Rev. William F. Jackson; an Ox-bridge Education?
What do we know and more importantly what do we not know?
When it comes to the life of William F. Jackson, my knowledge is incredibly imbalanced. There are parts I know an awful lot about, particularly the final 25-30 years of his life. For this I can point to much primary source material and secondary resources to back them up. A detailed account of his life can be sketched out from 1772 until 1795. Much of this is thanks to his work as a renowned journalist in London papers.
If we were to take some of the primary sources at our disposal at face value, we know he was born in 1737 - the youngest of four sons to a father who worked in the prerogative courts of Dublin, his father was named Richard. His eldest brother, also Richard, had made a name for himself among Dublin society and his other two siblings, we know nothing, not even their names.
The trouble stems from the fact that we know nothing concrete about where his family resided or where he himself was even born. If we had such details we might be able to find birth records for himself or his older brother which would in turn reveal his whole family details. I am grateful that Sharon Oddie Brown over at Silver Bowl has done incredible work in this respect. She has been able to trace a great deal about his family - primarily his brother, and the lineage of his mothers family here. She has also put together a recounted summary of his life, and where we are missing gaps in the narrative here: http://sharonoddiebrown.blogspot.com/
Returning to somewhat unreliable contemporary sources - I say unreliable but they are thus far all I have to go on, the main one being a short bio in Walkers Hibernian Magazine in the summer of 1795 shortly after his death. It provides a short but detailed account of his life but much of the detail is yet to be verified. I believe this may be simply that by 1795, nobody within his life, his inner orbit, knew him from early in life. His wife at the time was his second, and perhaps not even a decade had passed since the wedding. All of those with him or who knew him in Dublin at the time, had only known him personally, at most, since 1781 and there is some evidence to suggest his friends in London thought him dead from 1790-94. This is all moot of course, if Jackson himself had provided the biography, knowing well he would do die, soon, but nothing points to that theory as correct. So, let us begin a dissection over the next few posts.
‘He attended the University of Oxford at a young age’, this early line has bothered me for some time now, mainly because I can find no record of him graduating from any Oxford college. In the matriculation records, each student is listed by name and accompanied by the name of his father. There are William Jacksons listed, but none match the details of his father or his suspected date of birth.
I went down the rabbit hole of curiosity - were his records expunged as a result of his charge of treason in 1795? The archivist at Oxford assured me that though unlikely to begin with, it would still be visible on the handwritten records but simply crossed out by the record keeper. Another curiosity is the ‘early age’ - what exactly was an early age to attend oxford in the mid-18th century? Was it 14? 16? 18? Details matter, and when trawling the records, it makes the difference - did he graduate in 1752 or 1759? Regardless, the same results are consistent with no standout graduate that fits the timeline. Perhaps if we could unearth a birth record to confirm his age, it may unlock the door behind which his matriculation record hides
It is also suggested in the biography that Jackson became friends with the Hervey family during his time at Oxford - a family of 3 brothers at this time, it doesn’t specify which if it was in fact any of the brothers at all. The Hervey’s were the Earls of Bristol, and as far as can be deduced the only one who would have attended university at the same time as Jackson is that of Frederick Augustus, future Bishop of Derry. Though, Frederick attended Cambridge, not Oxford? So I did some digging there, the assumption being whoever wrote the bio, made a mistake.
Alas the Cambridge records return the same issue, no record of a William Jackson, son of Richard graduating during the decade of the 1750s. Or the surrounding years for that matter. So the matter of his education remains a deep mystery - though it would’ve been necessary to have completed his education to have become ordained as a member of the church. It goes without saying that I have also checked the Trinity College Dublin records, to no avail either. So this chapter remains a mystery to me.
My friend Sharon, over at Silver Spoon suggests the possibility that Jackson simply lied about his background at Oxford and the Church, which is of course always a possibility. However, his family was well rated among Dublin society, and to be able to infiltrate the Hervey family as deep as he did, would merit some accountability, I feel. It must be said though, that it remains the most plausible theory, until any proof at all of his upbringing is uncovered.
Next time I want to talk about a further grey area of his life - that of initial employment following his supposed graduation from Oxford or Cambridge or Trinity. Where he ends up can lead us to make certain assumptions about his background, and it also raises questions about the direction his life takes as we move into the 1770s.
At this stage I want to thank you for following, I hope this becomes an entertaining series to follow. I know some historians of the era are subscribed, I would appreciate any insight or assistance with this. If I’ve missed something, or there is a resource I need to use to help me figure something out, please do let me know! Similarly, I’m sure there must be an archival source for church ordinations - if anybody has an idea of where to search, do let me know.
RuairĂ.
If you like my work and want to say thanks, or support me in another way, you can buy me a coffee! Nothing is expected, but any support is greatly appreciated! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruairiaor
Further Reading:
Walker's Hibernian magazine, or, Compendium of entertaining knowledge, May 1795.
Thomas MacNevin, The lives and trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders, William Orr, Peter Finnerty, and other eminent Irishmen (1846).