Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet (28 April 1805 – 31 January 1876) was an English industrialist, railway entrepreneur and Liberal politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1847 and 1868.

Early life

Jackson was the 7th son of Peter Jackson of

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

and his wife Sarah Mather. His father was a surgeon, man-midwife and pharmacist and a respected member of the business community of Warrington, but died in 1811 leaving his large family impoverished. Peter Jackson had been the seventh son of an enterprising Middlewich businessman, James Jackson and his wife Martha Pickmore. The family, hailing from Cheshire, was originally called Oulton, but became 'Jackson' through marriage with a woman of property in the 17th century. Jackson's mother was descended from the Mathers of Lowton whose family included

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...

and

Richard Mather Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians. Biography Mather was born to Thomas Mather ...

Business career

Jackson was sent to work at an ironmongers in Ranelagh Street in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

before he was twelve. There he had the chance to read and develop his own education, as well as buying up the shop when the business went bankrupt. The shop was only a few doors away from the home of the artist William Daniels. Jackson became a generous patron of art in Birkenhead and originated the associate of artists. Jackson became an African merchant trading in palm oil and made his first fortune by 1832. He played a major part in the development of Birkenhead and was one of the principal originators of the Birkenhead Docks. He was chairman of Birkenhead Improvement commissioners from 1842 to 1846 and invited

Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

to Birkenhead to design a park. Jackson's marriage to Elizabeth Hughes in 1828 was instrumental in his early fortunes as his father-in law, Thomas Hughes owned the Woodside Ferry and had various industrial interests in the locality. He and his older brother, John Somerville Jackson, went into partnership and gradually bought up land in and around Birkenhead. his interests in the locality led him into partnership with the celebrated Thomas Brassey, and with the financial help of Frederick Huth, the partnership of Jackson, Brassey, Peto and Betts was born. More of an ideas man than an engineer, Jackson was the salesman of the partnership. This created friction but made Jackson another fortune. His interests diverged to Newspapers ( he was heavily involved in the London press at one time, collieries ( he went into partnership with Robert Stephenson on his project at Claycross in Derbyshire) and heavy industry (metal and locomotives, as well as into politics.

Political career

At the 1847 general election Jackson was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

. He held the seat at three further elections, until 1865. At the 1865 general election he was returned unopposed as one of the two MPs for the Northern division of Derbyshire.Craig, op. cit., page 372 However he was defeated in North Derbyshire at the 1868 general election, and did not stand again. He was a parliamentary reformer and an uncompromising advocate of free trade. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire in 1852 and was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of the Manor House, Birkenhead in 1869 - he had been offered a peerage but had refused it (Hansards).

Later life

Jackson remained a good friend of Joseph Paxton and eventually became the sole proprietor of the

Clay Cross Company The Clay Cross Company was founded as George Stephenson and Co. in 1837 by the railway pioneer, George Stephenson. The company established coal mines, ironworks, brickworks and pipe factories at Clay Cross near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chester ...

, a company held by his family until 1966. He was once described as the ' richest commoner of England' although he only left £700,000 in his will as he had divested himself of many of his assets beforehand, settling estates and giving large sums to his large family. He also left £50 to his great friend

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

to drink to his health! Jackson had ships sailing on almost every sea, and held commercial relations with nearly every country on the globe. He was in partnership with

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

in building the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

of Canada in 1852 and was a

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Jackson died aged 70 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Henry Mather Jackson. He was buried at Flaybrick Hill Cemetery in

Personal life and descendants

Jackson married Elizabeth Hughes, daughter of Thomas Hughes, on 30 October 1829. Their third son, Thomas Hughes Jackson, also continued in enterprise. They had ten children: *Elizabeth Jackson (1830–) * Sir Henry Mather Jackson, 2nd Baronet (1831–1881) *William Jackson (1832–1906) *Rt. Hon. Thomas Hughes Jackson (1834–1930) *Hamilton Jackson (1837–1846) *Caroline Jackson (1840–) *Edward Patton Jackson (1842–1881) *John Peter Jackson (1843–1899) *Edith Jane Jackson (1846–1869) *Miriam Bertha Jackson (1852–) A descendant, via William Jackson (1832–1906), was the Formula One racing driver

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Shunt", Hunt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and wo ...

.Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, ed. Arthur G. M. Hesilrige, Kelly's Directories, 1931, p. 426

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, William, 1st Baronet 1805 births 1876 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 Deputy lieutenants of Cheshire Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme