Vienna Parker was appointed John F. Jackson's ward in 1839. She married James Milton
Grigsby in 1840. (GenForum, Nancy Ohda, 15 May 2000) Jackson's wife, Elizabeth, was a
Grigsby, so James Milton
Grigsby was probably a relative of hers, perhaps a nephew. Maybe Vienna had been the ward of William
Grigsby, father of Elizabeth, who had died in 1839. Maybe the responsibility fell to John F. Jackson at his father-in-law's death.
THE DIVORCE CASES OF ELIZABETH B. AND JOHN F. JACKSON
The divorce of Elizabeth B. (nee
Grigsby) and John F. Jackson was protracted and nasty. It involved accusations of adultery, drunkeness, verbal and physical abuse, and alimony problems. Following is my summary of the case taken from copies that I made of it from the web site of the Library of
Virginia,
Fauquier Co. Chancery
Court, 1848-002.
Elizabeth had wanted to marry a John Foster, but her mother wouldn't let her. Instead, Mrs. Grigsby made Elizabeth marry John
Jackson. Subsequently, John F. Jackson of
Prince William Co. and Elizabeth
Grigsby of
Fauquier Co. were married in 1813 in
Fauquier Co. They lived with the family of John F. Jackson in
Prince William Co. immediately after they married. Elizabeth declared that she always despised John
Jackson, and that he was a "mulatto son of a bitch and her skin should never t[o]uch his." Obviously, this did not happen because by 1839, John and Elizabeth
Jackson had had nine children within 26 years (1813-1839), but only six that were living in 1839.
In 1839, Elizabeth Jackson's father, William
Grigsby, died intestate (without a will) in
Fauquier Co. His land was divided into thirds, and John
Jackson accrued his portion of his wife's inheritance, 126 acres, since John
Jackson was a male and I guess females couldn't inherit things if they were married. John
Jackson sold his land in
Prince William Co., and the Jacksons moved to the land in
Fauquier Co. in December 1839. At some time around then, maybe a little before, maybe a little later, John
Jackson purchased the other two-thirds of Grigsby's estate, an additional 244 acres, from William Grigsby's other heirs, maybe the sisters of Elizabeth, who may have been married to Henry and Raynor
Peyton. This included the house where William
Grigsby had lived and where Elizabeth had been born. The Jacksons moved into this house, and the total acreage of the small farm was now 370 acres.
John and Elizabeth
Jackson did not have a happy marriage. He had a hot temper, drank a lot, and loved to gamble by playing cards. One witness to the divorce case stated that John
Jackson may never have gotten "beastly drunk", but he could be dangerous when he was drunk. John
Jackson physically abused his wife, and she verbally abused her husband. He committed adultery with multiple women. He owned 11 slaves, which he fed and clothed, but treated harshly. He did not hesitate to beat them with a rod when he was angry, and was accused of beating one of his slaves to death. [Perhaps Elizabeth
Jackson pressed charges on this case. At any rate, either a grand jury found insufficient evidence to try John
Jackson, or the case went to trial and resulted in a hung jury. Elizabeth
Jackson was advised that she could file suit again, because she claimed that she wanted another jury. I do not know if she filed suit again.]
To some witnesses, John had treated Elizabeth with respect, at least when others were present. However, Elizabeth claimed that when John got drunk he would get violent with her, slapping her and even choking her until she was black in the face. As early as 1826/7, Elizabeth would be found in "tears" after being choked or beaten. Their daughter,
Mardula, said her father would get violent with her mother when he was sober, too. One time, she interceded by saying, "O Father, beat me rather than my poor mother." As early as then, Elizabeth said she would have to leave her husband. She didn't, however, fearing he would punish her for doing so. She also thought that eventually John would change for the better, but he did not. Other witnesses claimed that Elizabeth badmouthed John, accusing him of adultery and using "tough language".
In 1845, Elizabeth told one witness that she hadn't slept with John for six months, and would never sleep with him again. Their daughter, Adelaide, said that her parents didn't sleep together for two years before their separation (which would have been during 1841-1843), and that her mother would lock herself up in a closet at night to keep safe. Jackson F. Strother, John Jackson's nephew, said that John told him that Elizabeth had "absented herself from his bed and that he had been compelled to find someone else."
