The JACKSON Family from Topsham

[Gene2Bear]

Damn Brick Wall with my Devon JACKSONS!

Anybody got a James JACKSON (Merchant) and Sarah (n. MILLER)?The only certified info I have on them is that they were married in Topsham on 2nd January 1775, and they had the following children:

1. Dorothea Burgoyne JACKSON, born Trepassey Newfoundland in 1778, Buried in Topsham 1782.
2. Henry JACKSON, born Topsham July 1779
3. Gregory JACKSON, born Topsham Dec 1780, died in India April 1835.
4. Sarah JACKSON, Christened in Topsham Nov 1782
5. Lucy JACKSON, Christened in Topsham on Nov 1784
6. James JACKSON, christened in Topsham on 5 March 1787, died on 9 May, 1836, in Vittoria, Spain (My ancestor)

James (Number 6 above) married Frances WARD (1796-1872) in Bathampton in Feb 1816.

The children of James and Sarah (n WARD) were:
1. James Henry JACKSON born Oct 1817
2. Frances Rhoda Lucy JACKSON, Baptised Oct 1819, died London in Aug 1900;
3. Mary Ward JACKSON, born Nov 1820 and died March 1823 in Topsham
4. John Baverstock JACKSON, baptised May 1822, on HMS Encounter in Asia, on 17 Nov 1861.
5. William Ward JACKSON, born Topsham, 9 May 1824, died in Melbourne Australia 29 January 1901. (my 2G Grandfather)
6. Sarah Miller JACKSON, born 29 March 1826 in Bath, Somerset

Wish I could trace this JACKSON (James (Merchant) and Sarah (MILLER) family line back further, but they just seem to disappear!

So here’s hoping one of these names will ring a bell with someone!! 

All the best
Clare

[Darwin]

Most of the following is on Family Search (with bits from FindMyPast & Anc):

Had you linked your James to the James who married Grace Bartlett in Colaton Raleigh in 1760? They had a son William Bickford Jackson, baptised in Topsham in 1762.

I think she might have died and then James might have remarried Sarah Miller (who could be the one baptised in Lympstone, near Topsham in 1752 - father George)

It's very probable that your James was the brother of the George Jackson who had lots of children in Topsham (wife Elizabeth) as they both had a child with the middle name Burgoyne, which is the maiden name of their brother Gregory's wife Dorothy.

They both had sons called Gregory too, which links with a Gregory Jackson's will of 1782 (on Ancestry) in which he leaves money to (among others) his brothers James & George and their sons William Bickford Jackson & William Collins Jackson. The will is pages long but he names several family members eg another brother William & sisters Margaret Brand & Mary Edwards. Gregory Jackson is described lived in Clyst St Mary, which is next to Topsham.

There's also a link between a James Jackson, merchant & a Gregory Jackson on A2A - just search "Gregory Jackson" in the Devon Record Office repository.

So it seems to me (if you've not already found all of this) that you're looking for parents called Jackson who had (at least) the following children in some order:

Gregory who married Dorothy Yarde (widow nee Burgoyne) 8 Sept 1760 in Exeter, St Paul and was buried at Exeter, St Mary Major 10 June 1782
George who married Elizabeth Collins in Exeter in 1755 & had lots of children in Topsham
James (yours)
William
Margaret who married Henry Brand (mariner) in Topsham in 1770
Mary who married Charles Edwards (of Exeter, St Mary Arches) in Topsham 1774

[Gene2Bear]

Wow! Thanks Darwin!
Quite a few new leads to chase up there!
Hadn't thought of widow names/maiden names!
Oh dear! Slapped wrists! 
Appreciate the suggestions
Clare

[Darwin]

I think the Newfoundland link could be helpful. There's an 1849 will for William Bickford Jackson indicating he had lands/properties there http://ngb.chebucto.org/Wills/jackson-william-1-579.shtml

If you haven't already seen it, here's a short summary of the Newfoundland/Westcountry trade:
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/west_country.html

It's possible all of those Jackson brothers & sisters were born in Newfoundland but it doesn't look like their records go back that far.

