Source: West Virginia And Its People Vol. III by Thomas Condit Miller and Hu Maxwell. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1913. Pp. 1212-1214
"Jackson. William Wirt Jackson, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was born at St. Mary's Virginia, July 18, 1860. He is a son of the Hon. Jacob Beeson Jackson, who was governor of West Virginia during the term of 1880-84, and of Marie Antoinette, his wife. Mr. Jackson has upheld by a life of activity in public affairs the standard set by generations of ancestors-men who have honorably discharged the duties of high position in the service of the community and of the country at large.
The first American progenitor of this Jackson family was John Jackson, who came to Maryland in 1748. John Jackson was born near Londonderry, Ireland, in the same parish from which came also the ancestors of Andrew Jackson. In early life he removed to London and lived there till he came to this country. In Calvert county, Maryland, he married Elizabeth Cummins. After his marriage he made his home first at Moorefield, now the county seat of Hardy county, West Virginia. He next moved to Jackson's Fort (now Buckhannon), in Upshur county, West Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his active life. Towards the close of his life he made his home with his eldest son, Colonel George Jackson, at Clarksburg, West Virginia, where he died at the age of eighty-six years. His wife Elizabeth survived him, dying at the age of one hundred and five years. Their children were: George and Edward.
Colonel George Jackson, of Clarksburg, son of John Jackson, was one of the most prominent men in northwestern Virginia. He served with his father and brother during the revolution, and was the colonel of a regiment in the Continental army, winning distinction in Washington's campaigns. He was one of the first delegates from Harrison county to the general assembly of Virginia. He was also a member of that state convention in which Virginia accepted the Federal constitution and was the first representative from his district to the first congress of the United States. The sons of Colonel George Jackson were John G. and William L. Edward, the second son of John Jackson, the immigrant, was the grandfather of Lieutenant-General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson.
The eldest son of Colonel George Jackson was Judge John G. Jackson, a distinguished lawyer of Clarksburg, who succeeded his father in congress. Judge John G. Jackson married (first) a Miss Payne, a sister of the wife of President Madison, and (second) the only daughter of the Hon. R.J. Meigs, governor of Ohio, senator, and postmaster general of the United States. It is an interesting fact that Governor Jacob Beeson Jackson's paternal grandfather, Judge John G. Jackson, was the first United states district judge for the western District of Virginia, and his maternal grandfather, Colonel Jacob Beeson, was the first United States district attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Another son of Colonel George Jackson was William L. (1) Jackson, who was the father of General William L. (2) Jackson, who was lieutenant governor of Virginia, a judge of the superior court of Virginia, a distinguished officer during the civil war, and an eminent jurist for many years thereafter.
The father of Governor Jacob Beeson Jackson was General John Jay Jackson, the son of Judge John G. Jackson. General John Jay Jackson was a graduate of West Point, and served on the staff of General Andrew Jackson during the Seminole war, and won distinction during his term of service. After retiring from the army he practiced law at Parkersburg, West Virginia, was state's attorney for many years, and several times served as a member of the assembly. He was a member of the Virginia convention of 1860-61, and bitterly opposed the ordinance of sucession. General John Jay Jackson was twice married, the first time to Emma G. Beeson, and of this marriage three sons have distinguished themselves in the service of the state: Judge John Jay Jackson Jr., was United States judge of the District of West Virginia. Judge J.M. Jackson was for a quarter of a century one of the ablest judges that presided over the courts of West Virginia. Jacob Beeson Jackson was one of the most distinguished governors of West Virginia.
Jacob Beeson Jackson, whose ancestry has been thus briefly given was born at Parkersburg, West Virginia, April 6, 1829, and died there December 11, 1893. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, and entering upon practice in St. Mary's he was for nine years prosecuting attorney for Pleasants county. In 1855 he married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Benjamin Willard. He removed in 1864 to Parkersburg, West Virginia and in 1870 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Wood county. In 1875 he was a member of the legislature from Wood county, and chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1879 he was elected mayor of Parkersburg. He was always deeply interested in the development of his native city, and in all that concerned her business interests. He was for many years vice-president of the Second National bank, and later president of the Citizens' National Bank of Parkersburg.
In 1880 he was elected governor of West Virginia on the Democratic ticket. The public trust thus committed to him by the people was discharged to the eminent satisfaction of his friends and with distinction to himself. At the close of his term as governor he returned to the practice of the law. His reputation was that of one of the ablest and most reliable counselors in the two Virginias. As a student he was deeply versed both in the law and in general literature. The University of West Virginia conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. At the bar, in the legislature, and before popular assemblies, he was by general consent ranked as one of the most forceful and eloquent of the public speakers of the state. A man of the strongest political convictions, as a statesman he was just, able, far-sighted, and of the most spotless integrity.
William Wirt Jackson, son of Governor Jacob Beeson Jackson, has resided in Parkersburg most of his life, and has identified himself with the city's development along many lines of activity. He was educated near Washington, District of Columbia, and afterward taught for two years. During his father's term of office as governor he acted as his private secretary, gaining that insight into large affairs that has been of invaluable service to him in later life. An unusual range of interests has characterized his business career, of which the following is an enumeration:
His record as a lawyer is of a practice for twenty years in Parkersburg without having lost a case or suit in which he was sole counsel on his side. As a newspaper man he has been actively identified as part owner of and a writer for a number of West Virginia papers. In the real estate field he has taken a keen interest, having for a quarter of a century operated extensively for the purpose of beautifying Parkersburg. Three great improvements in the heart of the city-the Jackson Heights property, the Park Place Building and the Willard Mercantile Buildings-are properties of his. In the mercantile line he has been also active, having been an officer or director in three of the leading wholesale and in six of the leading retail mercantile corporations of Parkersburg. As a manufacturer he has been an officer or director in corporations engaged in the manufacture of lumber, chemicals and mantels, and in companies carrying on the printing and binding business. In the world of finance he has been president of the Citizens' Trust & Guaranty Company, vice-president of the Citizens' National Bank, and vice-president of the Union Trust Deposit Company. In the farming industry he has controlled a number of farms, and now is an officer and director in a commercial orchard company engaged in promoting the growth of fruit on a large scale in West Virginia. He has taken an active interest in the commercial and manufacturing growth of the city of Parkersburg. For a quarter of a century he has been an officer and director of the State Board of Trade. He is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, and has been at various times vestryman, treasurer, trustee and warden of the parish. He has always taken a deep interest in the social life of Parkersburg. He was president of the Blennerhasset Club when it contracted for its attractive home, was president of the Elks Building Company when it erected the handsomest club house in the state, and was one of the committee of three that built the very popular Parkersburg Country Club.
Mr. Jackson married Bessie Curry, of Parkersburg, and they have one son, William Willard Jackson."
Submitted by Nancy Ann Jackson