Finally, Elizabeth claimed that she couldn't stand it anymore. She left John in the fall of 1843, and went to live in
Washington, DC, with their son, William S. G. Jackson,
Mardula, her unmarried daughter, and another married daughter, a Mrs. Howison, and her husband, Mr. Howison. Mrs. Jackson was grateful that her son-in-law, Mr. Howison, showed kindness toward her and had let her live with them. The two youngest
Jackson children, both sons, stayed in Carter's Run in
Fauquier Co. with their father. Another child who also stayed with him was named Adelaide. John also was said to have been responsible for a widowed or divorced daughter (identity unknown). John declared that Elizabeth, his wife, and William, his son, were out to annoy and ruin him.
In February or March of 1845, Elizabeth
Jackson made the original bill of complaint alleging adultery, gross hardship and cruelty and asked for a divorce and for alimony. She had to file her complaint through her son, William S. G. Jackson, probably because she was female and was required to have a male instigate court proceedings. In May 1845, she asked the court to inquire as to the value of the farm, which they eventually did. Each acre was valued at $17, and the farm could be rented for $500 per year. John
Jackson was assessed as owning enough slaves to work a farm that size, as well as horses, cattle, hogs, etc. Elizabeth had this done to help determine a settlement and alimony amount. However, John believed that Elizabeth felt that she could get half of his property, and he wasn't willing for that to happen. Elizabeth corroborated this by saying that she would go back with him if he "would give her the property which he got by her", would promise to treat her right, and if not, then promise to give her property to her.
John was a passionate and vengeful person, according to testimony ("When vexed, he would go to any length to make his point"). John denied every accusation, from choking and beating his wife to living in open adultery. He denied being a drunkard, but admitted that he occasionally drank. He took exceptions with many of Elizabeth's depositions, challenging the deponents to prove the accusations by naming times and places. He did not want to pay intermediary alimony, and the court ordered that he did not have to. Thus, he prolonged the case and delayed his expenses. He failed to obey summons to come to court for furthur divorce proceedings, and Elizabeth had to have him summoned again. This only caused more delays. John was not going to let Elizabeth get what she wanted. He accused her of drunkeness, becoming hysterical and verbally abusing him. John said he bore this abuse quietly, but this tactic had made Elizabeth even angrier.
John poormouthed his situation, probably in order to minimize the alimony he would have to pay. This included the money he owed creditors, anywhere from $1000 to $2500, and the necessity of selling three of his slaves to help pay his debts. He claimed one of his slaves was unprofitable. He said that the profits of his farm and from his slaves were barely adequate to keep things going. He illustrated his familial responsibility by claiming to have raised and supported his family over the years, and was still supporting two of his youngest children, one who was uneducated. A deponent said his children got everything that they ever asked for
John said Elizabeth had left him of her own free will, and all she would have to do was return to him and all would be forgiven. He accused his son and daughter in
Washington, and possibly others, of "poisoning" Elizabeth's mind and advising her to leave him. He went so far as to even calling their son, William, "evil" and his enemy. John was said to be very upset at Elizabeth leaving him, and said that she could come and go as she pleased, and that he would treat her with respect. John asked a friend to ask Elizabeth to return. The friend did so, at a Mrs. Mary Jackson's in Warrenton in July 1845, but Elizabeth said she wouldn't return. Nevertheless, Elizabeth returned at least twice soon thereafter, for very short periods of time, spending the nights, riding John's horse, and was seen sewing on his porch, but she did not stay permanantly. One deponent said she had visited
Fauquier Co. four times, and stayed 10 to 20 days each time.
