Seeking Ensign JACKSON

 Seeking Ensign JACKSON - and the Siege of Derry

2003 was a momentous year when it came to me learning more – way more - about my Irish ancestors. Christine WRIGHT (1941-2022) had given me carte blanche to copy and use all the family history tucked away in dozens of rooms at Gilford Castle by “Aunt Mollie” née Mary MENARY (1872-1946). One of my first discoveries had been a letter from my grandmother about her visit -in the 1920s – to Gilford Castle. With photos of her and my father. It took me the next two decades to record and organize the thousands of family photographs and documents stored at the Castle. When Christine sold the property in 2022, I was a witness on the deed of sale. It felt fitting.

Thanks to each of our families having inherited duplicate silver bowls [Blog posts: The Quest for the Silver Bowl.and Gilford Castle & the Gift of Christine], Christine and I soon discovered that we were both distantly related through “Aunt Mollie”, one of the granddaughters of David JACKSON (1814-1889), and therefore one of my many JACKSON cousins. Mollie was also the grandmother of Michael WRIGHT (1928-1995), my 3^rd cousin, and Christine’s late husband. I later learned, much to my chagrin, that Michael and my father had once duked it out over a shared – albeit small - family inheritance from one of their cousins, a bachelor farmer who had died in Australia [George Austin Thompson BROWN (1902-1963)].

Although there are no more unseen Gilford archives for me to record, I continue to make new discoveries. A letter - 1960 November 1 -from Aiken McClelland to James Francis Wright – included a sentence which recently hooked my curiousity:  

Through the Jackson and White family you could also claim relationship with the Chichester-Clark and Clark of Upperlands families.

Two decades later, I had learned enough to suspect that the Jacksons of Tobermore would be the most likely JACKSONs to be closely related to the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera, although nothing had connected them – yet - to my JACKSONs of Liscalgat & Urker, Co. Armagh. who in turn were probably descendants of the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry.

In what follows, I have highlighted words such as possibly, probably, allegedly, likely, and supposedly  so that certain “facts” don’t get taken as certainties. With that in mind, here goes.

 

Tobermore and Maghera are only three miles apart.

In his 1823 publication, Rev. John GRAHAM (1744-1844) alleged a connection between CLARKs and JACKSONs by quoting the following line:

From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw. [Stanza XXVII]. From Londerias (1699).

and following it with:

Messrs. Alexander and William Clark, of Maghera, and Alexander Clark, of Upperland, Esq., are descended] from this Ensign Jackson.” SEE: 1823 Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Note. .

MY NOTE: An Ensign was the lowest-ranking commissioned officer, an entry level position for young men. They carried the regiment's colors, a task which was not without risk.

CONTEXT: The Pamphlet Wars began in the mid 1600s in Ireland, and continued with the contemporaneous and earliest histories of The Siege. The effects of them were not unlike the effects of today’s social media. Known facts, and gossip were frequently mashed together and then published in versions which could best be described as truthiness, with Presbyterian authors duking it out with Establishment Church authors and vice-versa. Karen A. Holland in Disputed Heroes: Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry tracks the impact of these publications on our understanding of The Siege. 

·         1689. George Walker, A Vindication of the True Account of the Siege of Derry in Ireland (London: Printed for Rob. Clavel at the Peacock, at the West-End of St. Paul's, 1689), p. 25 ·         1690. Mackenzie, John (1690). A Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry. London: Richard Baldwin. OCLC 220182259. Mackenzie's history A Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry or, The Late Memorable Transactions of that City Faithfully Represented, To Rectify the Mistakes, and Supply the Omissions of Mr. Walker's Account each accusation against Walker is paralleled by a reply from an anonymous friend as recorded in "Mr. John Mackenzie's Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry, A False Libel: In Defence of Dr. George Walker, written by his friend in his Absence ·         1699. Joseph Aickin Londerias or a Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry (1699), ·         1705. John Mitchelburne in his five-act tragicomedy Ireland Preserv'd or The Siege of Londonderry (1705).

Based on earlier publications, later versions added to the stories– sometimes factually, sometimes not.

·         1794 Derriana: A Collection of Papers relative to the Siege of Derry , and Illustrative to the Revolution of M.DC.LXXXVIII  Printed and published by G. Douglas, 1794. NOTE: George DOUGLAS. SOURCE: The Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800. ·         !823 Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Notes ·         1861 The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861), by John Hempton, Thomas Ash, John Mackenzie, and George Walker (page images at HathiTrust). NOTE: Just to add another layer of confusion, when Hempton reprinted AICKIN’s Londerias from DOUGLAS’s Derrianna he renamed it: Londeriados. ·         1873  A History of the Siege of Londonderry and Defence of Enniskillen, in 1688 and 1689 by Rev. John Graham. Maclear & Co. Publishers, Toronto. Published 1873, page 338 [on p 216 – or 249 in various pdf versions]

So, was there an Ensign JACKSON and did he come from Tobermore? Maybe yes. Maybe no. It helps to track the sausage-making aspect of how historical truth gets created. It often begins with first creating a case (the gut-casing of sausages is a nice metaphor) and then filling it with scraps of this and that.

THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY OF ENSIGN JACKSON 

1699 LONDERIAS

(Thanks to Sean Bardon, Armagh Museum for finding the hyperlink to the original publication) 

Londerias OR, A NARRATIVE Of the SIEGE OF London-Derry Which was formed by the Late King James the 18th of April and Raised The 1st of Augst, Anno Dom. 1689 Written in Verse by Joseph AICKEN DUBLIN Printed by J.D. and S.P. at the back of Dick’s Coffee-House in Skinner Row for the Author and Sold by him at his school near Essex Bridge and by the Booksellers of Dublin 1699

MY NOTES: Probable connections between people and places

·         J. D. - John DUNTON (1659-1733) was a bookseller/publisher who held regular auctions at Pue’s Coffee shop. He founded the Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury, and when he visited Ireland from London for eight months in 1698, he also wrote The Dublin Skuffle. In it, he recounted a meeting with Mr. James JACKSON of Drogheda, son of the Drogheda Alderman Richard JACKSON. I am including this passage because the Drogheda JACKSONs possibly connect to both the Coleraine and Armagh JACKSONs. [For more, see:Jacksons of Drogheda - Detective work and Drogheda and  a Perfect Day]:

this gentleman [James JACKSON] resolves to live a bachelor, which I could not but wonder at; for doubtless Nature meant him a conqueror over all hearts, when she gave him such sense, and such beauty (for he's a very handsome man). His wit sparkles as well as eyes; and his discourse charms as well as his beauty; and I found by a little talking with him, that his mind is none of those narrow ones, who know one thing, and are ignorant of a thousand; but on the contrary, it is so very large, that although it cannot be said Jackson knew everything equally well, it is most certain, he can give an excellent account of all things; but though his soul is enriched with every virtue, yet I thought the most remarkable thing in him was his great humility and readiness to serve a stranger (for I might pass as such, never having seen him, but a minute or two in London).

JACKSON introduced DUNTON to Ellis WALKER the ingenious translator of Epictetus, who was a schoolmaster of Drogheda, and who was also a fellow schoolmaster who AICKEN would likely have met..

·         S.P. was Stephen POWELL, a bookseller at Fishamble at the back of Dick’s Coffee Shop and partnered with many known printers/publishers and booksellers over the years, including Francis DICKSON. DUNTON described him as a wit whose repartees were ‘quaint, apposite and genteel’, neither scurrilous nor profane, ‘tis impossible to be sad if he sets upon it’. He and his wife Deborah had children baptized at various churches: St. Michan’s, St. Nicholas Within, and St John’s. In the early 1700s, his business was in a building beside the Crown Tavern, on Fishamble Street, a property which was possibly owned by Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), or at least bordered on some of Samuel's leases at this time. SOURCES: Samuel Jackson - Gleanings of a Life; and  Dictionary of the Members of the Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800. M. Pollard [aka Mary POLLARD], 2000. London Biographical Society. p 469; and A Dictionary of the Printers and Booksellers who were at Work in England, Scotland and Ireland From 1668 To 1725.

·         Dick’s Coffee-House in Skinner Row. Dick’s Coffee Shop was established by Richard PUE of Pue’s Occurrences fame, a newspaper proprietor, book seller and coffee-house-keeper, described as a Witty and Ingenious Man, makes the best Coffee in Dublin … has a particular knack at Bantering, and will make rhymes to any Thing. [SOURCE:  Dictionary of the Members of the Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800 (p. 473)]. The coffee shops were where many of the merchant class, the legal and political class and also printers and booksellers – many with connections to Maghera and Tobermore - gathered to gossip and talk politics.

·         school near Essex Bridge Essex Bridge [aka Grattan Bridge] was built in 1676. Many residents in the vicinity had family ties and business interests  with families from Derry and Coleraine. 

PAGE 32 OF LONDERIAS

From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw.  [Stanza XXVII]. Page 32 in Londerias.

1794 George DOUGLAS’s PRINTING of DERRIANA
Derriana: A Collection of Papers relative to the Siege of Derry , and Illustrative to the Revolution of M.DC.LXXXVIII

MY NOTES:

·         Printed by G. Douglas.  The Dublin printer George DOUGLAS was based in College Green 1770-1771 when he partnered with William SPOTSWOOD (1753-1805); then he was based in Derry 1772-1796 after which he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1797 probably after printing several issues of the Londonderry Journal. Before emigrating, he married the widow of James STEVENSON (d. 1789), a rival bookseller in Derry. Although the printing and bookselling businesses of DOUGLAS, SPOTSWOOD and STEVENSON were based in Dublin, they all had connections to Co. Londonderry. SOURCE: The Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800. DOUGLAS and SPOTSWOOD were often mentioned in Derry leases in both Maghera and Tobermore. Another connection of them to Derry is that the vicinity of Essex Bridge [aka Grattan Bridge] was also where George DOUGLAS later sold his books, and was close to where AICKEN’s school had been.

MY NOTES:

·         The fragment -  supposedly with eight pages of the original Londerias missing - was described as An Historical poem, a Fragment. When comparing the text of the 1699 publication of Londerias, I count 5 pages and a blank page to be missing - not 8. This 1794 Derriana version of Londerias was the first to be based on the fragment of the text found in Armagh.

