Biographical Sketches

Michael Jackson (1734-1801) of Newton, Mass. served in the French and Indian Wars at Louisbourg, as a private in the Newton Minutemen Company, and at Lexington and Concord. He was commissioned a major in the Continental Army in 1775, fought at Bunker Hill, and was commissioned colonel of the 8th Massachusetts Infantry in 1777. He married Ruth Parker (b. 1731) in 1759.

Simon Jackson (1760-1818) of Newton, Mass., the second son of Michael and Ruth Jackson, served in Captain Phineas Cook's Co. in 1775; was a lieutenant in William Bond's regiment; and was a member of his father's 8th Massachusetts Infantry (1777-1783). He then served in various other regiments until 1784. He married Borodell Shepherd in 1786 and Sarah (Sally) Spring in 1802. He was a farmer and speculator in Newton.

Ebenezer Jackson (1763-1837) was the third son of Michael and Ruth Jackson. He was born in Newton, Mass. and enlisted in his father's regiment (the 8th Massachusetts Infantry) at the age of 14. He served in various regiments until 1783 when he was sent south to establish the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. He settled in Savannah, Ga. and was involved in various business activities, among them the sale of rice and cotton; the establishment of a packet ship between New York and Savannah; several land companies, including the Tennessee Company; and the ownership of two plantations. He also owned a home in Walnut Grove in Middletown, Conn. from 1801-1826, which served as his family's summer home. He married Charlotte Fenwick Pierce (1766-1819) in 1792.

William Leigh Pierce (b. 1740), the first husband of Charlotte Fenwick, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, reaching the rank of major, and a businessman in Savannah, Ga. as the head of William Pierce & Company. They had one son, William Leigh Pierce, Jr. (1790-1814).

Amasa Jackson (1765-1824), the fourth son of Michael and Ruth Jackson, served in his father's infantry (8th Massachusetts) from 1777-1783 and in other regiments until 1784. He, like his brother Ebenezer, was a merchant in Georgia; the president of the Jersey Bank, 1805-1810; president of the Union Bank, 1811-1821; and the second president of the New England Society. He married Ann Lauder (1765-1793) in 1789 and Mary Phelps (1778-1859) in 1798.

Charles Jackson (1767-1801), the fifth son of Michael and Ruth Jackson, served like his brothers in his father's regiment from 1777-1783 and in other regiments in 1784. He attended the College at Providence (Class of 1788) and received his A.M. in 1796. He was educated in law by General William Hull and served as the U.S. district attorney for Georgia from 1797-1801.

Ebenezer Jackson, Jr. (1796-1874), the son of Ebenezer and Charlotte F. Jackson, graduated from St. Mary's College in 1814; studied law at Litchfield Law School; and was admitted to the bar and began practicing in Philadelphia in 1821. He moved to Middletown, Conn. in 1821 and was involved in politics for several years, serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1820-1832 and 1849 and as a U.S. congressman from Connecticut in 1834-1835. He married Eliza Harper (1901-1838) in 1822 and Hannah S. Hubbard (1815-1903) in 1840.

Note: Additional biographical and genealogical information on the Jackson family can be found in Carton 2.