George Jackson

From: http://www.nikoko.co.uk/Diaries/Jackson.htm

The Diary claims that George Jackson "ran away to sea when he was just 14 years old". As the youngest in the family and living not too far away from a sea port, that is probably exactly what happened. Ships at that time frequently sailed to China and India where they traded in many goods including tea and porcelain. So it is not surprising that George was next found in India.

He must have been an enterprising sailor to have become a Master (Captain). The Diary shows him with the initials H.E.I.C. which stand for Honourable East India Company. That association has not yet been proven. But there is no doubt that he did command and in so doing acquired a small fortune. When Wendy and I visited the Jackson home in North Reston in the early 1990s we spoke to the then current owner of George Jackson’s original estate. He was a busy farmer in the midst of harvest so we did not get to see the house inside or discuss his ownership with him. But his one remark after we identified our connection with George Jackson was to say words to the effect that "Oh yes, didn’t he make his money trading in opium or slaves?"

The first documented record of George was found in the India Office section of the British Library in London. It is a True Extract book of all the Marriages, Baptisms and Burials at Calcutta, Bengal for the year 1796. It is very difficult to read but when we viewed the original we could make out two significant entries.

The second entry under marriages reads as follows "October 1, George Jackson Captain in the Country Service Single and Mary Howard Spinster." The next entry is even more difficult to read. It is listed under the baptisms. It states "George, Illegitimate son of George Jackson, Master Mariner ......." That one is dated in January 1796 and is the eighth line from the bottom of the page.

In fact it appears that George had two sons before he married Mary Howard. In her Diary she listed the baptism in 1796 simply as "The infant son of George 28th January". She also noted his death as "George Jackson died Feby. 5 1798 aged 3 years one month and 29 days". There is no indication as to the Mother. The second son born out of wedlock was named James Lewis Jackson. The date of his birth is not known but the Diary lists his death as "James Jackson died the 17th April 1825 on a Sunday". Perhaps the mother of James had the surname Lewis. Bengal Obituary records show his age at death as 25 years 11 months, giving a birth year of 1799, three years after his marriage to Mary!!

Had all this happened in England it is doubtful that the mores of the gentry would have permitted Mary Howard to marry George Jackson. She was well connected in the society of Calcutta.

It is not clear when and why George Jackson decided to return to his native Lincolnshire. It was after the turn of the century. From the Diary we know that his eldest son was born in Calcutta on Monday, 9 September 1800 and the second son on Tuesday 1 September 1802. David Morris believes the family returned to England in 1803.

In May of 1804 George Jackson then purchased the land and manor house at North Reston, about five miles south of the town of Louth.. This is not all that close to Gainsborough where George was born so the choice of purchase may have had other deciding conditions. The land comprised about 800 acres. When Wendy and I visited there in 1993 the manor house appeared to have had additions built on. The photo section contains two views from our visit and the additions seem to have been functional rather than esthetic. We were led to understand that the house was 300 years old.

In the Lincolnshire Archives I found an Indenture dated 1859 which I will discuss later when reviewing the life of Howard Jackson, 4th son of George. That Indenture had a "Schedule of Deeds referred to in the Indenture". That Schedule (2 pages) shows that the North Reston lands had changed hands more than once between 1787 and 1804. George Jackson, a resident of Clapton, Middlesex was named as the purchaser and it seems that he bought the land from William Hornby who was bankrupt. No price is mentioned, however in 1796 Hornby had undertaken a mortgage for fifteen thousand pounds.

Standing quite near to the manor house was the small church of St. Edith. Some views of it are also in the photo section. The granting of "The Living" belonged to the lord of the manor and we will see later how the Jackson family kept the "Living" for their sons to a great degree.

Between 1800 and 1816 Mary and George produced nine children (five sons and four daughters) all of whom survived to maturity. In her Diary Mary listed the dates of their births and even added the actual time of the day when each arrived. We will follow the fortunes of each of the nine in turn, leaving that of Howard, from whom my wife Wendy traces, for final treatment.

Unfortunately the Diary does not contain any details of life at North Reston. One section lists the comings and goings of children and relatives some of whom appear to have returned to India. Entries for her son Howard seem to indicate that he was sailing to India on more than one occasion lending credence to the family belief that he was serving the Honourable East India Company.

The final entry for George and Mary was found on the marble plaque on the wall of the church of St. Edith. (See the Photo Section for a picture of this plaque). It reads;

"Sacred to the Memory of George Jackson Esq. of this place who died on the 20th April 1823 age 65 years leaving a Widow and nine children

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