The following "POEM" was lately found in the Library of a Gentleman at Armagh;, but in fo mutilated a state, as to want the Title, and the whole of the two first Sections; it is even to be regretted, that some parts of the Dedication, with the name of the "Orator," are also loft. – It evidently was writ- ten shortly after the Siege; and as it relates circum- stances not mentioned in any of the “Narratives,” and contains the names of the principal perfons who took an active part in thofe perilous times, the Editor has thought it not unworthy of publication.     L.DERRY 1790

1823: The 1799 DERRIANA was republished in a new edition.
Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Notes, &c. By The Rev. John GRAHAM, M. A., Curate of Lifford, in the Diocese of Derry, 1823,

Just as the 1794 version of Derriana had done, Rev. John Graham, a Church of Ireland clergyman, and a senior officer of the Orange Order, also attributed the origin of the fragment of Londerias to Armagh. He also added his personal opinion of the author of Londerias (my highlights):

1.      The homely verse of a manuscript, said to be found in a gentleman’s library about thirty years ago [NOTE: This would have been the fragment included in DOUGLAS’s 1794 printing], and which, mutilated as it has been, by a loss of eight pages in the most interesting part of it], records more of the names and circumstances of the defenders of Londonderry, than any of the other accounts which we have had of the transcartions of that eventful time. The illiterate, but amusing poet, thus describes …–a “rustic poet” [p68; p 66 & p99 in pdf]

2.      The poem found at Armagh records so many names and probable circumstances not mentioned by any of the journalists of this siege, that a transcript of the most curious parts of it, with a few verbal amendments, and some attempts to polish its rustic versification, cannot but be acceptable to all who deem the preservation of the history of our country to be an object of importance to posterity. P77

3.      This city [Londonderry] is thus ingeniously described in the homely verse of a mutilated manuscript, said to be found in the library of a gentleman at Armagh, about 30 years ago, and published by Mr DOUGLASS, with WALKER’S and M’KENZIE’s Diaries etc in 1794. p239

Was GRAHAM’s repeated use of the word: said done to distance the writer from some inconvenient fact?  Who was this gentleman who had a library in Armagh? Some possibilities to consider:

·         Since Rev John GRAHAM served as Rector of Maghera in 1809, he would likely have heard several local accounts of the siege. Is it credible that this fragment - found in Armagh - was the only copy of Londerias that GRAHAM would have seen? ·         When it comes to DOUGLAS-STEVENSON links to Armagh, a James STEPHENSON of Killyfaddy, Co. Armagh had married into the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera, Co. Londonderry. In a subsequent generation, a member of a Derry-based DOUGLAS family had also married into the CLARKEs. Could either of these STEPHENSONs or DOUGLASs have been GRAHAM’s source for: Messrs. Alexander and William Clark, of Maghera, and Alexander Clark, of Upperland, Esq., were they descended from this Ensign Jackson.”?

Sean BARDEN, curator of the Armagh Museum and author of several books on local history, and one of those helpful mentors to folk like me, recently suggested a few other sources:

In Graham’s Derriana online, p32, GRAHAM mentions the Armagh men who were there and refers to James Stuart’s Historical Memoirs of Armagh (whom he calls Stewart). Stuart mentions the Armagh men who took part in the siege (see p417) with interesting footnotes. He mentions Aiken’s book (not by name) but in one of his footnotes concerning Cochrane he also (rather enigmatically) writes, “Manuscript account of John Cochrane, which belonged to his grandson, the late R. Cochrane”.

Sean asks: Could this be the elusive Armagh manuscript? It seems that the Armagh fragment may have been archived in the British Museum. If so, with perhaps an ex libris bookplate?:

… in a remarkable document known as the Armagh poem, written at the time of the siege, or immediately after, by Joseph Aicken, entitled "Londerias." This fragment, discovered at Armagh, was published in Dublin in 1699, and a copy, of this date, is preserved in the British Museum. Foulis Castle: and the Monroes of Lower Iveagh,1929. Horace Granville Monroe.

MORE ON AICKEN

Contrary to Rev. GRAHAM’s description of Joseph AICKEN as an illiterate, but amusing poet, he was instead a distinguished schoolmaster. He had already published The English grammar of 1693 – intended for schools to be able to teach English: without the Assistance of Latin. SEE: A Cultural History of the English Language. It may be that he chose to write in doggerel because that approach would take root in the semi-literate oral culture. It was also not an unknown form to be used by the educated class. For more on AICKEN, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography adds:

 … he flourished between 1693 and 1705 as a schoolmaster in Londonderry at the time of the Siege, and later, in Dublin, and that he wrote works on English grammar.

Given this, perhaps AICKEN taught in both Dublin and Derry. In Disputed Heroes: Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry Karen A. Holland in New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, Vol. 18, No. 2 adds to what we know of AICKEN:

·         Although he [AICKIN] never specifically refers to his own firsthand knowledge, Aickin "boldly avers" that in Londeriados he has accomplished the only full account of the events of the Siege of Londonderry as he relied upon a variety of sources "having had my informations from good hands, besides the advantage of the printed Narratives "[NOTE: The Londerias got changed to Londeriados by Hempton in his The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861]

·         Aicken chose to record the events of 1689 in epic poetry, reflecting his study of English, Latin, and Greek, which he hoped to impart to his students through "a rational and expeditious method" of teaching.

