Manuscript Group 47, John P. Jackson (1805-1861), Lawyer and Legislator, Vice-President of the New JerseyRailroad & Transportation Co. Papers, 1821-1887 (Bulk dates: 1830-1860)

 

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Manuscript Group 47, John P. Jackson (1805-1861), Lawyer and Legislator, Vice-President of the New Jersey
Railroad & Transportation Co. Papers, 1821-1887 (Bulk dates: 1830-1860), 0.25 linear feet / 1 small box

 

Call Number: MG 47

 

 

Summary

 

• Biographical
  Note

 

• Provenance
  Note

 

• Scope
  and Content Note

 

• Related
  Collections

 

• Folder
  List

 

• Jackson
  Family Tree

---

Summary:

 

Mostly letters addressed to
John P. Jackson, a Newark attorney, Whig politician, as well as Vice-President
and General Superintendent of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation
Company.  Jackson was also an officer of the Essex County Bible Society,
the Newark City Tract Society, the New Jersey Colonization Society, and The New
Jersey Historical Society.  Included are letters of:

 

 

Samuel J. Bayard	Edward Everett	Samuel L. Southard
John J. Crittenden	Theodore Frelinghuysen	Richard Wayne Stites
John S. Darcy	Charles Gayarre	Peter D. Vroom (1791-1873)
William L. Dayton	Joseph C. Hornblower	Asa Whitehead
Philemon Dickerson	John Maclean	William A. Whitehead
	Robert Schuyler

Gift in part of Mrs. Neilson Abeel, 1918,
and William S. Baker, 1920.

Biographical
Note:

 

John P. Jackson, the son of Hester Van der
Linde Brinckerhoff (1782-1883) and Peter Jackson (1777-1859), was born on June
8, 1805 in Acquanonck, New Jersey.  He graduated from the College of New
Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1823 and then studied law at the Litchfield
Law School in Connecticut.  He was admitted to the bar in 1827 and went
into practice with Ashbel W. Corey and later his brother-in-law, Amzi Armstrong,
in Newark, New Jersey.

 

Jackson entered politics in 1831 when he
was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, then reelected the following
year, and made Speaker of the House Assembly.  In 1839, he was elected the
Clerk of Essex County and remained in that position for ten years.  He
retired from the legal profession when he assumed the Essex County clerkship.

 

During this same time period he became
active in the newly formed New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company.
He was elected the company’s secretary in 1832, a director in 1836, and the
vice president and general superintendent in 1849.  The company grew and
strengthened under Jackson’s leadership, and came to include such lines as the
one running between Newark and New York City.  Jackson remained with the
company until his death in 1861.

 

Jackson was also active in charitable and
religious organizations.  He was a member of the Essex County Bible
Society, the New Jersey Colonization Society, The New Jersey Historical Society,
the First Presbyterian Church of Newark, and a founding member of the South Park
Presbyterian Church of Newark.  He was also a trustee of the New Jersey
State Normal School and was appointed by President Millard Fillmore to the Board
of Visitors at West Point Military Academy.

 

In 1827, John P. Jackson married Elizabeth
Huntington Wolcott, the daughter of Betzy Huntington and the Honorable Frederick
Wolcott.  The couple had eleven children together.  John P. Jackson
died in Newark, New Jersey on December 10, 1861.

 

See Jackson
Family Tree.

 

Sources:

 

Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and
Memorial History of the State of New Jersey (Lewis Historical Publishing
Co.: New York, 1910), Vol. IV, pgs. 1386-1387.

 

Shaw, William H. History of Essex and
Hudson Counties, New Jersey (Everts & Peck: Philadelphia, 1884), pgs.
261-262.

Provenance
Note:

 

Eleven documents, marked with the
accession numbers M1245-M1256, were donated by Mrs. Neilson Abeel in 1918.
Two letters, marked with the accession numbers M1369 and M1370, were donated by
William S. Baker in 1920.  The source of the remainder of the items in this
collection are unknown.

Scope
and Content Note:

 

The papers consist largely of letters
received by John P. Jackson, and date from 1821-1887, with bulk dates of
1830-1860.

 

The correspondence mostly pertains to John
P. Jackson’s business matters and contains complaints concerning the various
railroads Jackson oversaw; requests for free tickets or passes; information
regarding the railroad company’s stock; discussion of New Jersey and Unites
States politics; invitations to dinners, meetings, lectures, and visits; and
inquiries into money owed.  Correspondents include Samuel Bayard, John J.
Chetwood, John Davis, William L. Dayton, Edward Everett, Richard Stockton Field,
Theodore Frelinghuysen, Charles Gayarré, Chauncey A. Goodrich, Dudley S.
Gregory, Joseph C. Hornblower, Peter Jackson, Jacob W. Miller, J. Phillips
Phoenix, Robert Schuyler, George Sheldon, Samuel L. Southard, Richard Stockton,
Robert Field Stockton, John R. Thomson, Peter D. Vroom, Asa Whitehead, and
William A. Whitehead.  There are a few letters from family members,
including one from John P. Jackson’s brother, James Jackson, describing the
state of the slaves at Mount Vernon.