Both John and Elizabeth asked for depositions from various people as testimony in their case. In fact, the case was adjourned six times from August to October 1845 in order to collect the depositions. Of course, the deponents essentially supported whoever asked for them, either for the husband or for the wife. John seemed to get officials, (such as the
Fauquier Co. sheriff and deputy sheriff), professionals, (such as their family doctor), as well as personal friends, for depositions. Elizabeth got depositions from her children's old tutor, their daughter,
Mardula, and other friends. Neighbors, former servants, and former boarders were interviewed. To John's supporters, he was always kind and respectful to his wife and a good farmer (but not a laborer, as one witness explained). One of John's supporters claimed that Elizabeth badmouthed John so often that the deponent (the deputy sheriff) hated to go to their house, but he had to because of business. He said Elizabeth was often in an "ill humor and was unsocialble." Elizabeth was described by her supporters as always kind, affectionate, never drunk, dutiful, even-tempered and tried to please her husband. The former tutor of the
Jackson children felt that Elizabeth humbled herself to her husband too much.
Depositions in the first divorce case of John and Elizabeth
Jackson William B. Davis,
Alpheus J. Strother, William H. Gaines- September 1845
Thomas H. Nelson, deputy sheriff of
Fauquier Co.- September 1845
Nimrod T. Ashby, sheriff of
Fauquier Co.- September 1845
Thomas A. Richter,
Jackson F. Strother, John A. Moffitt- October 1845
John Kemper- April 1846
Mardula
Jackson- taken at hotel of Tyler & Birch,
Washington, DC- April 1846
John Woodyard, Francis C. Davis- taken at Lewis Pritchard's home, Providence,
Fairfax Co., VA- April and October 1846
Thomas S. Lee,
Fairfax Co.- former schoolteacher of Jackson's children- April and October 1846
Thomas
Cooke,
Fauquier Co.- August 1846
J. B. Thornton- family physician, August 1846
Walter Smith and his wife, Catherine- September 1846 (no deposition included from them in the file)
James Kean and John Simpson- Rappahannock Co., September 1846
The adultery issue is what affects my genealogy the most. John
Jackson was described as "addicted" to visiting houses of "ill fame" or "bad character" and kept the "company of loose women." John
Jackson was accused of being too friendly with a Miss
Carter "on the hill" around 1840-1842. He was in the habit of meeting her at his back gate next to the Free State (part of
Fauquier Co.). At one of these times, the meeting was intercepted and stopped by their son, William. A deposition was given by Thomas
Cooke, whose wife was cousin to John
Jackson and also was a good friend to Elizabeth
Jackson. The women were such good friends that they "unbosomed themselves to each other", which probably meant that they were very open and honest with each other. Elizabeth accused John of criminal intercourse with ____
Carter, and called him a "nasty mulatto" and said that Elizabeth never "wanted him". John would just smile and leave the room. It was also mentioned that John had a relationship with a negro girl, and that Elizabeth would mention this constantly.
At the beginning of the case in 1845, Elizabeth
Jackson declared that John consorted with a "lewd woman" and "lives in open adultery with her. " The "lewd woman" was my ancestor, Elizabeth
Gill Putnam. By 1846, John was said to have an "outhouse of ill fame" on his farm. This was a way of saying there was a house of bastardy nearby. John was seen visiting there frequently. Even when the supposed offender moved farther away, John was seen going in that direction frequently. This was the house where Elizabeth
Putnam lived, and Elizabeth
Putnam was probably the "lewd" woman, although her name is not mentioned throughout the entire case. Elizabeth
Jackson is said to have spoken badly about "this women on the mountain". At that time, the counsel asked Thomas
Cooke if he had heard a rumor that John
Jackson was "on open terms of improper & illegal intimacy with a lewd woman in his neighborhood?" Cooke answered that yes, it was so.
On 7 May 1847, a divorce between John and Elizabeth
Jackson was decreed by the Circuit
Court of
Fauquier Co. John was ordered to pay $200 per year in alimony, paid quarterly in the amount of $50. However, on 14 May 1847, John
Jackson appealed the case to the higher
Court of Appeals in Richmond. The
Court of Appeals finally heard the case on Monday, 25 April 1848. On 5 May 1848, they ruled in favor of John
Jackson because of an "error" made by the county court. The nature of this error is not known. John and Elizabeth's son, William S. G. Jackson, was ordered to pay all the appeal court costs. The divorce was annulled, and John
Jackson never had to pay alimony.
