Jackson-Herman-Willig Family History
Our Family's Journey Through Time: 1677-1945
Jury Jackson: born on December 6, 1858 in Highland County, Ohio, a son of Thomas and Ellen/Eleanor (Wright) Jackson. He died on June 13, 1945 and was buried in Wolf Prairie Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Sarah Anna "Annie" Powell: born on March 2, 1862 in Pinkstaff, Jefferson County, Illinois, a daughter of Finley and Mary (Cox) Powell. She passed away on July 21, 1947 and was also buried in Wolf Prairie Cemetery near Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Marriage of Jury and Sarah Anna: October 31, 1885 in Crawford County, Illinois.
Children of Jury and Sarah Anna (8): Euris (born in 1886), Ersil (in 1889), Lloyd (1891), Ervin (1894), Mary Ellen (1896), Everette (1898), Raymond (1901), and Florence (1908).
Jury Jackson was born on Dec. 6, 1858 in Highland County near New Vienna, Ohio. He was the second child born to Thomas and Ellen (Wright) Jackson. His parents, grandparents and earlier ancestors had been active Orthodox Quakers going back generations, but his father's family had left the Orthodox Quakers to join the Hicksite Quaker movement. Jury Jackson's mother, Ellen (Wright) Jackson, died when he was about 9 years old and his Father, Thomas, married the sister of his first wife, Rebecca (Wright) Jackson about 5 years later. Subsequently, the family moved to Crawford County in southeastern Illinois in about 1872, and their affiliation with the Quaker movement seems to have ceased, so Jury was not raised in the Quaker tradition.
Sarah Anna "Annie" Powell was born on March 2, 1863, near Pinkstaff, Crawford County, Illinois, a daughter of Finley and Mary (Cox) Powell. The Finley Powell family and the Thomas Jackson family lived in rural Crawford County and their families grew up there. According to Florence Jackson (daughter of Jury), Finley Powell was from Kentucky and had left home at age 16 and had "run away" to Illinois where he met Mary Cox, from an Amish family in Crawford County. Finley was not Amish, so when Mary Cox married him, she was shunned by her family and the Amish community. The date of their marriage and other information about the Finley Cox family is unknown except for Annie Powell's half-brother, Isaiah Powell, who is seen in some Jackson family photos with Annie.
When he was 27, Jury Jackson married Annie (Powell) Jackson on October 31, 1885 in Crawford County. They were married in Robinson, then lived in Flat Rock, and later in Olney until October, 1908; between 1886 and 1908 they had 8 children - Euris, Ersil, Lloyd, Ervin, Mary Ellen, Everette, Raymond, and Florence - with the birth locations identified as Oblong (2), Hebron (2), Robinson (2), and Calhoun(2). All of the children were born at home; only Euris was delivered by a doctor - the others were delivered by midwives or experienced neighbors. According to Florence Jackson, the family moved a lot in the early years, in and around Crawford County. Then, in October, 1908 came the biggest move of all - to the vicinity of Enid, Oklahoma, where the family spent a year farming. But, according to Florence Jackson, "they abandoned it because of poor results" and returned to Illinois. The oldest son, Euris Jackson, was a newlywed in 1908 and he and his wife, Ethel (Ruby) Jackson, had accompanied the rest of the family to Oklahoma. Euris and Ethel became schoolteachers for a year in Hayward, OK and returned with the family to Illinois in 1909.
After returning to Illinois, Euris decided to pursue a teaching degree so he enrolled in the state university in Normal, Illinois in McLean County: Illinois State Normal University (ISNU/ISU). Shortly thereafter, Jury and Annie Jackson decided to move from southern Illinois to McLean County in order to provide support for Euris and Ethel. Their youngest three children - Everett, Raymond and Florence - moved and continued to live with them for a few years in McLean County. According to Florence Jackson, "Sarah Jackson boarded 20-25 students a day. This became too much for them so the Jackson's moved to Danvers, just west of Normal, for a year and a half. While there, Jury and his son Everett, contracted to help their neighbor Henry Herman shuck his corn, and stayed with him for the duration of the job. At this time, Mary Ellen Jackson came to visit her parents from Vincennes, Indiana where she had a housekeeping job. She went to Henry Herman's house to cook for him and his help." Henry was a recently widowed farmer and had a young son. By 1916, Euris Jackson had completed his B.A./B.S. degrees and embarked on his life-long teaching career, Mary Ellen Jackson married Henry Herman and remained living in McLean County, and Jury and Annie Jackson returned to their lives in southern Illinois.
When Jury and Annie Jackson moved from Danvers to Mt. Vernon, Illinois in 1916, their other children were getting married, starting their own families and most eventually moving away from southern Illinois. By that time, Euris and Ethel already had a young son and daughter, and then had another son in 1919; they eventually settled in Missouri. Ersil married Maude Marshall in Olney, Illinois, but the couple had no children. Lloyd, the third son, married Maude (Marshall's) half-sister, Lottie McClure and they had 5 children. Ersil's and Lloyds's families eventually settled near Newcastle, Indiana. Ervin Jackson married Octava Boozer and they had one daughter; they eventually moved to Texas where Ervin served as a Methodist minister. Mary Ellen Jackson married Henry Herman and had 6 children, while continuing to reside in McLean County. Everett married Bethene Harris and had one daughter; they lived in Illinois and Wisconsin. Raymond married Hattie Tucker and had 2 children; they resided in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Florence, the youngest child, married Allen J. Willig with whom she had 2 children, eventually residing in Normal, Illinois and then in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Jury and Annie Jackson continued to live in Mt. Vernon for the rest of their lives and were pillars in the Methodist Church. According to Florence (Jackson) Willig, "My parents were Christians and great in church work. At the cemetery where they are buried, they revived that church and drew a large community together. And it was active after my parents moved away. But after it burned down there was no one to take charge and the church was never rebuilt." Florence added, "My father and mother died of strokes: Father in June 1945 at age 86 and mother in 1948 at the age of 85." They were both buried in the Wolfe Prairie Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
Florence (Jackson) Willig, the youngest child of Jury and Annie (Powell) Jackson, wrote a story that her parents told her about their marriage: "They never did describe the wedding per se. They did say that they spent $14.00 for a stove and necessary things. Mother [Annie (Powell) Jackson] had linens and comforters and they did receive practical things like a pair of feather pillows, chickens, a pig, and a "kitchen shower" of groceries. My father [Jury Jackson] had been farming and 'batching it' and had bought a cow. So, all in all, they were what was called, 'well set up'. "
Find a Grave.com
Max Jackson: Jackson Family historical researcher (son of Euris Jackson)
Jury Jackson Family Bible: records page
LDS family records: Salt Lake City, UT.
Florence Jackson's personal correspondence with her niece, Dorin Veach, and Doris' daughter-in-law.