There's a couple of pages about the Jacksons of Topsham in here:
Morris, G.T. Windyer. Jackson family of Topsham. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 13:7, (1925) pp.325-326.
I'm not sure where's there a copy you could get hold of - maybe email the Devon Heritage Centre.

Here are some relevant extracts from the Newfoundland Encyclopedia:

Even in the Eighteenth Century many merchants first learned the fishing trade before returning home to engage in the wider family business. Arthur Holdsworth III began life as captain of the Nicholas, and the Newman family al¬ most always included a captain or two in their ranks as did Strange, Buck, Darracott and Browning of Bideford; Lewen, White, Weston, Olive, Nickleson and Pike of Poole; and Brooks, Hayman, FoUette and Jackson of Topsham. By the late Eighteenth Century many of these men were extremely wealthy. http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/compoundobject/collection/cns_enl/id/3532/rec/3 page 139

With the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht between England and France in 1713, the foundation was laid for English control over Newfoundland and its fisher¬ ies. Shortly thereafter, Trepassey became a major cen¬ tre of the English migratory bye-boat and bank fisheries associated with south Devon ports. By the 1730s FoUetts and Jacksons, representing merchant firms from Topsham (the port of Exeter), were estab¬ lished at Trepassey. Joined by Pennells in the 1750s- 60s, Trepassey thrived until the demise of the bank fishery in the 1790s. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars the remaining connections between Trepassey and the West Country, and Topsham in particular, were severed. http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/compoundobject/collection/cns_enl/id/1163/rec/1 page 414

The next known owner of lands in Biscay Bay was an English merchant, Wil¬ liam B. Jackson, who was based at Trepassey in the 1700s, and from 1800 to 1810 Jackson's 22 ha (54 acres) were over¬ seen by a Dennis Ryan (Francis Corrigan: n.d.). According to an 1845 land survey map, an Easeman family and a Richard White, who oversaw the Jackson family interests, were the sole inhabitants of Biscay Bay. After Jackson's death Thomas Ryan and Richard Hartery bought "all that piece or parcel of land lying, being and situated at Biscay Bay" from Jackson's daughter in 1858 (Francis Corrigan: n.d.). http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/compoundobject/collection/cns_enl/id/1707/rec/6 page 194


I find it all very interesting as I know Topsham very well and often go there for lunch!

[Gene2Bear]

Thanks again, Darwin!!

Yes, I found the Wm Bickford J will! But I'm yet to establish WBJ's father James (marr Grace Bartlett) J, is the same person as MY James (marr Sarah Miller) J!

Thanks for all the Newfoundland references, most enlightening!

Only the eldest child, Dorothea Burgoyne Jackson was born Trespassey, but she is christened (Feb 1779) and died in Topsham (1782), so her parents must have returned from NFL by early 1779. All other children are Topsham births.

Hmmm it's getting a bit confusing so I'll attach a mini tree to sort them out visually

Thanks, I have sighted those 'Morris, G.T. Windyer. Jackson family of Topsham. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 13:7, (1925) pp.325-326'.!

The problem is matching up my James (marr Sarah) to the people mentioned there, and to the James (marr Grace), in brother Gregory's will. It would be VERY neat if he (my James) had married that Grace Bartlett first, but I can find no positive evidence for this online, and living in Australia makes a visit to search parish records slightly difficult!!

So I guess I need to find out;
Exactly when Grace died (not found in LDS or FreeReg so far)
Marr of James & Grace (not found in LDS or FreeReg so far)
Birth of any James' 1700-1750-ish

I'm left to wonder just how many Jackson families there actually were in the Topsham area around 1750.

It just is so frustrating as I am happy with my evidence up to James and Sarah (Miller) Jackson, and there is so much info in that Gregory Jackson will, but I just can't reliably match the two James'... They could as easily be cousins .... Or worse not even close relatives!!

However the use of similar first names in these families would appear to support a close relationship I think!

Lucky you popping over to Topsham for lunch!! It looks a beautiful place! I hope to get there one day...

All he best

Clare

[Darwin]

Hello Clare

I've been fiddling about in some records and have compiled a document of events (attached to this post). I'm also compiling one re: Newfoundland records

I'm finding it very interesting following these Jacksons as I know the area so well and also have a large section of my own family history in Exeter and East Devon.