The decision, however, did not stop Elizabeth
Jackson from pursuing a divorce. Either she or her lawyer was encouraged by an act passed by the
Virginia General Assembly on 18 March 1848 "prescribing regulations to govern application for divorce." One of these regulations was adultery, and divorce had been granted to another couple already because of adultery. Subsequently, Elizabeth
Jackson sued John
Jackson again for divorce and a monetary settlement, pressing the adultery issue much more than in the first suit for divorce. Proceedings began in September 1848, when John
Jackson was summoned to come to court. New depositions were acquired.
Depositions from the second divorce suit of Elizabeth and John
Jackson Adelaide F. Fields, the Jacksons daughter, and Eliza
Rowan, the nurse of another daughter's children, taken at the home of Henry Howison on 3rd St. between E and F Sts.- January 1849
Worden
Grigsby (Elizabeth Jackson's brother),
Alpheus J. Strother, Nimrod T. Ashby, Thomas A. Nelson,
Jackson F. Strother (nephew of the Jacksons), Thomas Cocke(
Cooke?), Abraham Lindsay and John A. Moffitt- March 1849
Richard E. Lake- September 1849 and May and October 1850
Thompson M. Hirst- September 1850
William H. Gaines- October 1850
Seven of the twelve deponents were the same as in the first divorce case, but records do not exist for some of them.
Adelaide F. Fields, the Jackson's married daughter by January 1849 (when she gave the deposition), stated that she lived at her father's house for most of the time between 1843 and 1847. She said that her mother had left "in the fall of 1843 in consequence of the ill treatment of my father towards her. She(her mother) and myself(Adelaide) being apprehensive that her life would be endangered by remaining longer with him(her father), and he told her that if she did not leave his house that he was afraid he would commit an act that he might be sorry for." This refutes John Jackson's previous testimony from the first suit that said the Elizabeth
Jackson left by her own free will. Adelaide said she had seen her father "strike" her mother "repeatedly." She had witnessed this cruelty at breakfast, dinner and supper time, and she did not think that her father was joking.
Adelaide
Fields stated that she knew Betsy (Elizabeth)
Putnam, who lived on her father's land with her parents, the
Gills, and her sister. The
Gills consisted of father, mother, son and daughter (George and Fanny?). Adelaide had visited the original house, which had only one room and a loft, when Betsy had lived by the mill on Jackson's farm, which had been built in William Grigsby's time, and was 300 yards from Jackson's house. At that time, Adelaide spoke to Betsy's mother about someone attempting to burn the Gill's house.
A little later, the Putnams and
Gills moved from the cabin near the mill to another cabin on Jackson's land, farthur away from the
Jackson farmhouse, about a mile away. This cabin had also been built in William Grigsby's time. It was a double cabin with a chimney at each end. Betsy
Putnam lived in one side, and her father in the other. Both were seen coming out of their respective doors. Mr. Gill, Betsy's father, paid Mr. Jackson $15 a year rent for the cabin. Mrs. Putnam's brother (probably George
Gill) often worked for Capt. John
Jackson, as did old Mr. Gill, possibly in lieu of his rent. John
Jackson was seen at the Gill/Putnam house both night and day, once when Mr. Jackson took his clean laundry there to be starched and ironed. John
Jackson said that his wife wouldn't starch or iron it, and would not let their servants do it, either. Jackson was also seen there with his arm around Betsy
Putnam. John
Jackson told a deponent that he had stayed there all night.
Adelaide
Fields testified that her "father has formed or pretends to have formed such an attachment for...[Betsy
Putnam], that... he furnishes her with provisions and was in the habit when I was at home of visiting her house almost daily." She said Betsy Putnam's husband was dead (he had died by 1845). Adelaide believed that it was the relationship between John
Jackson and Betsy
Putnam that caused her parents' separation, and that this relationship angered her mother. However, she left it to others to say if her father had committed adultery. She stated that her father had not paid a cent to her mother during their separation.
Elizabeth
Jackson had returned to
Fauquier Co. from
Washington after they had first separated, and went to a tavern in Warrenton. She said that if John had come to the tavern himself, she would have returned home, but he didn't. Instead, he sent her brother, Worden
Grigsby, to get her. So, Elizabeth did not immediately return to her home. Eventually, however, she did return for a few days, but left "in tears from my father's abuse," concerning the divorce suit, according to Adelaide
Fields. Adelaide also said that she never saw her mother drunk.
