Wilhelm Jarchow emigrated from Prussia (present-day Germany) to America in 1863 with his wife Sophia and son Christopher. They left from Hamburg, Germany on October 24, 1863 and arrived in New York on November 21, 1863 aboard the steamship Teutonia. Wilhelm was born in 1835 in Lutheran, Germany, located in the Mecklenburg-Schwerin region, while Sophia was born in 1844 in Wessentin, a nearby town. The area's primary industry was agriculture. Before emigrating, Wilhelm and Sophia spent time in Barkow, Germany, located southeast of Lutheran.