·         The choice to record the events as an epic poem is significant: Aickin consciously selected a genre that traditionally recounts the story of great actions and events that create a nation or a culture, as Virgil had recounted the history of Rome and the foundation of its empire in the Aeneid. Aickin intended to do the same for Protestant Londonderry.

Later accounts of AICKEN allege that he was not a schoolteacher but rather a medical doctor and/or soldier (but without documentation to back up these claims). NOTE: Near the close of the Londeriados version there is at least a reference to a Dr. Aickin’s skill in healing, but there was no reference to his military participation in the Siege. As Holland points out:

·         … in 1999, Patrick Macrory and T. G. Fraser provide a very different description of the author of Londeriados, asserting the epic was composed by a doctor called Aickin, who fought valiantly for the garrison of Londonderry throughout the siege. SEE also: Patrick Macrory, The Siege of Derry (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980.

·         McBride also refers to Aickin as a Derry soldier. SEE: Ian McBride, The Siege of Deny in Ulster Protestant Mythology (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997)]

It is likely that two similarly named AIKENs were conflated and the newer version dominated in later versions of the history of the Siege. In 20th October 1960, in his opening address to the Ulster Medical Society,  Joseph Alexander Love JOHNSTON, the President of the Ulster Medical Society mentioned three doctors being present during the Siege of Londonderry: viz., Dr. Joseph Aicken, Dr. Herman and a Mr. Alexander Lindsay, and the latter was killed by a bomb. Again, no sources. As it is often said: History repeats itself; Historians repeat one another. The same is true for amateur family historians.

It was in the 1932 annotations of Derriana that I first encountered the forename Thomas attributed to Ensign JACKSON. [If what follows is too brain numbing, please skip to IN CONCLUSION.]

1932 FIGHTERS OF DERRY – SKETCHES of PEOPLE in LONDARIAS
Fighters of Derry: Their Deeds and Descendants Being a Chronicle of Events in Ireland During The Revolutionary Period 1688-1699. (published 1932). William R. Young

140  ENSIGN THOMAS JACKSON of Derry. “Londeriados” in his muster of the forces for defence of Derry, has the following line             "From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw” This is Tobermore near Castle Dawson. From other sources  we know that Ensign Thomas Jackson resided at Drumbally-Hagan Clark; Tobermore in the vicinity of the Jackson Clark’s estate of Largantogher. The Jacksons, like the Dawsons of Castle Dawson, came from Westmoreland, and were connected by association, if not by blood.

MY NOTES – verifying where possible.

·         Drumballyhagan Clark, Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin was where Clark JACKSON, son of William JACKSON of Jacksons of Tobermore held leases, as did Clark’s father William JACKSON sr.

·         Jackson CLARK’s estate was at Largantogher, Parish Maghera, Barony Loughinsholin.

·         Tobermore, Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin where Jacksons of Tobermore also held leases.

·          I do not know how the William JACKSON sr of Tobermore is connected to other JACKSON lines, including any proven connection to the JACKSONs of Westmorland and Coleraine..

·         Thomas: I have found no leases or other sources connecting a Thomas JACKSON to Tobermore or to Drumballyhagan Clark. If there any, documents have yet to be found.

·         Dawsons of Castle Dawson, Col Adam DOWNING (1666-1719) married Anne JACKSON (1693-aft 1718), daughter of John JACKSON (1630- btw 1688-1693) of Bellaghy.

The original settlers of the Jackson name came to Ulster in Charles I’s reign. There were two brothers, viz. Lancelot at Ballymacarret, in 1639, and Thomas who obtained about the same time a lien on lands in the vicinity of Coleraine from the Irish Society. Prospering in his undertakings he acquired considerable estate. He built Jackson Hall overlooking the River Bann, and married Susannah, daughter of Sir Tristram Beresford, Bart in 1650 (see No. 45 Beresford) There were three sons of this match: (1) Thomas the Ensign Thomas of this sketch. He was J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677. He served all through the siege, and lost his life at the Battle of the Boyne. (2) Samuel, M.P. For Coleraine, 1695-1703. (3) William, M.P. for Co. Derry in 1697.

MY NOTES – Verifying facts - plus a few corrections

·         Ballymacarret [Ballymacaret, Parish Knockbreda (Castlereagh Upper portion), Barony Castlereagh Upper, Co. Down. Residence in Ballmacarrett called “Jackson Hall”: with lawn and garden, all in the very best order, at present in the occupation of William HALL Esq. as tenant from year to year. BNL Apr 9 1864  A year earlier, an article in the Belfast Morning News on Destitution in Ballymacarrett listed ratepayers including William HALL, Jackson Hall; John CLARKE, Ballymacarrett and Hugh DOUGLASS, Ballymacarrett amongst a few dozen other names of interest. Also: April 19, at Jackson Hall, Ballymacarrett, the wife of R.B. Hall, solicitor, of a daughter. BNL Apr 15 1857. NOTE: This Jackson Hall is not the one near Coleraine owned by JACKSONs of Coleraine, although if we could get further back, all bets are off when it comes to family connections.  

