The Jackson Family
by Saul Marks
David Jacobs Jackson (1780-1854)
One of the Jackson (né Jacobs) brothers
David Jackson was born David Jacobs in Totnes, Devon, in August 1780, one of 11 children of Isaac Jacobs (c.1736-1809) and Betsy Levy (1759-1836). He and two of his brothers married three sisters of the surname Ralph and all settled in Liverpool under the name of Jackson. It is not known where these marriages took place or when or why the brothers came to Liverpool. However, David’s eldest daughter was born here in 1810 and, by 1825, he was established in Castle Street as a draper.
David was first elected as a warden of the Liverpool Hebrew Congregation (then worshipping in Seel Street) in 1834, when he took up the position of Senior Treasurer from his younger brother, Abraham. Around the same time, he was elected to the committee which was in charge of purchasing and establishing the cemetery on Deane Street (later Deane Road), of which Abraham was the treasurer. David served on this committee until it disbanded in 1837. By this time, he had been elected as Senior Warden, a position which he held during the term 1837-38 and again in 1845-46. He and his wife, Katherine (c.1780-1855), lived in Canning Street, in the heart of Georgian Liverpool, amongst the most well-respected members of society.
By the early 1850s, David had retired, and his will of 1853 described him as a “gentleman”. In the final few years of his life, he lived in Southport, on the advice of his doctors. He died in June 1854, a very wealthy and well-respected man.
David was not just an important man in his own right, but he and Katherine founded a family of such repute that, even today, their name is still known in the congregation, particularly amongst those who serve as wardens. Below are the most well-known members of David’s family.
Henrietta Jackson (1810-1890)
Henrietta was David’s eldest child, and she married her cousin James Braham in Liverpool in 1854. They had no children but James became one of the wealthiest men in Liverpool and his bequests are still distributed today. In the mid-1870s, following the death of her sister Eliza (below), Henrietta funded the remainder required to set up the Eliza Jackson Home, which ran from 1877-1958. The fund set up in her name, the Henrietta Braham Endowment Fund, was used to help in the running of the home. Henrietta also presented the pulpit of the congregation’s new synagogue on Princes Road in 1874, which had been donated by her husband James before his death. When Henrietta died in 1890, her husband’s bequests to the congregation and to the girls of the Hebrew school came into operation.
George Isaac Jackson (1812-1877)
George Isaac Jackson was David’s second child and eldest son and he married Caroline Moss in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1845. Like his father, he was a draper and, like his father, he was deeply involved in the running of the congregation, serving as Junior Treasurer in 1849-50, Senior Treasurer 1850-51 and Junior Warden 1855-56. It is not known why he was never elected as Senior Warden, although he served again as Senior Treasurer in 1858-59.
Sadly, George and Caroline lost three children in infancy, all of whom are buried at Deane Road, along with a son, David George Jackson (1853-79), who died aged 25 and their daughter, Sara Karo (1849-1919), who was one of the last burials in the cemetery.
Their only child known to have borne children was Alfred Moss Jackson (1848-1931), who was arguably the congregation’s most well-known Senior Warden. Alfred served as Senior Warden in 1884-85 and then took on the position again, in his 60s, from 1915-19, in an era where every Senior Warden served a four-year term. Alfred’s second tenure is believed to have been one in which he steered the congregation successfully through a political crisis. He also held a number of positions on the Board of the Hebrew Schools and served as president of almost every organisation in which he had an interest. Sadly, Alfred and his wife Rebecca had occasion to bury two children at Deane Road, although they and another of their sons are buried at its successor, Broad Green Cemetery.
Henry David Jackson (1814-1882)
Henry David Jackson was David’s third child, and he also served as a warden of the congregation, soon after his father. He rose through the ranks, serving a year consecutively in each position: Junior Treasurer 1859-60, Senior Treasurer 1860-61, Junior Warden 1861-62 and Senior Warden 1862-63. In appears that, after this, he moved to London, where he married Lucy Gough in 1867. Although Lucy was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and they lived in London, both are buried at Deane Road.
