Jackson Family Genealogy Table of Contents Back to Chapter One
THE STORY OF SARAH AND ABIGAIL JACKSON
CHAPTER TWO - AUGUST, 2005
By Paula Mellor
Early in my search I purchased
the Will of Edward Jackson along with the estate sale and also the marriage bond
of Abigail. Now I have obtained the marriage bonds of Sarah and Mary,
daughters of Edward. I have purchased the Will of William Jackson.
With these I have compared the signatures and the data involved. The
signatures match. With the gathering of the Will of Edward, and Sarah's
marriage bond, signature matches.
The 1804 marriage bond of Sarah Jackson and John Flesher
states she is daughter of the said Edward and it is
signed by Ed Jackson. His signature matches the signature on his Will.
Edward's Will leaves a
portion to his daughter Sarah Fletcher and names other daughters, but not
Abigail Hughes.
In Abigail's
1786 marriage
bond, bondsman William Jackson, does not state he's the father of Abigail.
I am now almost sure that William is her
father. A bondsman did not have to be a father of the bride-to-be or a relative.
I do believe if she had been underage there would have been something stating a parent or guardian.
She was 21 at the time most likely. The signature of William matches the signature on his
Will and the marriage bond of Abigail (spelled Abigale on bond). From this I have come to the conclusion Abigail is not the daughter of Edward and Martha.
She is most likely the daughter of William and his first wife. The way I see it, the name Sarah was added to Abigail
by certain researchers to coincide with the will. The name William was added to Edward as a middle name to coincide with Abigail's marriage bond.
No original documents show Edward to have a middle name.
I must say the puzzle to me is still the moving of the gravestones of Edward, Stephen and Stephen's wife Elizabeth.
They were buried in the family plot in Mount Clare, Harrison County, WV. With information I have (not proven) the stones were moved in the early 1970's
to the Salem Seventh Day Baptist Church, Salem, Harrison County, WV, and placed behind Abigail's monument.
Edward was given a new stone before the stones were moved and therein lies the fact of the mix up of the birth dates.
He most likely was born 1741 and not 1730
as on the new stone. A note to be added here; to my knowledge (not
proven) the stones were moved and the new one for Edward made by descendants of
Stephen, (s/o Edward).
His descendants going down
the line have been buried in the Broad Run Cemetery in Lewis County, WV. Why they brought them to the SDB by
Abigail's tombstone is unknown, unless thinking they were father and brother to
Abigail. To my knowledge they were not Seventh Day Baptists.
Researchers who descend from Abigail and Jonathan, we need to search, prove, and
document parentage for Abigail. Some kind of official document, or the page from the family
Bible needs to be found.
We owe this to ourselves and to future generations to get this corrected and find the proof.
I have people looking into the movement of the gravestones as well as other things.
See 'Chapter Three' for more on the moving of the stones.
If you have further discussion on this feel free to email me.
Paula Mellor
email Paula