·         Thomas –Given that this Thomas JACKSON signed a lease in 1639, presumably he was of age when he signed it. If so, he would have been born before 1618. Possibly he was a yet-to-be-discovered son of William JACKSON (1575-1626) and Mary SLATER (1575-aft 1626) of Kirkby Lonsdale, hence a brother of the Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) who was the progenitor of the dozens of JACKSONs of Coleraine. It is also possible that he wasn’t related to any of the JACKSONs who have been proven to be of Coleraine.

o   1622 The Muster Rolls record a Thomas JACKSON residing at Salterstown: The Salters lands were on the eastern border of the Drapers lands. SEE Maps at: Bill Macafee. There is a Salterstown Castle near the western shore of Lough Neagh, south of the village of Ballyronan, in Londonderry. It was built in 1613 by the "The Worshipful Company of Salters". It was a 2-storey house with a bawn with 2 circular flankers, on land granted to them during the Plantation - probably in the townland of Ballyronan Beg, Parish Ballinderry, Barony Loughinsholin,. There may be no connection to the Salterstown Thomas JACKSON, but Pynnar records that a Thomas JACKSON held a lease [sublet by Sir George Mainwaring] on 20 August, 1616, of the poll of Agharaugh [Agharah,?], and two acres of Gortnecoshe [Gartnasillagh?] in Co. Cavan. These places and the timeline are a fit with what Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) had told his daughter Amy Oliver LLOYD: My Father came of an English family, one of whom went to Ireland as an officer in the Army in Queen Elizabeth's reign- was given a grant of land in County Cavan. There is significant evidence that Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) was likely related to the JACKSONs of Coleraine. More dots still need to be verified and connected.

·         Jackson Hall overlooking the River Bann, 1609. The Clothworkers Company Timeline. The Clothworkers were granted the land on the west of the Bann where they were responsible for building the Clothworker’s building at the end of the Bann Bridge and developing the Killowen area. When King James I granted a lease for the property to the Clothworker’s Company in 1609 there was a cottage located on the castle foundations. William JACKSON (1628-1688) demolished the cottage and built Jackson Hall. Later, it became known as the Manor House and more recently was demolished to form part of the car park at the rear of the County Hall. SOURCE: The Last Coleraine Militia.. THE MANOR HOUSE, Coleraine, County Londonderry, was a building of two storeys over a basement with a dormered attic, and six bays. It was originally built in 1680. It was enlarged and remodelled about 1770 by Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789). He included a roof parapet of curving open-work, Chinese-style; and open porches surmounted by ball finials in front of the dormers. SOURCE: Lord Belmount Blogspot.

·         Susannah, daughter of Sir Tristram Beresford, NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706) did not marry the Thomas JACKSON who obtained about the same time [1639] a lien on lands in the vicinity of Coleraine from the Irish Society. Instead, Susan BERESFORD married William JACKSON (1628-1688) on Jan 11,1665 and they had 15 children, including another Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751).

·         Thomas the Ensign Thomas of this sketch. He was J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677. He served all through the siege, and lost his life at the Battle of the Boyne. NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. If a Thomas - J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677.  - was the Ensign JACKSON - he could not be the son of Susan BERESFORD. He could be either the Thomas JACKSON who signed a lease in 1639, or else the Thomas JACKSON (1629-bef 1688) the brother-in-law of Susan BERESFORD and a brother of William JACKSON (1628-1688). His pre-1688 death date is a conjecture, based only on the fact that he was not mentioned in the list of living brothers mentioned in his brother William JACKSON’s 1688 will. Also, the Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751), son of Susan BERESFORD, did not die at the Boyne but his younger brother John JACKSON (b. aft 1668-1690) likely did. He was buried at Kirkby Lonsdale, possibly after he had been wounded in battle, and had been returned (dead or alive) to his ancestral home where other members of the family were staying at the time: SOURCE: The Kirkby Lonsdale Parish Registers. "Sepult - John Jackson fil M Susanna Jackson de Ireland."

·         Samuel, M.P. For Coleraine, 1695-1703 NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. The Samuel JACKSON who was an MP was the Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), son of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681),  a brother of William JACKSON and brother-in-law of Susan BERESFORD.

·         William, M.P. for Co. Derry in 1697 This was William JACKSON (1669-1712), son of Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706) and William JACKSON (1628-1688)

The last of the three brothers left among other issue, William his successor at Jackson Hall, who left a son Richard, also of Jackson Hall. This Richard sat for thirty-nine years as M.P. for the borough of Coleraine, being Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1777 and a member of the Privy Council. He was married three times, and died in 1790. By his first marriage he had male issue (1) George, his successor in the estates, M.P. for Coleraine 1791-1796, losing his seat with the Union. He was created a Baronet in 1813 and died at Bruges in 1840. (2) Richard, who died in 1797. By his third wife, Anne, daughter of Charles O’Neill of Shanes Castle, there was issue an only daughter, Anne, who by her marriage in 1802 with the Rev Nathaniel Alexander afterwards (afterwards bishop of Down, and later of Meath), brought, in the failure of male issue, the representation of the Jackson family into the Alexander of Portgelenone line (see No 176 Alexander).      The old house of Jackson Hall, now termed “the Manor House”, still stands overlooking the Bann at Coleraine to attest the former importance of the Jackson owners.

