|
|
- H. Rev. Thomas JacksonEst 1740 - 1773
- W. Margaret (add)
Facts and Events
Rev. Thomas Jackson was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia
__________________________
Early Land Acquisition in Augusta County, VA
Acquisition of Land from Chalkley's:
- Page 304.--16th May, 1770. William Samples and Sarah ( ) to the Rev. Thomas Jackson, £75, 230 acres patented to William, 27th June, 1764, on drafts of Linvell's and Muddy Creek. Delivered: Thomas Jackson, 29th December, 1770.
Will Abstract
- Jackson, Thomas, dec.
- Administration granted his wife, Margaret.
- Sept. 7, 1773.
- [A Brief of Wills and Marriages of Montgomery and Fincastle Counties, Virginia, 1733-1831 by Anne Lowry Worrell, pg. 50].
Estate Records
- Vol. 1 - MARCH [sic, May?] 18, 1773 - (98) Appraisers appointed of estate of Rev. Thomas Jackson.
- Page 89.--18th May, 1773. Thomas Lewis and Daniel Smith's bond (with Gabriel Jones) as administrator of Thomas Jackson, Clerk.
- Page 164.--2d August, 1773. Rev. Thomas Jackson's estate appraised by James Bruster, David Laird, Archibald Huston.
Records in Augusta County, VA
From Chalkley’s Augusta County Records:
- Vol. 1 - DECEMBER, 1790. - Inquisition from Escheator of Rockingham. This indenture of an inquisition taken and made in pursuance of an Act, entitled an Act concerning Escheators at the Court House of Rockingham County, on Tuesday, the 26th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1796, of and concerning a certain piece, etc., of land commonly known and called by the name of the late Rev. Thomas Jackson, deceased, containing 230 acres, etc., in Rockingham County, on the waters of Linwell's Creek and Muddy Creek, which was first granted by patent, dated 27th June, 1764, to William Sample and by him conveyed to said Thomas Jackson by deeds, 15th May, 1770. Between Mathew Gambill, Escheator, and James Curry, William Herring, Benjamin Harrison, John Rice, Reuben Harrison, John Herdman, George Baxter, Richard Ragan, Samuel McWilliams, Jonathan Shipman, Benjamin Smith, James Burgess, George Sittes, Thomas Shanklin, John Lincoln. William Cravens, jurors, who, etc., do say that the aforesaid Thomas Jackson was, in his lifetime, and the time of his death, seized, etc., of the aforesaid tract, etc. That he died intestate and no person has claimed the land either as lineal or collateral heir and it is escheatable. Signed by all the jurors.
- Vol. 2 - APRIL, 1798 (A to K). - Dunlop vs. Commonwealth--Indenture of Inquisition by the Escheator of Rockingham, 26th July, 1796, concerning a tract commonly known and called by the name of the late Rev. Thos. Jackson; 230 acres on Linvell's Creek and Muddy Creek, first patent 27th June, 1764, to Wm. Sample and by him to Thomas Jackson, 15th May, 1770.
References
- Blair, Charles William. A History of Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church
pg. 31.
The October 1772 meeting of Hanover Presbytery was the last meeting of that body that Mr. Jackson attended. When Hanover Presbytery held its next meeting in June of 1773, it was announced that he had died on May 13, 1773. He had served the Mossy Creek congregation for five years and had devoted his time not only to the congregations in his charge but also to assignments by the Presbytery to supply congregations at various other points in the region. Some of these were considerable distance from his home area, and the effort of travel not only among his own assigned people but also to these distant points must have required much time and determination.
Little detailed information exists about the life of the Reverend Thomas Jackson, who served as the first pastor of Mossy Creek Church. He was received as a licensed candidate from Scotland by the Presbytery of New York in 1766, and this action was reported to the Synod of Philadelphia and New York on May 20, 1767. The Synod appointed him and several others to make a journey to Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia in response to numerous requests for ministers from those areas. He was instructed to stay in those areas for at least six months or longer if possible. On October 6, 1768, the minutes of Hanover Presbytery record that "Mr. Thomas Jackson, a licensed candidate, well recommended by the Rev. Synod of New York and the Presbytery of New York to the Presbytery of Donegal or Hanover, chose to put himself under the care of this Presbytery." He presented his trial sermon in April of 1769 and , had been noted, accepted a call to become the pastor of the congregations at Mossy Creek, Cooks Creek, Linville Creek and Peaked Mountain.
Mr. Jackson purchased a 230-acre tract of land from William and Sarah Samples on the watershed of Linville Creek and Muddy Creek in present day Rockingham County for the sum of 70 pounds. This would have been north of the present town of Dayton near the present site of Cooks Creek Church. When he died in 1773 no lineal or collateral heirs presented themselves, and the court declared his estate escheatable. Given the condition of his estate, he must have been unmarried and may have died suddenly since no will existed. His age is unknown but he may have been a young man who had dedicated his life to the ministry and had come to the colonies to serve his church. Another source states that he lived with John Davies, a member of the Mossy Creek Church, at his home where Mossy Creek flows into the North River. It is unknown if he lived there during his tenure at Mossy Creek or only until he purchased land. According to this source, Mr. Jackson is buried beneath the waters of Silver Lake where the original Cooks Creek Meeting House stood before it was relocated several miles to the north at its present location in 1780. The records of Hanover Presbytery, which give some account of this relationship with his congregations, suggest that he was a man of both principle and strong will. Such qualities would have been valuable traits in a young minister who served Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in the colonial Valley.
|
|
