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.

Andrew William Jackson

At times we read accounts of early settlers in Union County and learn of their subsequent adventures. We wonder how they lived through some of their exploits. Truth often looms larger than fiction. The story of Andrew William Jackson and his wife Margaret Minerva Goforth Jackson falls into the category of "truth stranger than fiction." I am grateful to Watson Benjamin Dyer and Belle Jackson Maury (she was a granddaughter of Andrew William Jackson) for this account of Andrew William Jackson. I have edited the account for structure, chronology and flow, but have kept to the facts as presented by Belle Jackson Maury.

Andrew William Jackson was born in 1835 in Choestoe District, Union County. His father was William Jackson (b. abt. 1798 in NC, died July 27, 1859, Choestoe, GA) and Nancy Owenby Stanley Jackson (b. ca 1793 in NC, died 1861, Choestoe, GA). They were in Union County when it was formed in 1832.

Andrew was the youngest of eight known children. The others were Rebecca who married Jonathan Cook; Armelia who married William Neely; Johile who married Jane Duckworth; Susan who married John W. Duckworth; Kimsey who married Lucinda Thomas; Mira who married Jehu Wimpey; and William Marion who married Minerva Goforth.

William and Nancy Jackson moved from Rutherford County, NC where they were married December 14, 1814. From there they went to Habersham County, Georgia and then to Union County near Bald Mountain. William and Nancy Jackson were early members--perhaps charter members--of Choestoe Baptist Church. Seeing the list of their children and their spouses indicates that there is a rich family history in each of the children and their descendants, many of whom still live in the vicinity. But the focus of this article will be upon Andrew William Jackson, the youngest of the children.

When the Jacksons were settling onto their Choestoe acres, there was much unrest in the nation. The majority of settlers in Union County were not slave holders and they did not want to participate in the Civil War. Many had Union leanings and went to Tennessee to join the U. S. (Northern) Army. Among these were Marion Jackson (Andrew's brother) and John Hunter, a Choestoe neighbor. Some in opposition to the South hid out in the mountains evading conscription. In the daytime deep caves were their hiding places. They ventured out at night and by the light of the moon worked their crops. Times were hard and fear was rampant.

Andrew William Jackson and Margaret Minerva Goforth were married on November 9, 1855, with the Rev. William Pruitt, Minister of the Gospel, performing the ceremony. When the war was declared, Andrew was in the vicinity of Atlanta. He was conscripted for the Confederate Army but did not like it and deserted.

The story is told that at one time when his pursuers were looking for him, he climbed up into the chimney of their home to hide. Minerva and her little children tried to be calm while the search went on. The men left the home and Andrew stayed several hours in the chimney before he came down. He and sixteen other deserters were captured and sent to a jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

Evidently Andrew found a way to get a message to Minerva. He asked her to visit him at the Birmingham jail and to bring the horses, hiding them out near the jail. The men planned to escape that night. Imagine the bravery of this young woman (about 23 at the time--she was born in 1840) to go across the mountains of Georgia into Alabama to a Confederate prison to assist her husband to escape.

One of the men imprisoned with Andrew Jackson had lost a leg and walked with a wooden leg. Andrew asked him for his wooden leg so he could fashion a key to unlock the jail. The man, at first reluctant, said, "If I don't have my leg, I can't walk out."

The story goes that Andrew Jackson told him, "It's either your wooden leg or we'll be shot to death in the morning." How he had that knowledge is an untold part of the story. Andrew did take the wooden leg and carved a sort of key that worked to open the lock. Evidently the guards were asleep or not aware of what was going on within the jail. Andrew was successful with springing the lock and the men walked out. They set fire to the stockade and burned it down, escaping through the woods.

There in the woods was Minerva with the two horses and their children, waiting for her husband. They made their way from Birmingham northward to the old Jackson homeplace in Choestoe. Minerva and the children rode the horses and Andrew walked in the woods, trying to keep himself hidden. They miraculously made the long trip to Choestoe safely.

Just what year Andrew and Minerva and their by then four children decided to leave Choestoe is not certain. But evidently the unrest of the war years was still upon the land. They packed up their meager belongings and set out with their young family heading west. They had great difficulties along the way. Andrew still had to hide out because he was wanted for having escaped the Confederate jail. When they crossed the Mississippi River and arrived in Kansas, they felt safer because they were again among Union sympathizers who helped the young family to find food and provisions and temporary work for Andrew.

It was a sad journey. The two middle children died on the journey and were buried along the route. Their names are unknown to this writer. Milton Bert and Dicie survived the trip. The Jackson family arrived at the San Louis Obispo Valley, sometimes called the Creasy Plains, of California, and there they began farming. They were ready for a new life and gave themselves to it with a passion. There Minnie Matilda, their last child, was born on August 7, 1879.

Milton Bert was given the responsibility of herding sheep. He took the sheep to open range on the mountains near where they lived. The lad was only fourteen when he began this herdsman's job. Andrew went every week to take Bert food and to check on him. The lad did a good job of warding off wild animals and caring for the sheep.

Andrew liked seclusion. When other settlers began to move onto the Creasy Plains and get too close, Andrew would stake out another claim in a less-populated area. He did not like to talk of his Civil War experiences or of the hardships the family endured. One day Bert saw a large scar on his father's side and asked how he got it. Andrew told his son, "It's none of your business."

One day a group of men with winded, exhausted horses rode onto the Jackson ranch. They asked Andrew for his horses, as theirs were spent. He knew they would take them by force if he did not let them go willingly. They promised to send his horses back in a few days and quickly rode away.

Soon afterward, a sheriff's posse came by looking for the men. Noticing the many horse tracks near Andrew's barn, they wanted to know why. Ever the man of few words, Andrew told the sheriff that a lot of riding had been going on there the last few days. The sheriff explained that the Dalton Gang had robbed the bank the day before and the posse was trailing them.

A few days later, Andrew's tired horses reappeared at the ranch. He took off their saddles, and there under the blanket were fastened several $50 gold pieces. Whether Andrew kept the gold or turned it over to the authorities is unknown. Maybe he went by the old adage, "Finders, keepers."

Andrew and Minerva Goforth Jackson did not return to Georgia. They remained in California where their last place of residence was at Cholame. Andrew died there in 1917 and Minerva died in 1915. They were buried at San Louis Obisbo. Their adventures bespeak the independent spirit and work ethic so tightly woven into the character of early Union County, Georgia people.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published March 25, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.