 

There are also a number of letters
discussing the various organizations and societies that Jackson was involved
in.  These include the New Jersey Colonization Society, the Essex County
Bible Society, Princeton University, South Park Church, and an unspecified
temperance society.  Additionally, there are a small number of
newsletters/updates for the New Jersey Colonization Society and the South Park
Presbyterian Church of Newark.

 

The papers also contain editorials; a
small number of receipts and bills; court documents; one Newark land deed; and a
smaller amount of correspondence to other people, including John Darcy Stevens,
the President of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company.

Related
Collections:

 

Manuscript Group 20,
Peter D. Vroom (1791-1873) Papers: Contains letters of John P. Jackson.

 

Manuscript
Group 26, Joseph P. Bradley (1813-1892) Papers: Contains letters of John P.
Jackson.

 

Manuscript Group 139, East Newark Land
Company Records: John P. Jackson was a founder of this company.

Folder List:

 

 

Folder	Title	Dates
Correspondence – John P. Jackson, Letters Received
1	Correspondence to John P. Jackson from: A-D
	– Robert Adrain	1851
	– Abner Aikman, with a note from Frederick Wolcott	1827
	– William Cowper Alexander	1859
	– Robert Anderson	1861
	– Samuel Bayard	1839
	– Charles Beecher	1852
	– George Washington Cassedy	1846
	– John Joseph Chetwood (3 letters)	1852, 1859
	– A.N. Corry	n.d.
	– Edward Tanjore Corwin	1859
	– E.R. Crain	1851
	– John Jordan Crittenden	1844
	– Jos. Cross, with note from Charles H. Whitecar	1845
	– John Davis	1842
	– Matthew W. Day	1831
	– William Lewis Dayton (3 letters)	1838, 1852, 1859
	– A. Dell (?)	1851
	– Democratic Whigs of the City	1849
	– Alfred L. Dennis	1855
	– John Thomas Duffield	1858
2	Correspondence to John P. Jackson from: E-H
	– John Edgar	1859
	– Edward Everett	1859
	– Richard Stockton Field (3 letters)	1856, 1858, 1859
	– J. Franklin	1858
	– Theodore Frelinghuysen (2 letters)	1840, 1853
	– Theodore Frothingham	1853
	– Charles Gayarré	1858
	– Archer Gifford	1853
	– Chauncey Allen Goodrich (2 letters)	1856
	– Henry Woodhull Green	1844
	– Dudley Sanford Gregory (3 letters)	1840, 1848, 1851
	– John C. Groome	1839
	– Ralph Randolph Gurley	1852
	– (J.D.?) Hager	1840
	– Willis Hall, with note from John George McKean	1837
	– M.W. Halsey	1838
	– Robert (N.?) Halsted	1827
	– Edwin Francis Hatfield	1852
	– Alexander Henry	1852
	– (L.D.?) Henry	1859
	– Ogden Hoffman	1838
	– M.B. Hope	1852
	– Joseph C. Hornblower (3 letters)	1840, 1851, 1861
	– Lewis L. Houpt	1861
	– E. Huntington	1836
3	Correspondence to John P. Jackson from: J-P
	– James Jackson	1825
	– Peter Jackson (2 letters)	1829, 1832
	– ( ) Joline	1838
	– E.W. Leavenworth	1828
	– Robert M. Lusher (?)	1858
	– George (P. Macaullos?)	1840
	– John Maclean	1832
	– Silas Merchant	1835
	– A. Merwin	1856
	– Jacob Welsh Miller (2 letters)	1841, 1847
	– David (Nervius?)	1852
	– J. Phillips Phoenix (3 letters)	1851, n.d.
	– J.B. Pierney	1859
	– W. Pierson, Jr.	1838
4	Correspondence to John P. Jackson from: R-S
	– G.R. Richardson	1821
	– J.L. Robinson	1851
	– Edw. Rogers	1840
	– Z. Rossell	1835
	– William Schley	1840
	– Robert Schuyler (3 letters)	1853
	– George Sheldon (3 letters)	1838, 1860
	– H.R. Shotwell	1836
	– J.C. Smallwood	1860
	– Asa D. Smith	1853
	– Truman Smith	1852
	– George W. Smythe	1853
	– Samuel L. Southard (3 letters)	1833, 1838, 1839
	– Richard Wayne Stites	1840
	– Richard Stockton, with draft reply	1859
	– Robert Field Stockton	n.d.
5	Correspondence to John P. Jackson from: T-Z, unknown
	– John R. Thomson (2 letters)	1840, n.d.
	– Elihu Townsend	1836
	– Edw. Vanderpool	1853
	– Peter D. Vroom (3 letters)	1831, 1835, 1852
	– Francis Wayland	1851
	– Norman White	1851
	– Asa Whitehead	1838
	– William A. Whitehead	1860
	– H. Wilson	1860
	– N.A. Wilson	1824
	– George W. Wood	1859
	– William Wright	1846
	– Lincoln ( )	1859
	– W.P. ( )	1853
	– ( )	1854
Correspondence – To Others
6	– To David H. Baker from John P. Jackson (2 letters)	1849
	– To Caleb Baldwin from the Committee of the NJ Railroad and Transportation Company, printed letter	1834
	– To John Stevens Darcy from William A. Gulick	n.d.
	– To John Stevens Darcy from Edwin Augustus Stevens	n.d.
	– To James Henderson from ( ) Hollenbach	1829
	– To Elizabeth Wolcott Jackson from ( )	1870
	– To Frederick Wolcott Jackson from ( )	1865
	– To John P. Jackson from Anthony Deys Camp	1887
	– To Mary and Julia Jackson from Elizabeth Wolcott Jackson and John P. Jackson	1848
	– To Schuyler B. Jackson from Robert ( )	1884
	– To Jas. L. Morris from Philemon Dickerson	n.d.
	– To H.J. Southwayd from Thomas T. Kinney	1860
	– To John Tircher (?) from Robert Schuyler	1847
	– To C.W. Toller from R.R. Gurley	1859
Society/Organization Newsletters
7	– New Jersey Colonization Society (3 letters)	1838, 1840, 1844
	– South Park Presbyterian Church of Newark	1852
Editorials/Speeches
8	– “Speech of the Hon. Daniel Webster, in the Senate of the United States on the President’s Veto of the Bank Bill” (printed pamphlet)	1832
	– “For the State Gazette”	1851
	– “To All Good Teamsters, Cattle Drivers, and Charcoal Drivers, Tandem Riders and Horse Jockies!!”	n.d.
Court Documents and a Land Deed
9	– William Roberts, Jr. v. Moses Hey	1827
	– Elijah C. Pierson v. Joseph Fenkes	1838
	– Deed: William Pierson, Sheriff to John P. Jackson	1852
Financial Documents
10	Bills, Receipts, Promissory Notes, and Stock Transfer	1833-1858
Miscellaneous
11	– Certificate to be a counselor-at-law, John P. Jackson, signed by Peter D. Vroom	1830
	– Invitation to the commencement of Burlington College	1852
	– Blank stationary from the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company	1861