Eliza
Rowan, possibly a mulatto, was the nurse to the children of another
Jackson daughter, Mrs. Howison of
Washington. Eliza saw Betsy
Putnam at John Jackson's house a few times, and heard John speak of Betsy and Betsy's children at length. John told Eliza a few times that the children were his, and that he "intended to educate them." Eliza considered John
Jackson "one of the most tyrannical man[sic] over his family and the most barberous[sic] to his servants that I have ever known." She heard
Jackson abuse his daughter, Adelaide, and order her out of the house. She saw him "beat his servants in the most shocking manner."
A deponent said that by September of 1847 Betsy
Putnam had had two children, the oldest four or five years old (Martha Ann) and the youngest a year old (
Redman). Later, Betsy had another child, born 1 December 1847 (
Silas). Other deponents said that Betsy's second illigitimate child was born in late fall or early winter of 1847 (
Silas was born in November 1847, according to the 1850 Census). Adelaide
Fields said that Betsy
Putnam had three children by January 1849, one reputed to be by Betsy's husband (Martha Ann) and two born since his death (
Redman and
Silas). Three deponents said that Betsy Putnam's children bore "a strong resemblance to Capt. Jackson, in features." A third illigimate child was born in February 1850, but died when it was about a week old. The child was buried in Jackson's graveyard near his home.
Things must not have been going well for John
Jackson after the first divorce suit. Eventually, the
Jackson children that had stayed with John eventually left him and went to live with Mrs. Jackson in DC. The servants/slaves also left to go with Mrs. Jackson. In January or February 1848,
Jackson found it necessary to rent his house (William Grigsby's former home) and farm that he lived on to a Richard E. Lake. Mr. Lake had agreed to let Mr. Jackson live in two rooms of the house for two months, and Mr. Jackson behaved himself at first. However,
Jackson didn't move out after the first two months. Mr. Lake demanded the rooms in March, but John
Jackson said he wanted to extend his stay and rent the rooms that spring until his house would be finished (He must have been having a new house built, location unknown, but it must have been nearby). Lake agreed to the arrangement.
From April on, however, John Jackson's behavior deteriorated. He drank, swore and gambled in the rooms he lived in. He entertained several women from the "Free State" portion of the county at that time, either brought in by
Jackson himself or they were brought to him by a Col. Lindsay, sometimes three women at a time. Neighbors said the women were of "bad character." Jackson was seen "in a corner, chatting [with] her (a woman) very closely, with his arms about her person." One woman was named Serena
Carter, the other Rose Redmond, and the third unknown. Also, a Mr. Carter from the "State" would come to visit
Jackson sober, and leave "beastly drunk." Another woman, Mrs. Groves, was a frequent visitor, and would often leave "very warm." One of the women, who had never married, had an illegitimate child, and would come to the house and demand that
Jackson support the child because it was his child, and it would only be fair since he supported other illegitimate children of his (the
Putnam children?)(Betsy
Putnam did not visit Mr. Jackson when the other women were there.)
At harvest time, one of Mr. Lake's hired hands got sick. Mr. Jackson suggested that Mr. Lake hire Mrs. Groves to help Mrs. Lake at this time, but that experience also turned out badly. Mrs. Groves found some whiskey that Mr. Lake had for his hired hands, and "made herself very drunk." Mr. Lake's wife protested against Jackson's bad behavior in her own house, and Mr. Lake entreated another man to intervene, but
Jackson didn't stop.
Mr. Lake stated that Mr. Jackson and he were not on friendly terms, and were not talking. Jackson had attacked Lake a couple of times, and Mr. Lake took out a peace warrant against him because
Jackson wouldn't move out. Mr. Jackson promised to keep his distance, move out the next day, and Lake dropped the warrant. After
Jackson moved out, Mr. Lake saw the same women come to Jackson's new house that he had already seen come to his own house.
