B. Kilbourn JACKSON, of section 20,
Andrew JACKSON, the father of our subject,
was born in
In the spring of 1835, Andrew JACKSON with
his family moved to
On coming to this
Two years after his settlement here the panic of 1837 set in and until after the campaign of 1840 times were indeed hard. Postage on letters was twenty-five cents each, and one was lucky to obtain the coveted “quarter” with which to pay it, and often letters remained in possession of the postmaster for months until even that small amount of money could be obtained. Frequently Mr. JACKSON went into the timber and split rails for his more fortunate neighbors for fifty cents per hundred, taking his pay in whatever article that could be agreed upon.
In the early days Andrew JACKSON was quite active in local affairs, and assisted in the organization of the township, and served for a time as township supervisor. He was once elected justice of the peace, but declined to serve. In politics he was a whig until the dissolution of that party, after which he was a thorough and consistent republican, being conscientiously opposed to slavery.
To Andrew Jackson and wife where born five children: Mary Ann, who died at the age of two years; Elizabeth M., now deceased; Margaret, now the wife of James MONAGHAN; Catherine, deceased, and B. Kilbourn, of this sketch. The parents were members of the Christian church, in which body the father took an active part. He was a man well versed in the scriptures and the various religious problems of the day. Both died on the old homestead, the father July 28, 1888, and the mother March 17, 1881.
B. Kilbourn JACKSON, of whom we now write,
grew to manhood on the farm where he now lives, and received his
education in the subscription schools of pioneer times, before
the organization of the present school system. He remained at
home assisting his father in the farm work until long after
having attained his majority. The war for the union having
commenced his patriotic blood was stirred, and in August, 1862,
he enlisted in Company D, Seventy-seventh Illinois Volunteer
Infantry under Captain Robert Brock, which was raised in Lacon
and vicinity. The regiment was organized at
After organization the regiment was sent to
From
Returning home a badly wrecked man
physically, he spent some little time recuperating, after which
he again engaged in his old occupation of farming, which has
been his life work. For some years after his return from the
army he remained a bachelor, but on January 3, 1878, he was
united in marriage with Miss Clara May BENSON, who was born in
After his marriage Mr. JACKSON located upon a farm, where he remained until the death of his wife, when he moved to his present place then the home of his father and a sister. The farm comprises one hundred and ninety acres of highly productive land, and is under average improvement. While giving almost his entire time to his farm duties, Mr. JACKSON has served his district as school director for some years, taking a very active interest in educational matters. Politically, he is a republican, and fraternally a member of Lacon post, No. 134, G. A. R. His record as a soldier is a commendable one, and as a citizen no man enjoys the respect of friends and acquaintances to a greater degree.
Extracted March 2011 by Norma Hass from The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois, 1896.
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