Background
Jackson was born on September 2, 1783, in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Timothy and Sarah (Winchester) Jackson, and said to be a descendant of Edward Jackson, one of the earliest settlers of Cambridge.
congressman railway promoter tallow chandler
Jackson was born on September 2, 1783, in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Timothy and Sarah (Winchester) Jackson, and said to be a descendant of Edward Jackson, one of the earliest settlers of Cambridge.
Systematic in his reading and study, Jackson supplemented the elementary education which he received in the town schools.
At the age of twenty-one, after three years' experience in a manufactory of soap and candles in Boston, Jackson established himself in the business, in which, in spite of reverses suffered during the War of 1812, he succeeded in laying the foundations of a modest fortune. He served a term as representative of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court in 1819, retiring at this time from active connection with his tallow chandlery.
About 1826 he became greatly interested in railroads. Later as a member of the General Court, 1829-1831, he was an active supporter of railroad projects in Massachusetts, lecturing extensively and writing for many newspapers upon this subject for the next eighteen years. Many of his arguments and predictions which now seem conservative were received with ridicule and abuse at that time when many persons considered canals more advantageous. He participated actively in the construction of several Massachusetts railroads including the Western, the Boston & Worcester, the Boston & Albany, and the New Bedford & Taunton. Jackson was a member of the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth congresses (1833-1837), being elected by Anti-Masonic and National Republican support. He refused to be a candidate for a third term.
In 1840 he took part in the organization of the Liberty party, and as their candidate was defeated for the lieutenant-governorship in 1842, 1843, and 1844. His antislavery views led him to support the Free-Soil party after its establishment in 1848. Long convinced of the evils of intoxication, he was active in temperance reform, abolishing, as an employer, the custom of furnishing rum to his employees, and adding the extra sum to the wages paid. He was a founder and deacon of the Eliot Church of Newton, and president of the American Missionary Association for the first eight years of its existence, 1846-1854. His financial concerns late in life were largely confined to the land company which he organized in 1848 for laying out that part of Newton known as Auburndale, and to two banks, the Newton Savings Bank, founded in 1831, of which he was president from 1831 to 1835, and the Newton National Bank, of which he was president from its founding in 1848 to his death. Jackson died on February 27, 1855.
Jackson was President of the American Missionary Association (1846-1854), President of the Newton Savings Bank (1831-1835), and President of the Newton National Bank (1831-1855).
Jackson was married twice: on December 1, 1806, to Hannah Woodward of Newton (d. August 11, 1814) by whom he had one son and four daughters, and in 1816 to Mary Bennett of Lunenburg, by whom he had four sons and seven daughters.