John G. Jackson (politician)
Encyclopedia
John George Jackson was a U.S. Representative
and federal judge
from Virginia
, the son of George Jackson
, brother of Edward B. Jackson
, and grandfather of William Thomas Bland
, Jacob Beeson Jackson
, James Monroe Jackson
, and John Jay Jackson, Jr.
(now West Virginia), Jackson moved with his parents to Clarksburg
in 1784. He received an English training and became a civil engineer. In 1793, he was appointed surveyor
of public lands west of the Ohio River, in what is now the State of Ohio
, conducting that office from 1796 to 1798. He served as member of the Virginia General Assembly
from 1798 to 1801, during which time he supported resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts
. Jackson read law to enter the bar
in 1801. Besides his law practice, Jackson began a number of successful businesses.
Prior to marriage, Jackson had a son, who became General John J. Jackson, the father of John Jay Jackson, Jr.
Jackson's first wife Mary "Polly" Payne was the youngest sister of Dolley Madison
- they were married in 1800. She died in 1808 of tuberculosis. Jackson continued to correspond with Dolley Madison after the death of his wife and her sister. On June 11, 1810, shortly before he married Mary Sophia Meigs, the daughter of Return J. Meigs, Jr.
he wrote Dolley that his new wife "is about the size of our dear Mary, [and] much such a person."
Writing under the pseudonym, "A Mountaineer," Jackson protested in the Richmond Examiner against what he perceived were the two main inequities of the Virginia Constitution - voting rights tied to land ownership, and representation in the legislature based on counties rather than population.
, and Jackson's remarks from the floor of the House were often controversial. In 1809, while in Congress Jackson fought a duel with another Congressman, Joseph Pearson
of North Carolina, and on the second fire was wounded in the hip. Jackson resigned because of his wounds, and was succeeded by William McKinley
.
He served a second period in the Virginia General Assembly
, from 1811 to 1812. On December 26, 1811, Jackson escaped a deadly fire that swept through a theater in Richmond, Virginia
, killing, among others, Governor William Smith
. He was a brigadier general of the Virginia Commonwealth Militia
in 1812, in the early stages of the War of 1812
.
Jackson was elected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1817). He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1816 to the Fifteenth Congress, and was succeeded by James Pindall
. Jackson then returned to private practice of law in Clarksburg, Virginia from 1817 to 1819. He was a member of the Board of Commissioners who met at the tavern at Rockfish Gap
in 1818 and decided to locate the University of Virginia
at Charlottesville
- a group that included Thomas Jefferson
, James Madison
, James Monroe
, John Marshall
and among others, Philip C. Pendleton
, another future judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
.
was the sole judge of the United States District Court for the District of Virginia, then covering all of what is today Virginia
and West Virginia
. That year, Congress divided Virginia into two federal court districts, Eastern and Western, by 3 Stat. 478. Tucker was reassigned to the Eastern District, and on February 20, 1819, Jackson was nominated by President James Monroe
to serve as the first judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
. The United States Senate
confirmed his nomination on February 24, 1819, and he received his commission the same day. He served until his death in Clarksburg, Virginia
(now West Virginia). He was interred in the Old Jackson Cemetery.
He was succeeded on the bench by Philip C. Pendleton
.
Two books have been written about Jackson's life.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, the son of George Jackson
George Jackson (Virginia)
George Jackson was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician. Born in Cecil County, Maryland to John and Elizabeth Jackson, his family moved to Virginia...
, brother of Edward B. Jackson
Edward B. Jackson
Edward Brake Jackson was a U.S. Representative from Virginia, son of George Jackson and brother of John G...
, and grandfather of William Thomas Bland
William Thomas Bland
William Thomas Bland was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, grandson of John G. Jackson and cousin of James M...
, Jacob Beeson Jackson
Jacob B. Jackson
Jacob Beeson Jackson was the sixth Governor of West Virginia from 1881 to 1885. In 1855, he married Maria Willard....
, James Monroe Jackson
James M. Jackson
James M. Jackson was a lawyer and Democratic politician from West Virginia who served as a United States Representative in the 51st United States Congress.-Early life and career:...
, and John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr. was a United States federal judge, first from Virginia, and then from West Virginia, at the time of its creation as a separate state.-Early life and career:...
Early life, education, and career
Born in Buckhannon, VirginiaBuckhannon, West Virginia
Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,725 at the 2000 census. Buckhannon is home to West Virginia Wesleyan College and the West Virginia Strawberry Festival,...
