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Jesse Frisbie Jackson family papers
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Jesse (Jack) Frisbie Jackson (1873-1954) was born in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. He began his career as a stenographer in Manchester, Iowa, in 1894 with the Illinois Central Railroad. After moving to Dubuque, Iowa, he became chief clerk of the Assistant General Passenger Office in 1899, and in 909 he became a traveling passenger agent in that office. In 1910, Jackson accepted a job as an immigration agent with the Central of Georgia Railway Company, and he and his family moved to Savannah, Georgia. After two years as an immigration agent, Jackson switched to the railway's agricultural department and became an agricultural agent. In 1922, Jackson was promoted to general agricultural agent and ran the agriculture department. He remained in that position until his retirement in 1945. While working for the Central of Georgia Railway's agricultural department, Jackson worked to encourage southern farmers to adopt methods that will make them more prosperous, since the railway's earnings were dependent on the prosperity of the region's agriculture. Jackson encouraged projects of lasting impact, such as the establishment of permanent pastures and the reintegration of soil in the South. He was very active in his profession and was a member of the American Railway Development association (ARDA), the Southern Railway Development Association (SRDA), the Southern Cattlemen Association (SCA), Friends of the Land the National Farm Chemurgic Council, as well as Savannah's Rotary Club. He served as president of the ARDA, SRDA, and the SCA at various times. In 1944, he was named Man of the Year by magazine. Jackson wrote extensively throughout his career about farming, but he also tried his hand at creative writing. In 1898, while in Iowa, he attended the Sprague Correspondence School of Journalism, and in the fall of 1933, he tried the John Gallishaw School for Creative Writing, Inc. Jackson was an avid reader and a big fan of Mark Twain. Jackson lived at 905 Henry Street in Savannah with his wife, Laura Atwater Jackson (b. 1886). Together they raised five children: Helen (later Mrs. Stilson Brannen), Mary Atwater (b. June 5, 1908), Margaret Clow (b. June 5, 1908), Jesse Atwater (b. May 23, 1901), and Laurance (Laurie) Frisbie (b. 1906).
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This collection consists of the personal and business papers of Jesse F. Jackson, as well as some papers of the rest of the Jackson family. The first box contains correspondence of the Jackson family. The majority of this correspondence is from 1929-1936 and concerns the inheritance the family received in 1930 from Mrs. Helen Clement, an aunt of Jesse F. Jackson. Mrs. Clement was from the mid-west and came to Savannah a few months before dying in February of 1930. Financial papers concerning the inheritance are also included. A variety of membership cards are also in the collection, most belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. The rest of the papers in box 1 pertain solely to Jesse F. Jackson. These include some personal and business papers, as well as business correspondence. Two files hold papers concerning Jackson's dealings with the National Farm Chemurgic Council and also the Friends of the Land organization. Jackson also kept a list of birthdays of co-workers and others in his field and this is also in the collection. Some of the names on the list also include some biographical information about the person in addition to their birth date. Jackson tried his hand at creative writing on at least two occasions; his writing lessons from the Sprague Correspondence School of Journalism in 1898 and a short story he wrote for the John Gallishaw School for Creative Writing in 1933 are included in the collection. Box 1 concludes with Jackson's retirement papers from the Central of Georgia Railway Company and news clippings about Jackson throughout his career.
The second box contains copies of Jesse F. Jackson's weekly report as head of the agricultural department to the President of the Central of Georgia Railway Company from 1916 to March of 1945 (except for 1922).
The collection also contains 16 scrapbooks and 4 diaries. The scrapbooks were created by Jesse F. Jackson and pertain to his career in the agricultural department of the Central of Georgia Railway Company. These scrapbooks contain letters, news clippings, pamphlets, reports, and other memorabilia, and they span the length of Jackson's career. Three of the diaries in the collection were kept by Mrs. Laura Jackson for the years 1929-1930, 1937, and 1945. In her entries, she relates her day's events and the comings and goings of her family. Entries range from very brief to a few sentences, and there are some large gaps where no entries were made. Also, a few letters and news clippings can be found pasted into the diaries. The other diary was kept by Laurance F. Jackson for the years 1923-1925. HE writes almost daily about what he did each day and provides a good glimpse into the life of a teenager in Savannah in the 1920s.
Also included are several photographs of Jesse F. Jackson, his family, and the family house and car. Folder 2 consists of two photos of the office of the agricultural department of the Central of Georgia Railway Company, a photo of Jackson announcing at the Savannah Stock Yards, and two photos of men on a train. Folder 3 contains 5 photos taken at a Friends of the Land meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 11, 1942. The last folder contains 2 similar photos of 2 unidentified men in an office and a photo of a man basket-weaving under a tree. In addition, there are 7 loose panoramic photographs that appear to have been taken at various conferences that Jackson attended throughout his career. These photos are tightly rolled.
The box containing visual materials is noted as 'VM' in the collection inventory.
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Artifacts were separated and cataloged with the Georgia Historical Society Artifacts Collection.
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Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
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GHS 1572, Jesse Frisbie Jackson family papers, 1898-1953. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
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