Henry Jackson, one of the enterprising and representative agriculturists of Fremont township, owns and operates an attractive and well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres of section 7, within a mile of Mechanicsville. His birth occurred in Fremont township, this county, on the 7th of June, 1874.
His father, John Jackson, was born and reared in the Buckeye state and at the time of the Civil war joined the Forty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained throughout the period of hostilities. He was captured by the Confederates and spent eleven months in Andersonville prison and four months on Belle Isle. On leaving the army he returned to Ohio but soon afterward came to Cedar county, Iowa, purchasing and locating on a tract of eighty acres near Mechanicsville. At the end of a few years he sold the property and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which is now in possession of our subject. At that time a log cabin stood on the place and only a small portion of the land had been broken. By dint of unremitting toil he brought the fields under a good state of cultivation and also erected a substantial residence and barn as well as other necessary outbuildings. There he carried on his agricultural interests with excellent success until 1893, when he took up his abode in Mechanicsville, where he remained for about five years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, and that city has since been his home. He was twice married, his first wife being a Miss Allen, by whom he had four children, namely: Frank, a resident of Cedar county; and Ed, Walter and John, all of State Center. His second union was with Cordelia Hines, and to them were born two children: Hulda, the wife of Fred Armstrong, of Cedar Rapids; and Henry, of this review.
Henry Jackson grew to manhood on the home farm and pursued the prescribed course of study in the Mechanicsville high school. When his father left the farm he took charge of the place and has since made many improvements thereon, having remodeled the house, repaired the barn, erected more outbuildings, fenced the fields and set out fruit trees. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he also raises and feeds stock, fattening from one to two carloads of hogs annually. In the management of his business affairs he displays keen discernment, unfaltering enterprise and sound judgment, and in the community where his entire life has been spent his name stands as a synonym for integrity and worth.
On the 22d of November, 1894, in Mechanicsville, Mr. Jackson was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Conner, who was born, reared and educated in Cedar county. Her father, William Conner, is likewise a native of this county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have been born three children: Willard, Howard and Marion.
Mr. Jackson is a republican in politics and is now ably serving in the capacity of township trustee. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Mechanicsville and both he and his wife belong to the Rebekahs. The latter is likewise a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are widely and favorably known throughout the county, having gained many friends during their lifelong residence there.