            MY NOTES – clarifying forenames (so many repetitions – they are hard to follow).

·         William: William JACKSON (1695-1744) MP of Derry, son of Capt. William JACKSON (1669-1712) son of Susan BERESFORD.

·         Richard: Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789), son of William JACKSON (1695-1744) & Frances EYRE (1711-after 1730)

·         George: Sir George JACKSON (1766-1840), son of Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789) & Anne O’NEILL (1737-1781)

·         Richard Richard JACKSON (1768-1797), son of Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789) & Anne O’NEILL (1737-1781)

·         Anne: Anne JACKSON (1766-1837) wife of Rev Nathaniel Alexander (1760-1840)

·         The old house of Jackson Hall Now demolished and replaced by a parking lot.

 Drapers Guild connections. Another bit hinting at where to look for links between the JACKSONs of Tobermore and the JACKSONSs of Coleraine would be the early deeds made to the various London Guild members when compared to the records of JACKSONs in the London Rolls. The townland of Tobermore, [Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin] was one of the properties deeded to merchants in the Drapers Guild. Several of the JACKSONs of Westmorland belonged to the Draper’s Guild, as did Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706) - mentioned in Jacksons in London Rolls. He was one of several JACKSON and BERESFORD Irish MP and was also an uncle of William JACKSON (1695-1744) MP of Coleraine. Both Samuel JACKSON and Susan BERESFORD, mother of the probable Ensign Richard, died at Mary Street in Dublin on the same day: January 19 1706. Cause unknown. 

Tobermore is halfway between Draperstown & Maghera. NOTE:  Ensign Richard JACKSON may have been of Draperstown, as some sources allege, but I have yet to run that to ground.

Another circumstantial link which increases the likelihood that Ensign JACKSON was in fact Richard JACKSON (1673-1730) are several family ties which surface in the regimental lists. After the siege was lifted in August 1689, the remnants of (1) Skeffington's Regiment were amalgamated with (2) Crofton's Regiment to form a new unit which was officially absorbed into William III's Irish Army as (3) Colonel Mitchelburne's Londonderry Regiment. NOTE: Col John MITCHELBURNE (1648-1721) married Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706), widow of William JACKSON (1628-1688), mother of Richard JACKSON (1673-1730).

1698 JUNE 8. JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS VOLUME 12.
SEE ALSO: Siege and History of Londonderry ed Jon Hempton. John Hempton. 1861 p.468

IN CONCLUSION

Although both Rev. GRAHAM and Aiken McCLELLAND alleged that there was a family link between the JACKSONs and CLARKs - without documentation - I still cannot prove how the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera are related to the Jacksons of Tobermore, let alone to the JACKSONs of Liscalgat & Urker, Co. Armagh nor to the  JACKSONs of Coleraine.

What I have come to understand is more about how this sausage-making of history happened with respect to the initial Ensign JACKSON morphing into Thomas JACKSON of Coleraine. Even though I disagree with many of the assumptions included in Thomas Young’s 1932 Fighters of Derry: Their Deeds and Descendants Being a Chronicle of Events in Ireland During The Revolutionary Period 1688-1699, it deserves to be more widely read because of it’s extensive notes – largely accurate, I suspect, in spite of the factual disagreements that I have raised - about many of those who served on both sides of the Siege of Derry, not only about those who had served on the winning side.

It always bears remembering that all of us understand historical events from the perspective of our own particular culture and our own time and place. For me, writing and reflecting as a 21^st Century woman (a very old one), I find that homing in on what little we know of Susan BERESFORD and her children helps me to better understand Ensign JACKSON as well as the the impacts of his family on future generations.

Birth order shapes us to some degree, so it is likely worth noting that Ensign Richard was the 6^th child of fifteen live births. Most were still minors when their father William JACKSON died a year before the Siege of Derry. Here are their ages during the Siege (although some of them may have died before then):

·         Age 19: Sarah JACKSON (1670-?),

·         Age 18: Dorothy JACKSON (1671-?),

·         Age 16: Richard JACKSON (1673-1730), married Anne BATES, then Elizabeth BOYD

·         Age 15: Beresford JACKSON (1674-bef 1730) ,

·         Age 14: Unnamed JACKSON (abt 1675-?),

·         Age 12: John JACKSON (1677-1690), died age 13

·         Age 12: Susannah JACKSON (1677-?)

·         Age 9: Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751),

·         Age 8: Rose JACKSON (1681-1738), Married Thomas BUNBURY of Cranavonane, Parish Tullow, Co. Carlow

·         Age 7: Samuel JACKSON (1682-?)

·         Age 6: Otway JACKSON (1683-?).

·         Age 4: Jane JACKSON (1685-1744) married Henry WRAY of Castlewray, Co. Donegal.

Their mother, Susan BERESFORD, had been 44 years old at the time of the Siege and would live for another 17 years. The events of the Siege would have been seared into the emotional landscape of both her and her children, and then into their children as well. It is possible that the story suggesting that Thomas was the Ensign took root, because perhaps he himself had a memory of marching - unofficially or not - alongside his brother Ensign Richard. It is also possible that either Thomas and/or Richard had been staying with one of the JACKSON or CLARK families of Tobermore during the Siege, and that those families had passed on their version of events to be included in Derriana.