I'll be making frequent visits to the Devon Record Office after next week to continue researching my family's story (family history is mainly a winter sport for me!) and will be happy to follow up any Jackson leads that can't be found online. They were an active family in the area's trade & business so there will be plenty to be found about them!

Meanwhile, here's a list of Jacksons in the area who were on the freeholders list:

The books were compiled for the purposes of identifying inhabitants of the county who were eligible to serve on juries. With certain exceptions, the qualification from 1692 until 1730 was to own freehold or copyhold land with an annual value of £10 or more. After 1730, tenants of land worth £20 per year held on long leases were also eligible. Eligibility was restricted to men between the ages of 21 and 70.2 Therefore, the lists contain the names of the more substantial property owning inhabitants of Devon parishes during the century.

http://www.foda.org.uk/freeholders/intro/introduction1.htm

1751 Topsham
William Jackson, merchant

1762 Topsham
William Jackson

1771 Topsham
William Jackson
Gregory Jackson
George Jackson

1783 Topsham
James Jackson

1799 Topsham
James Jackson


best wishes
Jan

[Gene2Bear]

Thanks Jan!
Beautifully set up and co clear!
I think we could continue off-chat, so to speak, as I'd love to discuss it with you in more depth.
gene2bearatgmail.com will find me, if you wish.
I'd also be very grateful if you could do a bit of side research ar DRO!
All the best, Clare

[Jane Bennett]

My interest in the Jacksons of Topsham starts with Lucy ?Jackson? who as a widow married as 2nd wife, William Beadon of Gotten, Somerset.  I have only surmised that her maiden name was Jackson because she had living with her (Census 1841 and 1851) at Gotton her niece, Sarah H Jackson b 1823 Pondicherry, India (daughter of Gregory). 

Gregory Jackson, who was definitely born Topsham (source IndiaOffice) was a Lt Col in the Madras Infantry. He was a cadet in 1799, which puts him as having been born in the 1780s.  And his grandson, Alfred James Alexander Jackson, son of Joseph Myers Jackson  (b Palmacotta, India 12 feb 1816), was an executor of Sarah Hanna Jackson's will. She died a spinster in 1899 in Bath . Joseph M Jackson was a Surgeon in the Madras army, but his wife Sarah Wills came from Exeter.

However,Lucy's dob, if the census can be believed, is around 1801, and the Lucy who was sister to Gregory was born 1784.  They did lie about their age, but that is rather a big lie.  Sarah H Jackson appears in 1841 as 15, 1851 22, and 1861 27!  But Lucy is pretty consistent as being born 1801.

A codicil to WB's will mentions his wife Lucy, and he left her the goods and chattels she brought from Bath  and a watch that WB carried that had belonged to her previous husband. But I can find no evidence of a marriage having taken place between Lucy and WB which might have thrown some light on the name of her 1st husband.

I have a copy of a letter written by Sarah H Jackson about the way she and her Aunt Lucy left Gotton after the death of William Beadon, a few days after his death, and it was bitterly cold.  I don't think his sons by first wife liked Lucy, and there was some dispute as they sons wouldn't let the memorial stone which Lucy had ordered in Bath be put on the grave at West Monkton.

There are various possibilities which would make Sarah Lucy's niece
1. Lucy was Lucy Jackson b 1784, sister of Gregory
2. Lucy was the sister of Gregory's wife
3. Sarah's mother/father were sister or brother of Lucy's first wife.

Any ideas?
Jane

PS the following are the children of Gregory:

Joseph Myers Jackson, B 16 Feb 1816 Palmacottah, India d 1885 London
William Jackson

[Jane Bennett]

sorry, somehow message was sent before finished:

children of Gregory Jackson

16 Feb 1816 Joseph Myers Jackson b Palmacottah, India
02 Jun 1818 William Jackson
23 Dec 1819 Brook Jackson
04 Dec 1820 Richard Jackson
26 Dec 1823 Sarah Hannah Jackson b Pondicherry
06 Mar 1828 Henry Jackson

All this from Indiafamily, the India Office website. This also states he is the son of James and Sarah Miller of Topsham.