William Jackson - Early Union Settler
THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of Union
County, Georgia
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
William Jackson
- Early Union Settler
Last week's
column presented Andrew William Jackson and his wife, Minerva Goforth
Jackson, their hardships during and after the Civil War and their
move
west to California.
Today's column will go back a generation in time and explore the life
of
William Jackson, father of Andrew. He and his wife Nancy were in Union County
when it was formed in 1832, having been first in Habersham County,
going there about 1827 from Rutherford County, NC.
William was a
very common first name among the Jacksons. The
father of William Jackson has not been firmly established because of
the
frequent use of William as a given name. He could have been the
son of
Amos, of William, of Stephen, of John, of Joseph...the list goes
on
of men in the 1800 census of North Carolina with Jackson as
the last
name. Of Scotch descent and migrating to America from Northern Ireland,
these early settlers were a hardy breed known to us as Scots-Irish.
William
Jackson was born in North
Carolina about 1798. He married
in Rutherford County, NC on December 14, 1814 to Nancy Owenby Stanley, a
widow with two sons, one of
whom was named William and called Bill. She was born about 1793
and was
five or more years older than her husband William who was only sixteen
when he
married.
About 1827
four Jackson
brothers, William, Amos, Jehile and
Joseph with their families migrated from North Carolina to Habersham County, Georgia.
Were they caught up in the "gold fever" when gold was discovered
there in 1828? Perhaps so, but no documentation is
available
to this writer about their prospecting. Settling in the
beautiful Nacoochee
Valley, they could
look out daily and
see the rocky face of Mt.
Yonah where,
legend held,
the young Indian lovers, the fair maiden Nacoochee and the warrior
brave Yonah,
plunged to their deaths because they were from warring tribes and their
parents
would never approve their union.
When land
lots became available in what was
mapped as Union
County in 1832,
carved out of the old
Cherokee lands, William secured land and settled in the shadow of the
highest peak in Georgia,
Bald Mountain, Choestoe
District.
William and Nancy Jackson and William's brother Joseph were all listed
as
members of Choestoe
Baptist Church
in 1834, the first year of extant minutes, although it is believed the
church
was organized in 1832. William Jackson cleared more land on his
farm,
adding to the acreage once tended by the Cherokee before they were
driven
from the property he purchased.
Besides Nancy
Jackson's two sons by her first
marriage, she had seven known children by her second husband, William
Jackson.
These were as follows:
Rebecca
Jackson (1816-1860) who married Jonathan
Cook (1815-1861). They lived in the Arkaquah District of Union
County and
reared two sons and four daughters. Rebecca and Jonathan
Cook were
buried in the Six
Oaks Cemetery
near Old
Liberty Church,
Choestoe.
Armelia
Jackson (1820-?) married William Neeley
(1808-?). This couple moved to Tennessee
and no information is known on their children.
Johile
Jackson (1822-?), named for his uncle,
married Jane Duckworth (1823-1896). They lived in the
Arkaquah
District and reared a family of four sons and five daughters.
Johile and
Jane Jackson were buried in the Jackson Family
Cemetery
on the Abercrombie Farm in Arkaquah District.
Susanna
Jackson (1826-1889) married John W.
Duckworth (1821-1913). They settled near Old Liberty Church on
his
father David Duckworth's property. They had a family
of twelve
children. Susie, as she was known, and John were interred in the Old Choestoe Cemetery
but their
gravestones have long ago disappeared.
Mira Jackson
(1827-1902) married Jehu Wimpey
(1829-1899). They had thirteen children, five sons and eight
daughters. Their large family has many descendants still
living in Union
County.
They were buried at Old
Liberty Baptist Church
Cemetery.
Kimsey
Jackson (1828-1869) married Lucinda
"Cindy" Thomas (1828-1909). At age 41, Kimsey had an
unfortunate accident that took his life. He was
driving a wagon
pulled by oxen loaded with 300 feet of green oak lumber. On a
hill near Old
Liberty Church the brakes gave
way and the wagon turned over, pinning Kimsey underneath it. Kimsey and
Cindy
had three sons.
William
Marion Jackson (1829-1912) married Rebecca
Goforth (1833-1901). Marion Jackson liked to tell that he was
born near Yonah
Mountain
in what was then Habersham (now White) County, Georgia.
He was the first of William and Nancy Jackson's children born after
they moved
to Georgia.
During the Civil War, Marion
joined the U. S. Army. He and Rebecca lived on Town Creek,
Choestoe
District, and reared six daughters and two sons. William and
Rebecca were
buried at Old
Liberty Baptist Church
Cemetery.
The
youngest child of William and Nancy Jackson was Andrew William
((1835-1917) who
married Minerva Goforth (1840-1915). Their story was recounted in
last
week's column. They went to California
after the Civil War and never returned to Georgia.
William
Jackson (1798-1859) and his wife Nancy (1793-1861) were
both interred at the Six
Oaks Cemetery
near Old
Liberty Baptist Church.
The Jackson
name is still common in Union
County
among descendants of William and Nancy. The name means
"Jack's
Son". Jack was a nickname for John. Centuries ago
in
England, Scotland
and Ireland John's Son and Jack's Son were common designations and
from
them the family name derived. The two first Jacksons registered in America
were
Isaac and John. Isaac Jackson was born in Ireland
in 1664
and died at Londongrove, Chester
County, Pennsylvania
in 1750. His wife was Anna Evans and they had ten children.
John
Jackson was born in 1766 in Tipperary, Ireland
and
died in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania in
1826. John Jackson's
ancestors have been traced back to Sir John Jackson, made a baron by
King
Charles II in 1660.
c2004 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Apr. 1, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene
Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian.
She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708
Cedarwood Road,
Milledgeville,
GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 23,
2009
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