During his youth, the Daughtrey family moved close to the Hobson family, and Jesse became interested in their oldest daughter Catherine. During this time, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited the area and taught Jesse and Catherine. They were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1835 and Jesse was baptized on April 10. However, just four days before his baptism, Jesse and Catherine were married.
In 1844, they moved into Nauvoo, Illinois to help protect against mobsters. In 1846, the family finally moved into the Nebraska Territory, the exact location where is unknown, however, one of Jesse's sons was born in Grand Island, Nebraska. They moved back to Nauvoo in July of 1846.
After the death of one of his sons, the Hobson family moved to Pigeon, Iowa in 1846. They continued to live there until their departure to the Rocky Mountains. The Hobson family joined the Benjamin Gardner Company on June 2, 1852. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sep 24 and promptly moved to Farmington, Utah to a farm. The Hobson family moved to Richmond in 1861.