First of all, the author is not sure that Anselm is the correct spelling. It could very well be Absalom or Ansalom, all of which are old Christian names.
Anselm was the administrator for his mother's estate in 1838. These records can be found at the Georgia Archives. His mother's name was Jane (Wise). The estate records list G.B. Jackson, Sarah Jackson, M.D. Jackson, John H. Jackson, Mercer Jackson and Johnson W. Jackson who are presumably other sons of Jane. Thomas Eidson is the testator.
As we know from John Jackson's estate, his widow was Jane (Wise) and she is shown on the 1830 census living very close to her sister Eleanor Wise Jackson in Wilkes County, District 66. She is shown with 5 males all under age 30 living in her household. Also living near her is Mathew Favor, Thomas Favor, Sarah (Favor) Jackson (widow of Daniel Jackson, Jr.) and Enoch and Bethany Callaway. This area is clearly the Rayle area. We know that this Bethany Callaway is Bethany Arnold Callaway the widow of John Callaway and they are the progenitors of most of the Wilkes County Callaway family. Her son is the Rev. Enoch Callaway that is shown living near her. Mathew and Thomas Favor are likely closely related to Sarah Favor Jackson - all descendants of the Rev. War soldier John Favor who was granted land in 1784 almost adjacent to Daniel Jackson (John Jackson's father).
Anselm's brothers (Johnson W., Mercer and John B.) are shown on the 1840 census living in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. The M. F. Jackson shown living near John B. Jackson might be the brother shown as M.D. Jackson in their mother's estate file. Sherwood Wise and Jacob Patton are also listed on the same page as Mercer, John B. and M.F. Jackson.
On October 20, 1831 in Wilkes County, GA, Anselm married Daisy Combs whom the author believes was the daughter of Phillip Combs, Jr. (son of the Rev. War soldier by the same name). The minister that married them was Rev. Hezekiah Luckie Embry. Hezekiah was the same minister that married Philip F. Combs, presumably the brother of Daisy.
Anselm/Anslem S. Jackson and Daisy Combs marriage
(FamilySearch.org)
In the 1832 GA Gold Lottery, Anselm is shown living in Capt. Lunceford's District of Wilkes County where he received 2 draws. Several other Jackson men are noted living in Lunceford's District as well as several COMBS families. Other names of interest are Strozier, Dozier, Hammock, Dearing and Bates and one can compare the names of these men to the 1820-1850 censuses to get an indication of where Anselm and Daisy were living at this time.
Anselm, Philip F. Combs and Hezekiah Embry are all shown living closely together on an 1834 tax digest for Wilkes County.
(FamilySearch.org)
Anselm is not counted on the 1840 census so the first census where he appears is for 1850 where he is now shown living in Oglethorpe County, Division 66. His wife is listed as Doovey (41) and their children are Elizabeth (14), Almeda (13), John M. (11), Philip T. (9), Mary J. (7), William B. (5), and Anselm (2). He is shown having no real estate nor any personal property of value. He is the next consecutive listing following Shelton Oliver. Shelton Oliver was a large landowner in the area and in 1844, he purchased "Woodlawn" the former estate of the well known statesman and politician William Harris Crawford. Oliver happens to be buried in the same family cemetery as William Harris Crawford located near the Oglethorpe/Clarke County line - just east of Athens. Anselm may have been working for Shelton although his occupation is listed as "Farmer" on the census.
Another interesting neighbor to Anselm on this census is Andrew Hartsfield. William Green Hartsfield, the former 6-time Mayor of Atlanta is a direct descendant of Andrew. The present day Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was originally named for Mayor Hartsfield.
By the time the 1860 census was taken, Anselm was still living in Oglethorpe County (District 236). At age 48, he was very poor and the census listed no land and only $160 in personal property for him.
On the 1870 census, [1] he is still living in Oglethorpe County, still very poor with no real estate and only $300 in personal property. He has lost 2 sons in the Civil War (John and Philip) and possibly another daughter had died.
1867 Confederate Oath
(GA Archives)
The various tax digests (1851-1877) show him living in District 236 (called Grove Creek) but the 1851 tax digest shows him in District 226 (Beaverdam). He is only shown owning any land on the 1853 tax digest (153 acres). Interestingly, his brother John B. Jackson was very prosperous - he is shown owning 37 slaves (1851 census).
Examining the 1894 map below, it is likely that Anselm lived just west/northwest of Lexington. The author does not know when district 1303 was created but it is likely that the districting was different before District 1303 was created. On one of the tax digests, Anselm's post office was noted as "Crawford" and Crawford is shown on this 1894 map as being in District 1303. This map also shows his son Anthony Anselm Jackson living in that area.
Likely home location of Anselm S. Jackson, Oglethorpe County, GA
In 1909, the former editor [2] of the Oglethorpe Echo newspaper wrote an article where he reminisced about the area and one of his memories was that the "Poor House" of the county was owned by a G.K. Smith and then later by an Absalom Jackson. The 1894 map shows a G.K, Smith situated between the present day intersection of Highway 78 and Crawfordville Road (Hwy 22). Whether this "Absalom" was our Anselm S. Jackson or his son Anthony Anselm Jackson is not known. That is clearly not District 236 or 226 where the tax digests indicate the men lived.
Oglethorpe County Poor House
(1894 map by Thos. B. Moss)
One of the interesting records found for Anselm was a newspaper clipping in 1838 where he was acting as the administrator of the estate of Gerrard Banks. The author found very little information about Gerrard Banks; However, he did own land near Philip Combs (the Rev. War soldier and likely grandfather of Anselm's wife Daisy) on Rocky Creek.[3] This land is close to Big Cedar Creek and Zion Road where Daisy Combs Jackson's (probable) brother Philip F. Combs was also known to live. On the 1834 tax digest, Anselm and Philip are shown living close together in this area. Benedict Hammock is also close-by - another Jackson related family. Another landowner living nearby was an Absalom Jackson but the author does not think that this Absalom Jackson is the same man as our Anselm Jackson, although the two men might be related in some way. The author has not had the time to thoroughly research this connection.
Southern Spy, October 9, 1838
Gerrard Banks' land near Philip Combs, Benedict Hammock and Absalom Jackson
Old Lexington Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
The cemetery is the final resting place of Anselm S. Jackson and Daisy/Dory/Dovie Combs
(Athens Banner-Herald)
(Oglethorpe Echo, transcribed by Fred McRee)
NEXT:
DESCENDANTS OF ANSELM JACKSON and DAISY/DORY/DOVIE COMBS
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[1] Anselm is counted twice on the 1870 Oglethorpe census: Listed as Anselm Jackson for one; Anderson Jackson for the other.
[2] J.S. Baughn who is likely the brother of the Ann Baughn who married Anselm's brother Johnson W. Jackson.
[3] In 1793, Gerrard Banks also owned land on the Savannah River near the confluence of Little River - near what was called Paces Ferry.
This page was created on 2/23/2025