(now West Virginia), Jackson moved with his parents to Clarksburg
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1784. He received an English training and became a civil engineer. In 1793, he was appointed surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of public lands west of the Ohio River, in what is now the State of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, conducting that office from 1796 to 1798. He served as member of the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
from 1798 to 1801, during which time he supported resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution's reign of terror and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams...
. Jackson read law to enter the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1801. Besides his law practice, Jackson began a number of successful businesses.
Prior to marriage, Jackson had a son, who became General John J. Jackson, the father of John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr. was a United States federal judge, first from Virginia, and then from West Virginia, at the time of its creation as a separate state.-Early life and career:...
Jackson's first wife Mary "Polly" Payne was the youngest sister of Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison
Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and was First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817...
- they were married in 1800. She died in 1808 of tuberculosis. Jackson continued to correspond with Dolley Madison after the death of his wife and her sister. On June 11, 1810, shortly before he married Mary Sophia Meigs, the daughter of Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the fourth Governor of Ohio, fifth United States Postmaster General, and as a U.S. Senator.-Biography:...
he wrote Dolley that his new wife "is about the size of our dear Mary, [and] much such a person."
Writing under the pseudonym, "A Mountaineer," Jackson protested in the Richmond Examiner against what he perceived were the two main inequities of the Virginia Constitution - voting rights tied to land ownership, and representation in the legislature based on counties rather than population.
Congressional service
Jackson was elected to the Eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1803, to September 28, 1810. Because of their family ties, Jackson was viewed as a mouthpiece for James MadisonJames Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, and Jackson's remarks from the floor of the House were often controversial. In 1809, while in Congress Jackson fought a duel with another Congressman, Joseph Pearson
Joseph Pearson
Joseph Pearson was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina; born in Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1776; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Salisbury, North Carolina; member of the State house of commons from Rowan county in...
of North Carolina, and on the second fire was wounded in the hip. Jackson resigned because of his wounds, and was succeeded by William McKinley
William McKinley (Virginia)
William McKinley was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.Born in Virginia, McKinley completed preparatory studies...
.
He served a second period in the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
, from 1811 to 1812. On December 26, 1811, Jackson escaped a deadly fire that swept through a theater in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, killing, among others, Governor William Smith
George William Smith (politician)
George William Smith was Acting Governor of Virginia, briefly between the terms of John Tyler, Sr. and James Monroe in January 1811 and the 17th Governor of Virginia from April to December of the same year when Monroe resigned to become United States Secretary of State...
. He was a brigadier general of the Virginia Commonwealth Militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
in 1812, in the early stages of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Jackson was elected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1817). He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1816 to the Fifteenth Congress, and was succeeded by James Pindall
James Pindall
James Pindall was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.Born in Monongalia County, Virginia , Pindall attended the common schools.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar in 1803 and practiced in Morgantown....
. Jackson then returned to private practice of law in Clarksburg, Virginia from 1817 to 1819. He was a member of the Board of Commissioners who met at the tavern at Rockfish Gap
Rockfish Gap
Rockfish Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia, United States, through Afton Mountain, which is frequently used to refer to the gap....
in 1818 and decided to locate the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
at Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
- a group that included Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
, John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
and among others, Philip C. Pendleton
Philip C. Pendleton
Philip Clayton Pendleton was briefly a United States federal judge in Virginia.A native of Berkeley County, Virginia , Pendleton attended Princeton University, graduating in 1796, and Dickinson College...
, another future judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
.
Federal judicial service
In 1819, St. George TuckerSt. George Tucker
St. George Tucker was a lawyer, professor of law at the College of William and Mary, and judge of Virginia's highest court. In 1813, upon the nomination of President James Madison, he became the United States district judge for Virginia.-Early life:Born in St. George, Bermuda, near Port Royal...
was the sole judge of the United States District Court for the District of Virginia, then covering all of what is today Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. That year, Congress divided Virginia into two federal court districts, Eastern and Western, by 3 Stat. 478. Tucker was reassigned to the Eastern District, and on February 20, 1819, Jackson was nominated by President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
to serve as the first judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
. The United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmed his nomination on February 24, 1819, and he received his commission the same day. He served until his death in Clarksburg, Virginia
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...
(now West Virginia). He was interred in the Old Jackson Cemetery.
He was succeeded on the bench by Philip C. Pendleton
Philip C. Pendleton
Philip Clayton Pendleton was briefly a United States federal judge in Virginia.A native of Berkeley County, Virginia , Pendleton attended Princeton University, graduating in 1796, and Dickinson College...
.
Two books have been written about Jackson's life.
Sources
- Hon. Armistead M. Dobie, "Federal District Judges in Virginia before the Civil War," 12 F.R.D. 451 (1951,1952) (viewed on Westlaw)