Lake also knew Betsy
Putnam. He knew she lived on Jackson's land, because
Jackson had reserved the land and house from Lake's rental of the farm. Lake felt that Betsy kept a "house of ill fame." He thought that she had three illigitimate children, and saw them all staying at Mr. Jackson's house, once for three weeks, "night + day", in about 1849, maybe at the time when one of Jackson's "black women had run off and was confined." At that time, he saw Betsy
Putnam leave the house to transact Mr. Jackson's business. He saw
Jackson visit
Putnam at her house often, and saw "him carry her up there [to her house on the mountain], on horse back behind him several times." The neighbors said that
Jackson and
Putnam had a "close intimacy..for a long time" and John had had sexual "intercourse" with her. John
Jackson told his nephew,
Jackson Strother, that he had had intercourse with her.
Mr. Jackson's lawyer tried to get Mr. Lake to admit that Mr. Jackson was not at his house for the three weeks that Mrs. Putnam was there because
Jackson "went from home at the time his niger[sic] woman ran away for the purpose of getting her...in Fairfax and
Washington City." Lake replied that the "negro woman ran away some two or three times." One time she ran away and had a child. A friend, William Gaines, said he ate Christmas dinner with Mr. Jackson one year, and that Mrs. Putnam was there. Mr. Jackson explained that since Jackson's cook had been confined(the negro woman?), and that he could not succeed in finding another cook, that he asked Mrs. Putnam to fix his Christmas dinner. Gaines had also heard of their illicit affair.
Tragically, by 1849, two teenage sons had recently died. One died when he was eighteen or nineteen years old. The other, when only fourteen, "while traveling home from a distant state met an untimely death." One child had died in infancy. So, of the Jacksons nine children, only five were living by September 1849.
Unfortunately, despite all the testimony that shed a bad light on John
Jackson, the divorce case was dismissed on 5 May 1852 because both the plaintiff and the defendent had to reside in the state of
Virginia at the time the suit was filed. Elizabeth
Jackson resided in
Washington, DC, a different jurisdiction from
Virginia. So, the suit was for naught. John F. Jackson, the defendant, petitioned the court that Elizabeth
Jackson pay his court cost of $24.91 for defending the suit. On 5 May 1852, the court ordered that John F. Jackson had to recover those costs personally from his son, William S. G. Jackson, the representative of Elizabeth.
Almost two years later, on 14 February 1854, Elizabeth
Putnam bought 10 acres from John F. Jackson for $500. (This was a lot of money. Where did she get it?) This included the house on Rappahannock Mountain occupied by Elizabeth
Putnam and her father, James
Gill. John F. Jackson was reported as moving. The land was to be surveyed by a
Fauquier Co. surveyor who was to be paid in wood. Also involved in the transaction were two negro children named Ally and Morton in possession of Elizabeth
Putnam. Jackson deeded the land and slaves to Elizabeth
Putnam and her three youngest children, Radnor,
Silas and Sarah Elizabeth. The names of the three youngest children were added before the deed was sealed.
This may indicate that John F. Jackson was trying to make lasting provisions for his mistress and her three youngest children, all born after her husband, Martin S. Putnam's death by 1845, and which were probably Jackson's children. Radnor, or
Redman, was born in 1845,
Silas in 1847, and Sarah Elizabeth in 1852. Another child, Mariana Sophia, was born after the deed was transacted, in 1858. Perhaps her father was John
Jackson also, but he never amended the deed, so her identity of her father remains unknown. She married young and reached adulthood.
Technically, the fatherhood of Elizabeth Putnam's children after her husband's death is up for conjecture, but the above evidence may logically lead to the conclusion that John
Jackson was their father, and that they were illegitimate.
In 1850, John F. Jackson lived alone. His real estate was valued at $10,000.
On 20 April 1854, the Chancery
Court of
Fauquier Co. ordered that Ann E. Grigsby pay loan debts out of the assets on the estate to various people, one that included her ex-son-in-law, John F. Jackson for $426.90, accrued from the 1 August 1845 at 6% per year. It was also ordered that James M. Grigsby and his wife, Viena, pay to John F. Jackson, their ex-brother-in-law, $230.50 from a loan that he made to them on 1 May 1843 with interest. Finally, Henry
Peyton and his wife were ordered to pay John F. Jackson $23.66 plus interest. Ann
Grigsby was also ordered to pay debts owed to
Peyton and James
Grigsby. All parties were ordered to share the court costs.