Jackson
Family Tree:

 

Peter
Jackson (1777-1859) = Hester Van der Linde Brinckerhoff (1782-1883)
|

 

James
Jackson (1803-1882) = Mary Stagg

 

*John
P. Jackson (1805-1861) = Elizabeth
Huntington Wolcott*

 

Maria
Jackson = Henry Van Winkle

 

Eliza
Jackson = Amzi Armstrong

 

Julia
Ann Jackson = Algernon S. Hubbell

 

Jane
Jackson = Samuel W. Fisher

 

William
Jackson (1817-1902) = 1) Helen Wilbur, 2)
Elizabeth McNulty

 

 

 

*John
P. Jackson (1805-1861) = Elizabeth
Huntington Wolcott*
|

 

Laura
Wolcott Jackson (d.1900) = 1) Matthew Trotter, 2) Charles Henry

 

Mary
Elizabeth Jackson = T. Charlton Henry

 

Julia
Huntington Jackson (d.1905)

 

Frederick
Wolcott Jackson (1833-1904) = Nannie J. Nye

 

Joseph
Cooke Jackson (b.1835) = Katherine Perkins Day

 

John
Peter Jackson, Jr. (1837-1880) = Clara Gregory

 

Hannah
Wolcott Jackson (d.1904)

 

Huntington
Wolcott Jackson (1841-1901)

 

Charles
Henry Jackson (d.infancy)

 

Henry
Griswold Jackson (d.infancy)

 

Schuyler
Brinckerhoff Jackson (b.1849) = Angela Forbes

 

 

Processed by Kim Charlton, March 2000 as part of the “Farm to City”
project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.

 

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