POSTSCRIPT: The Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne were not the only traumas that these children experienced in their early years. The death of their father, wich had been not long before the Siege, was followed by the marriage of their mother a mere seven months after the end of the Siege to Col. John MITCHELBURN. That marriage was short-lived and their mother moved to Dublin to live the last years of her life with her bachelor brother-in-law Samuel JACKSON, on Mary Street. Several of the children likely joined her there.

After Susan BERESFORD’s death, her son Ensign Richard commenced court proceedings against Col John MITCHELBURNE, the hero in many of the histories of the Siege of Derry (some of which he himself had written), but was no hero within the family. The Court ruled against him and ruled that the inheritance which Susan BERESFORD had received from her first husband, William JACKSON, belonged to Richard and his siblings. It is one of the flukes of history that the benefits of this judgement against MITCHELBURNE continue to flow to the current residents of Armagh. This is because the Richard JACKSON (1722-1787), who was the son of Richard JACKSON (1673-1730), became the resident landlord at Forkhill, Co. Armagh, and served as one of the more generous landlords of his time and place. As a result of having no surviving male issue, he left a considerable financial legacy, the remains of which continue to fund a charity which continues to dispense bequests to worthy local causes.

One last tidbit. Given when and where he lived, the Richard JACKSON (1722-1787) of Forkhill would probably have known the owner of the library in Armagh who had owned the fragmentary copy of Londerias that Rev. John GRAHAM had used. If we could nail down who this person was, it might add to how the story of Ensign JACKSON began, took root, and got passed on.

Regrettably, although some of the side bits of tracking this story have been great fun, I have failed to solve the mystery which triggered the start of it all. As Samuel BECKETT said in Worstward Ho: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. And I plan to.

ADDENDUM:

