Hi Kristi.
Did you ever get in touch with Anthony?
I have a lot of information about Jacob, and I am also working with a Palestinian scholar and others who are knowledgeable about the area from which he came.
The stories in the book you mentioned are actual stories that Jacob would tell the family when they would gather on Sundays for dinner at Jacob and Martha's house in Luther. My mother and uncle remember him telling the stories. My mother is Jan Loman who is the daughter of Leo, the younger brother of your great-grandfather Frederick. I believe my mother and other family members called Frederick "Fritz".
Also, the name in the book that Chester Keyes gives to Jacob is fictitious. We are finding that the family name seems to be Luqman. I have copies of letters from Jacob's family members that are written in Arabic.
If you would like to get in touch, please let me know. I currently live in Luther and work in Edmond and would love to meet with you to talk about Jacob and the Loman family.