Thomas Jackson Letters

Commentaries

Jackson Families in Ilkeston

The specialist website Old Ilkeston is focused on a small town in central England but also has accumulated an extensive collection of data on the history and genealogy of the Jackson family. There you can find rich details on the early life of Thomas Jackson and also his colorful father John Jackson who feature as two of the main characters in our own websites. In addition there is also much detail about their many relatives, mainly in England but also in America.

We are greatly indebted to Dave Johnson (dave.johnson@oldilkeston.co.uk) for permission to reproduce these sections.

CLICK HERE to read the article in full.

Assessing the Significance of the Thomas Jackson Collection

“Thomas Jackson’s story has been largely untold, but the record he left behind demands historical analysis. His erudite letters have much to contribute to our understanding of the abolitionist movement, the evolution of attitudes to race, and everyday experiences of the U.S. Civil War. Jackson’s status as a British immigrant also provides us with an added analytical layer in which to view American abolition, race, and the Civil War in a transnational context.”

In this article appearing on Not Even Past, University of Texas’ history department blog, author Miles Reding dissects the Collection’s relevance to America’s abolitionist movement and the U.S. Civil War. He details how Thomas Jackson’s letters and articles provide us a unique window into the transnational dimensions of the decades-long battle over slavery in the United States.

To read more, head to the NEP blog!