Jackson Family History

 

 My Jackson Family starts with David Jackson (82) and Mary Long (81), the earliest Jackson ancestors in my line that I have been able to trace. David and Mary lived in Augusta County, Virginia where they married in 1824. They had two sons, one whose name I have so far been unable to discover, the other my great-great grandfather, the Reverend William Andrew Jackson (35). David's occupation was given in the 1860 census as 'shoemaker'.

William Jackson is the ancestor for whom I have not only the most information, but also the best verified information. A bible that he gave to his youngest son, Edward Andrew Jackson (22), my grandfather, contained about 400 margin notes. About 200 of these refer to people, places and/or dates. By sorting these, I have been able to trace his life from the time he became a preacher at the age of 29 until his death at 81.

William became a preacher for the United Brethren Church in 1858. This church sprang from the preaching of William Otterbein, an evangelist of the German reformed Church, who began preaching in Pennsylvania about 1755. Over time, other charismatic preachers joined him, and eventually, in 1800, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ was born, The UBC church grew rapidly, becoming one of the major denominations in the United States. In 1946, it merged with the Evangelical Church to become the Evangelical United Brethren Church, although at the time, the church was divided into two factions over an interpretation of rules of procedure. Both factions claimed the name "United Brethern in Christ Church." The smaller faction, headed by Bishop Milton Wright, was not part of the merger and so retained the original name. The United Brethern Church continues in existence to this day. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethern church merged again with the Methodist Episcopal Church to become the United Methodist Church of today. Bishop Wright made the statement "if man had been meant to fly, God would have given him wings." His sons, Orville and Wilbur, did just that.

William started his ministry as a circuit preacher in Virginia, then spent some time in Mayland, where he met and married Alice Snook (36). During the Civil War, he obtained a passport and came north to Pennsylvania. He spent a large part of his career in Bedford and nearby counties before coming to Western Pennsylvania. His last church when he retired was in Butler County. He then went to live with his daughter, Grace, and her husband in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County, where he died at the age of 81.

 

 Page created 9 October 2000 Last modified Saturday, 08-Sep-2018 05:17:00 MDT www.evansfamilyhistory.com Copyright © 2000, 2001 Timothy D. Evans, All Rights Reserved Not For Commercial Use