For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 17
JUDGE DOUGLAS V. JACKSON. With a mind preeminently of judicial cast, capable of an impartial view of both sides of a question and of arriving at a just conclusion, Judge Douglas V. Jackson has made an enviable record as the presiding officer of the district court and is leaving a most creditable impress upon the judicial history of the state. He makes his home in Muscatine, his native city, his birth having here occurred November 17, 1859.His parents were Peter and Christiana ( Sinclair ) Jackson. The father a native of Scotland, was born April 30, 1816, and spent his youthful days in the town of Keith. Attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning America, he crossed the Atlantic in 1837 when twenty-one years of age and spent the summer in New York. He then made his way to Muscatine in 1838, finding here a small village upon the western frontier. He purchased a lot and made arrangements to establish a permanent home in this city, which he did in March, 1839. He was first connected with the business interests of Muscatine as a clerk in the store of Adam Ogilvie in the winter of 1840-41. His business ability was recognized by his employer, who admitted him to partnership and in addition to conducting a general mercantile enterprise they also engaged in the commission and forwarding business, being agent for one of the packet companies and likewise made pork packing a branch of their undertaking, packing the first pork in this section of the state. In 1845 Mr. Ogilvie retired, Mr. Jackson continuing the business alone until the spring of 1856, when he disposed of his mercantile interests, confining his attention to the other lines. His ambition and energy, however, sought scope in other fields and in the spring of 1865 he joined with several prominent business men of Muscatine in organizing the Merchants Exchange Bank, which in the following November was reorganized under the national banking system as the First National Bank, of which Mr. Jackson became the first president. Later he retired from that position but continued as cashier for fourteen years, or January, 1879, when he ceased to be an active factor in the management of the bank although retaining his stock. The last ten years of his life were spent in retirement from all lines of business but he never ceased to feel a deep interest in the welfare and progress of his community and to the extent of his power cooperated in movements for the general good. At one time he was secretary of the Old Settlers Association and was very prominent among the residents of this part of the state. In 1856, in Canada, he married Miss Christiana Sinclair and unto them were born four children: Douglas V.; Charles P., of Muscatine; Anna Mabel, the deceased wife of H. M. Patton, formerly of Muscatine but now of Des Moines; and one who died in infancy. He also had a son George B. Jackson, born of a former marriage. The death of Peter Jackson occurred in 1901 when he was eighty-five years of age, and he is still survived by his wife, who has reached the age of seventy-seven years. Both were the devoted members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Jackson is a daughter of Archibald Sinclair, a native of Scotland, who on emigrating to Canada had established his home near Toronto.
Judge Jackson was reared in Muscatine and his present home stands in the same block in which he was born. He is indebted to the public-school system for the early educational privileges which he enjoyed and then, entering the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, completed the course with the class of 1879. In preparation for his profession he entered the law department of the Iowa State University and was graduated in 1881. Admitted to the bar in that same year, he has practiced continuously in Muscatine and was a member of the firm of Titus & Jackson from 1886 until his election as judge of the district court in 1902. He has since sat upon the bench and has recently been reelected. He has much natural ability but is withal a hard student and in private practice was never contented until he had mastered every detail of his cases. He was never surprised by some unexpected discovery by an opposing lawyer, for in his mind he weighed every point and fortified himself as well as for defense as for attack. His record as a judge is in harmony with his record as a man and a lawyer, distinguished by unswerving fidelity to duty and a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. While in active practice and on the bench he has won well earned fame and distinction.
On the 4th of September, 1885, Judge Jackson was married to Miss Alberta Jarvis, a native of Florence, Alabama, and a daughter of Charles A. and Miranda ( Woodlin ) Jarvis. Their children are Robert Sinclair and Louis Douglas, at home; and Margaret, who died in infancy. The elder son is now pursuing his education in the State University at Iowa City, while the younger son is a high-school student.
The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which the judge is serving as a trustee and in various departments of church work they take an active and helpful interest. He also belongs to Iowa Lodge, No. 2. A. F. & A. M.; to Washington Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M.; to Webb Council, R. & S. M.; and to the Knights of Pythias Lodge. His political indorsement has always been given to the republican party and in 1895 he was elected states attorney but at the close of his term declined renomination. There is an interesting military chapter of his life record, in that he was colonel of the Fiftieth Iowa Volunteers at the time of the Spanish-American war, and he has been connected with the Iowa National Guard for many years, winning his way gradually from the ranks to the colonelcy. His business interests aside from his profession are represented in the vice presidency of the First National Bank. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life, enjoys outdoor sports and recreation and is president of the Geneva Country Golf Club. He is recognized as a man of well balanced character and abilities, and his talents have gained him preeminence in his chosen profession, while his strongly marked characteristics have won for him the warm friendship and kindly regard of those with whom he has been associated.
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