As noted in the author's research on Daniel Jackson (SEE HERE), John Jackson was the son of the Rev. War soldier Daniel Jackson who served with Elijah Clarke as a Georgia Refugee soldier during the American Revolution. Daniel was one of the earliest settlers of Wilkes County, Georgia.
Due to his death at a young age, John did not leave much of a large paper trail; However, we have records for two marriages of John and a few documents which note his widow. One of his sons (John B.) married into the prominent Colquitt family.
John likely married Polly Hammock on August 12, 1800. [1] Polly was probably the daughter of Thomas Hammock and she likely died shortly after they were married and thus likely their marriage bore no children. John then married Jane Wise, daughter of the Revolutionary War soldier Sherwood Wise and his wife Sarah Patton.
There are a few documents which clearly indicate that wife and widow was Jane and that she was the daughter of Sherwood Wise. Also, see the author's research on the WISE FAMILY and PATTON FAMILY.
- In 1818, there was a partition of land belonging to Sherwood Wise, dec'd. The land was partitioned to his widow Sarah, another part was given to John Wise, Patterson Wise, Ruth Wise, Irwin Wise (dec'd), Zachariah Wise, Josiah Wise, John Jackson in right of his wife Jane, formerly Jane Wise and Joshua Jackson, in right of his wife Eleanor, formerly Eleanor Wise. [2] See the author's research on the WISE family HERE.
- In the 1818 Will of Sherwood Wise, John Jackson is listed as a beneficiary for his wife Jane and Joshua Jackson is listed as a beneficiary for his wife Eleanor. Daniel Jackson is one of the administrators of Sherwood's estate (This Daniel is Daniel Jackson, Jr., the son of Daniel Jackson, RS and brother of John Jackson).
- In the 1819 Georgia Land Lottery, Jane Jackson is listed as a widow and "next friend" (guardian) to orphans of John Jackson dec'd. This is Captain Brook's District and Brook's district included the names of several Callaway and Wise families. One of the Wise families was that of Sarah Wise, widow of Sherwood and the parents of Jane Wise the 2nd wife of John Jackson. This geographic area is just north of Rayle.
- In 1827 we have a document stating that Ruth Wise has brothers named John & Josiah Wise and a sister named Jane Jackson. This same document notes that 20 acres were allotted to her by her father as part of his estate. Early Jackson is named as a witness.
- About 1829, Joshua Jackson died. In his estate administration file John Wise is one of the men who provided bond. Joshua's widow Eleanor is noted to have died in 1830. Several plats of land that were part of Daniel Jackson's original grant are noted: 52 acres of land that Joshua inherited; Another 52 acres allotted to John Jackson; 60 acres allotted to William Jackson and 1/2 acre where the "ginhouse and barn are located" . Adjoiners are Sarah and Jane Jackson.
- In the estate documents for John Jackson (GA Archives), Zachariah Wise is shown to be the executor of his estate.
These documents prove that brothers John and Joshua Jackson married sisters (Jane and Eleanor), daughters of Sherwood Wise and Sarah (Patton). These records also give us a timeframe for the death of John Jackson: After April 20, 1818 but before the land lottery award to Jane was published.
John appears to have died intestate with Zachariah Wise, his brother-in-law, as executor. Based on the ages of his children, John likely died a very young man in his twenties or early thirties. The Georgia Archives has a file for the estate administration of John and while there is no exact date of death listed in the file, it appears that he died in late 1818 which is consistent with the documents shown above. Most of his children were likely minors. The author's ancestor, Anselm, was probably the oldest born about 1810 so he would have been only 7-8 years old at the time of his father's death. The file contains many documents including one by Jane, his widow, who signed a promissory note which was later paid from the proceeds of the estate. John's brother Joshua is listed as an appraiser. From what the author found, all the surviving children of John were by his 2nd wife Jane Wise and they were likely all minors when he died thus no mention of any names of his children. There was not any document noting an appraisement for land and/or slaves but his personal property was valued at a very modest $797 (about $20,000 today).
Here are a few select records from the estate file held by the GA Archives:
Record of Jane Jackson borrowing money in 1819 and the loan was paid from her deceased husband's estate in 1821.
Zachariah Wise (her brother) is noted as administrator of John Jackson's estate (her husband).
Record of John Jackson borrowing money from a Mr. Gilbert in 1817 and the money was paid from John Jackson's estate in 1821. Zachariah Wise is shown as administrator.
His wife Jane died about 1838 and we also have some of the estate documents [3] for her which name her children but due to the handwriting style, it is hard to decipher the complete spelling of some of these names. The document below lists the beneficiaries which presumably are her children, each receiving $135.29 except for Anselm who received a bit less.
Estate of Jane Wise Jackson
(GA Archives)
There are two receipts of money received from the estate's executor (Anselm) to the beneficiaries Mercer and Johnson.
Receipts of payments to Mercer and Johnson Jackson from Anselm S. Jackson administrator of their mother's (Jane Wise Jackson) estate.
So, from what the author can discern, there were 7 living heirs of Jane Wise Jackson at the time of her death:
- J.H. Jackson
- Sarah Jackson
- M.D. Jackson
- John B. Jackson
- Mercer Jackson
- Johnson W. Jackson
- Anselm S. Jackson (Executor)
[1] Early Records of Georgia, Vol. I & II, Grace Gillam Davidson
[2] Ibid
[3] Georgia Archives
This page was created on 2/23/2025