A true account of the siege of London-Derry by the Reverend Mr. George Walker ... (London : Printed for Robert Clavel and Ralph Simpson ..., 1689), by George Walker A vindication of the true account of the siege of Derry in Ireland by Mr. George Walker, &c. ; published by authority. (London : Printed for Rob. Clavel ..., 1689), by George Walker An Account of Major General Kirck, and London-derry with a geographical account of the river he sail'd down, and the various forts on it, perticularly [sic] that of Kulmore. (London : Printed for J. Meeks ..., 1689) An Account of Major General Kirck's safe arrival at London-derry (London : Printed for John Lyford ..., 1689) Mr. John Mackenzyes Narrative of the siege of London-Derry a false libel, in defence of Dr. George Walker written by a friend in his absence. (London : Printed for R. Simpson ..., 1690), by Joseph Wilkinson Clark A journal of the siege of London-derry in a letter from an officer in the town, dated May 18, 1689. (London : Printed for Richard Chiswell ..., 1689), by Officer in the town A faithful history of the northern affairs of Ireland from the late K. James accession to the crown, to the siege of Londonderry : giving a true account of the occasions of the miscarriages there, and of the reasons why the gentry abandon'd those parts / by a person who bore a great share in those transactions. (London : Printed and are to be sold by Randall Taylor ..., 1690), by Person who bore a great share in those transactions A narrative of the siege of London-Derry, or, The late memorable transactions of that city faithfully represented to rectifie the mistakes and supply the omissions of Mr. Walker's account / by John Mackenzie ... ; the most material passages relating to other parts of Ulster and Sligo are also inserted from the memoirs of such as were chiefly concerned in them. (London : Printed for the author, and are to be sold by Richard Baldwin ..., 1690), by John Mackenzie Dr. Walker's invisible champion foyl'd, or, An appendix to the late Narrative of the siege of Derry wherein all the arguments offered in a late pamphlet to prove it a false libel, are examin'd and refuted / by John Mackenzie ... (London : Printed for the author ..., 1690), by John Mackenzie An Account of the most remarkable occurrences relating to London-Derry with a relation of the signal defeat given to the French and Irish papists, May 5, 1689. (London : Printed for Richard Baldwin ..., 1689) Londerias, or, A narrative of the siege of London-Dery which was formed by the late King James the 18th of April, and raised the 1st of August, Anno Dom. 1689 : written in verse / by Joseph Aickin. (Dublin : Printed by J. B. and S. P. ..., 1699), by Joseph Aickin Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1688-1689 -- Poetry Undaunted London-Derry, or, The victorious Protestants constant success against the proud French and Irish forces to the tune of, Lilli borlero. ([London] : Printed for J. Deacon ..., [1689?]) An Account of the great and glorious actions of Mr. Walker, the Protestant governor, at the siege of London-derry (London : Printed for Langley Curtiss ..., 1689) Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1688-1689 -- Sources A Particular relation of the great victory obtained by the Protestants in London-Derry, and the taking of the Duke of Berwick prisoner to which is added, an account of the English courage of Robert Caston, master of a small vessel, that engaged two French privateers, with the particular of that action. (London : Printed for Robert Baldwin ..., 1689) Items below (if any) are from related and broader terms. Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861), by John Hempton, Thomas Ash, John Mackenzie, and George Walker (page images at HathiTrust) Newes from London-derry in Ireland, or, A true and sad relation of the deplorable and lamentable estate of London-derry which is much distressed by reason of the Rebels neare approaches unto it : and the menaces and treats they daily send unto them to make them deliver up their city : also how they burnt the towne of Strabam with many people in it / related in a letter from one Mr. William Griffin to one Mr. Iames Humphry of Stuke in Berkshire Gent. Febr. 20. 1641. (London : Printed for William Ley, 1642), by William Griffin A true and impartial account of the most material passages in Ireland since December, 1688 with a particular relation of the forces of Londonderry / being taken from the notes of a gentleman who was eyewitness to most of the actions mention'd therein during his residing there, and now being in England is desired to publish the same for the further satisfaction of this nation ; to which is added a description and map of Londonderry as he took it upon the place. (London : Printed for John Amery ..., 1689), by Joseph Bennet A vindication of the Reverend Mr. Alexander Osborn, in reference to the affairs of the north of Ireland in which some mistakes concerning him (in the printed account of the siege of Derry, the observations on it, and Mr. Walker's vindication of it) are rectified : and a brief relation of those affairs is given so far as Mr. Osborn, and other n.c. ministers in the north, were concern'd in 'em / written at Mr. Osborn's request by his friend Mr. J. Boyse. (London : Printed for Tho. Parkhurst, Tho. Cockerill, John Lawrence, and John Dunton ..., 1690), by J. Boyse and George Walker The Case of the city of Londonderry in Ireland humbly represented to the honourable House of Commons in Parliament assembled. ([London : s.n., 1699?]) Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- 17th century -- Early works to 1800 The true state & condition of the seven foot-companies in the city of London-Derry, under the command of the severall captains following viz Robert Thornton, Simon Pitt, Henry Fynch, Henry Osborn, John Kilner, Robert Lawson, & William Patsall, (who now commandeth that company which was raised by Hewet Finch, deceased, and for some time commanded by Captain Henry Vaughan) is as followith, viz. ([London : s.n., 1644]) An abstract of the case of the city of Londonderry ([London : s.n., 1699?]) Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Early works to 1800 The Protestant's crums of comfort containing I. Prayers and meditations, with ejaculations for every day in the week, and other occasions. II. Thanksgivings for deliverances from Popery, tyranny, and arbitrary power. III. The rebellion in Ireland, and massacre of Paris. IV. The learned Bishop Usher's prophecy, concerning Ireland, and the downfall of Rome. V. Advice to the late besieged in London-Derry, under that reverend divine and valiant commander, Coll. George Walker. Illustrated with pictures suitable to each particular occasion. (London : printed by W.W. for Nicholas Bodington at the Golden Ball in Duck-lane, 1690), by George Walker A new letter from London-Derry giving a farther account of the late good success, obtain'd by the protestants in Ireland, against the French and Irish papists: with the speech of that reverend divine, and protestant champion, Mr. VValker, to the soldiers of that garrison, before they made that last great sally upon the enemy. (London : printed by W. Downing, 1689), by George Walker The Lord Bishop of Londonderry's case: with some reasons humbly offered to the consideration of the Lords in England, to induce their lordships not to take cognizance of an appeal lately brought before them by the Society of Assistants in London for Ulster in Ireland, against an order of the House of Lords in Ireland, made the last sessions of Parliament there. ([London : s.n., 1698]), by James Sloane, Francis Annesley, and England and Wales. Parliament. House of Lords The case of the governour and garrison of Londonderry, when it was beseiged by the Irish army, 1688. and such of them as were afterwards added by His Majesties most gracious warrants, as supernumerary or reformed officers, and served as such during the war of Ireland. Humbly submitted to the honourable the Commons of England, in Parliament assembled. ([London : s.n., 1700?]) The case of the governor, officers and soldiers actually concerned in the defence of London-Derry, in the kingdom of Ireland. ([London : s.n., 1695?]) Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1689 A man's foes (Ward, Lock & Bowden, 1895), by E. H. Strain (page images at HathiTrust) The Christian champion being the substance of a second discourse to the besieged soldiers in London-derry ... / by Col. W----. ([London?] : Printed for P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, J. Back, 1689), by George Walker An Apology for the failures charg'd on the Reverend Mr. George Walker's printed account of the late siege of Derry in a letter to the undertaker of a more accurate narrative of that siege. ([London? : s.n.], Printed in the year 1689) An Exact account of Major General Kirkes safe arrival and relieving of London-Derry with all the particulars relating to this glorious action. (London : Printed for J. Wilson ..., 1689) An Exact account of the raising the siege of Londonderry and the deplorable condition the town was in, till happily reliev'd by Major-General Kirk. (London : Printed for R. Wood ..., 1689) Reflections on a paper pretending to be an apology for the failures charged on Mr. Walker's account of the siege of London-Derry (London : Printed for Robert Clavel and Ralph Simpson ..., MDCLXXXIX [1689]) Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- Siege, 1688-1689 Derry and Enniskillen in the year 1689 : the story of some famous battlefields in Ulster (W. Mullan, 1873), by Thomas Witherow (page images at HathiTrust) The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861), by John Hempton, Thomas Ash, John Mackenzie, and George Walker (page images at HathiTrust)