Eliza Jackson (1820-1872)
Eliza Jackson never married and died in London in 1872, although she was buried at Deane Road in the same tomb as her sister and brother-in-law, Henrietta and James Braham. She bequeathed a substantial sum for the establishment of a home for Jewish women in Liverpool. Henrietta subsequently added to the bequest, purchased the site and endowed the home, which opened on 21 May 1877 at 30-32 North Hill Street, Mossley Hill. It was stipulated that residents must be either spinsters or widows, without children and of the Jewish faith. Residence at the home would be free, and residents would receive a maximum of 10s per week allowance from the Henrietta Braham Endowment Fund (which totalled £7,000 at that time). Eliza’s brother George (above) was present at the opening ceremony, and his son Alfred.
Abraham Jackson (1785-1839)
One of the Jackson (né Jacobs) brothers
Abraham Jackson was David’s younger brother, who perhaps started the family tradition of being involved in synagogue administration and politics. He served as Treasurer of the Seel Street congregation from 1815-16 and Warden from 1821-22, in the days when there were only two Honorary Officers, rather than four. When the administration was extended in the early 1830s, Abraham served as Senior Treasurer 1833-34 (immediately preceding David’s tenure of the same office) and Senior Warden 1835-36. He was appointed treasurer of the committee which oversaw the purchase of Deane Road from 1833-37, during which time he was responsible for collecting all the pledges from congregants in order to fund the development of the site. The final entry in the minute book of the cemetery committee was the expression of great sadness at Abraham’s passing in 1839, aged only 54, and the resolution to write to his widow, Betsy, with the committee’s condolences. He was buried in the cemetery he had helped organise only a few years earlier, and Betsy was also buried at Deane Road in 1860.
In all, there are 22 members of the Jacobs/Jackson family buried at Deane Road. David and Abraham’s eldest brother, the aforementioned John Jacobs Jackson (1775-1848) is one, along with his daughter, Jane Jacobs (c.1811-61), who had married her uncle, Lewis Jacobs (1791-1840), David and John’s youngest brother. Lewis and Jane’s second son, Charles Jacob Jacobs was buried at Deane Road in 1862.
Links
http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/levytotnes.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/westcountrywills.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/plymouthtombsindexeng.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/susser/plymouthinscriptions.htm
Other Sources
- “Will of David Jacobs Jackson, Gentleman of Liverpool, Lancashire”, National Archives ref PROB 11/2194.
- Jewish Chronicle, 25 May 1877, page 10 (available via JC Archive (subscription required) at http://www.thejc.com/).
- Jewish Chronicle, 27 November 1931, page 14 (available via JC Archive (subscription required) at http://www.thejc.com/).
Grave References
David Jacobs Jackson (1780-1854): A 04.01
Katherine Jackson (née Ralph; David’s wife; c.1780-1855): A 04.02
Abraham Jackson (David’s brother; 1785-1839): A 01.12
Betsy Jackson (née Ralph; c.1785-1860): A 05.18
John Jacobs Jackson (David’s brother; 1775-1848): A 02.28
Jane Jacobs (David’s sister-in-law and niece; 1810/11-1861): A 05.31
Charles Jacob Jacobs (Jane’s son; 1839-1863): A 06.30
Henrietta Braham (née Jackson, David’s daughter; 1810-1890): A 10.03
James Braham (Henrietta’s husband; c.1811-1873): A 10.02
George Isaac Jackson (1812-1877): A 12.21
Caroline Jackson (née Moss, George’s wife; 1815/16-1898): A 12.22
Sara Karo (née Jackson, George’s daughter; 1849-1919): A 15.23
Henry David Jackson (1814-1882): A 16.04
Lucy Ann Jackson (née Gough, Henry’s wife; 1827/8-1893): A 17.04
Eliza Jackson (1820-1872): A 10.01