TRACES OF LAUREL: David and Jensie Jackson 

With all the recent uproar about rice and pancake food products, I want to discuss the phrase "Uncle Dave" which I will mention in this column. I do not believe the words were used as racial slurs in the newspaper. I have seen countless references of "Uncle" and "Aunt" used for both whites and blacks in the old newspaper articles. When I was a child both of my parents would call people to whom they were not related "Aunt" or "Uncle" causing me to believe we were blood kin to many people. As I got older I tried to figure out the relationships so I asked Daddy, "How are we related to that person?" He then explained he called older non-relatives that to show respect. I have since realized that was a common practice in southeastern Kentucky and perhaps most of the south.

I also want to share information I found about Georgia Jackson Maddox. In the column I wrote on February 10, I said she did not have any children. I found her obituary in The Indianapolis Star which said she had a daughter named Roberta Fitts who was an evangelist. The article also said, "Mrs. Maddox was pastor of Babe of Bethlehem Pentecostal Church 26 years and taught Sunday school 30 years. She was a former member of Allen Chapel A. M. E. Church." Her husband was an elder of the church.

I found David and Jensie on the 1870 census in Laurel County. David's age was 65 placing his year of birth as 1805. Jensie was 50 which means she was probably born around 1820. David Jackson Jr., age 29, and Henry Jackson, age 25, were living in the house with them. That census did not report family relationships. Jensie was born in Virginia and Dave was born in Kentucky. I found a death notice for David in the newspaper saying he died in April of 1880. Here is the excerpt from the April 16, 1880, issue of The Mountain Echo. "Old Uncle David Jackson, of color, of this county, died at his residence about three miles from this place last Monday morning and was buried Tuesday in the graveyard near this place. Uncle Dave was getting very old, had been in very bad health for several months and his death was no surprise to the people of this vicinity." Since Jensie was not found in the 1880 census report I assume she also died between 1870 and 1880.

I don't know how many children Dave and Jensie had. Death records support at least one of them being the parents of both Green and Henry. Green Jackson was born June 13, 1836. He died April 16, 1912. This information was provided by his brother Henry Jackson on Green's death certificate. Henry said Green's father was David Jackson who was born in Laurel County, but the mother's name was not provided.

Henry Jackson was born April 5, 1838. He died December 5, 1912, in Laurel County. The informant was Wina Jackson. This person said Henry's father was David Jackson who was born in London. Henry's mother was Gensie whose place of birth was not known. Henry's burial location was London.

Since David Jackson Jr., who was born in 1841, was in their household in 1870, he was probably a child. I was unable to find David after 1870. I will mention some other possible children near the end of this article.

When I began writing this series on Emanuel Jackson I thought he was descended from one of the slaves of John and Mary Hancock Jackson who were living in Laurel County when the county was formed. I was uncertain if I could prove it. I am confident I have proven that some of Emanuel's ancestors were here in 1825 when the county was formed but I do not have a paper trail connecting him to the Jackson slaves. The paper trail says Dave Jackson, who was born in 1805, was the great grandfather of Emanuel. The death certificates of Green and Henry, David's two known sons, say Dave was born in London or Laurel County. I think he was living here in 1825 but I don't believe he was actually born here if he was a slave of John Jackson. I believe John and Mary moved to the area that is today Laurel County in 1808 or 1809 since John and his son Jarvis are first found on Knox County tax records in 1809. John owned 500 acres in Knox County on the W. Laurel water course. He also owned four Black slaves over age 16, two Black slaves under age 16 and eight horses/mares. I think Dave was one of the two young Black slaves in the household.

I was never able to find the Jacksons owning a slave named Dave born around 1805. Jarvis Jackson had a slave named Dave who was born between 1834 and 1845. This was probably the man referred to as David Jr. on the 1870 census report. Jarvis inherited two slaves named Green and Jincey from his father when John died in 1833. I suspect Green and Dave were the same person but I have no proof. On October 8, 1845, Jarvis Jackson sold all his land and slaves to the Directors and Company of the Northern Bank of Kentucky for $1. Reading the document was difficult but it seemed to be collateral for a loan or note for one thousand dollars which was to be paid by January 10, 1846. The names of the ones with more exact ages were: Green, about 40 years of age; Jincey about 35; Sally about 20; Jemima about 14; and Emily about 12. The children under age 12 were Dave, Green, Mahala, Henry, Richard, Elizabeth, Ruthy and Edny. My guess is that the children were listed from oldest to youngest and were probably all the children of Green and Jincey.

I have answered the questions I wanted to answer with this column on Emanuel's Great Grandfather Dave Jackson so I have come to the end of my search for Emanuel Jackson's ancestors. However, if family members are interested there is a possibility that they could find the names for Emanuel's great-great grandparents. I believe Dave's parents were two of those Black individuals over age 16 mentioned in the 1809 tax records. I also know the names of other slaves belonging to the John Jackson who may have been those four Black people over age 16. Knowing where John and Mary Hancock Jackson lived between 1800 and 1809 might lead us to other clues. If anyone has copies of John's military records I would like to have copies.

If you can provide additional information or corrections, please contact me by calling me at 606-864-0607 through e-mail at laurelcountykyhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com. Due to COVID-19 and the age and health of the volunteers our library is open by appointment only. Patrons will need to adhere to CDC guidelines by social distancing and wearing masks correctly. To schedule an appointment you may call and leave a message or contact us through e-mail. We plan to periodically check messages and hopefully respond to them in a timely manner.