Guide to the John P. Jackson (1805-1861) Papers 1821-1887 (Bulk 1830-1860) MG 47

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Restrictions

Access Points

Related Material

Administrative Information

Bibliography

Container List

Documents

Papers1821-1887(Bulk 1830-1860)MG 47Inventory prepared by Kim Charlton as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

MG 47

© 2005 All rights reserved.

The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher

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

Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis.
August 2005. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written
in English.

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.

click here for Jackson Family Tree

Return to the Table of Contents

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.

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.

Use Restrictions

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

This is a selective list of related collections at the New Jersey Historical Society.

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.

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Custodial History

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.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 47, John P. Jackson

Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society.
Return to the Table of Contents

Bibliography

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.

Return to the Table of Contents

Container List

Return to the Top of Page