As Jean grew older he set out on his own working at odd jobs, mainly farming and other handiwork. In 1864 he enlisted in Company I, 13th Missouri Veteran Volunteer Cavalry. He was discharged in 1866 and then enrolled in Olivet College. Jean graduated in 1873 with a specialization in Greek and then taught at Knox College. After a trip to Switzerland in 1875, Jean returned home and entered Yale University's Divinity School. He married Lucene M. Bradley in 1877 and accepted an offer to pastor the Congregational Church in Kewanee, Illinois in 1878. He left his congregation in 1882 to accept the Chair of Logic and Rhetoric at Olivet College. While teaching he still continued to preach at churches all over Michigan. In 1886 Jean became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jean passed away in 1915 in Saint Joseph, Michigan.
From the description of Memoirs of Jean Frederic Loba, 1899-1915. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122386571
