Ezekiel Andrew Jackson
The Jackson family as long been a well established one in
Shelby county, members of which bear excellent
reputations for honesty and industry wherever they have dispersed.
Ezekiel A. Jackson was born in section 1,
range 6, township 12, June 19, 1862, the son of John and Elizabeth
(Rodeheffer) Jackson. Samuel
Rodeheffer, the maternal grandfather, was born in Germany. Elizabeth
Rodeheffer was born in Ohio, of German
parentage, December, 1837, and she died April 6, 1903. John Jackson
was born June 30, 1832, in Franklin
county, Indiana, and he died in July, 1904. He was married November 21,
1852. He was a minister in the Christian
church and was a liberal supporter of the same. He was also considered
a progressive farmer of his day. (For
additional history of the Jackson family's ancestors see sketch of
Thomas W. Jackson.)
Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Jackson, namely:
Mary M., wife of James M. Lee, living
in Shelby township; William J., a farmer in Scott county, Indiana;
Shelby S., living in Anderson, Indiana;
Ezekiel A., of this review; Sarah J., wife of John A. Fix, a farmer
in Scott county, this state; Margaret, wife of
Charles W. Parrish, died April 7, 1892; Florence O., wife of James R.
Burkhead, a farmer of Scott county;
Otis M., a barber in Indianapolis; Charles O., of Shelbyville.
Ezekiel Andrew Jackson, the fourth child in his father's
family, was reared upon the home farm in Washington
township, where he received his education in the district schools and
where he has continued to reside. He worked
by the month on the farm for his father until he was married to Eliza J.
Parrish, January 23, 1887. She was born in
Shelby township, this county, December 13, 1857. She was the daughter
of James F. and Frances (Clark)
Parrish. William Clark, Mrs. Jackson's maternal grandfather, was born
in Manchester, England, November 21,
1812, and he came to Indiana in 1817, when the Hoosier commonwealth was
in its infancy. In 1824 he located
in Washington township, Shelby county. On December 25, 1833, he married
Mary Van Benthusen. He entered
land until he owned two hundred and forty acres. William Clark died
January 14, 1902, and his widow, who was
born in Orange county, New York, March 5, 1815, died in 1899. Mr. and
Mrs. William Clark were the parents of
seven children.
James F. Parrish and Frances Clark were married in 1856, and
they became the parents of eight children,
all living, Mrs. E.A. Jackson being the oldest of the family. She was
educated in the common schools. To Mr.
and Mrs. Jackson two children have been born. Oral W. was born July 21,
1899, his birth occurring in Brandy-
wine township, Shelby county. One died in infancy.
James F. Parrish, father of Mrs. Jackson, died Mary 17, 1902.
He was a farmer, a typical pioneer, clearing
his land. He was a good man and was interested in improvements. He
took a great interest in raising fine hogs
and cattle. He and his wife came to Shelby county when the land was
covered with forest growth, and they ate,
slept and lived in a covered wagon until they could build a cabin. The
Parrish family was a native of Kentucky,
having come to Shelby county, Indiana, in 1823, locating in what is now
Shelby township, Mr. Parrish entering
land there on which he lived until his death. Besides Eliza J., the
following children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
James F. Parrish: J. Willard, a physician, of Shelbyville; Ellen, wife
of William Gray, a farmer of Addison
township, of this county; William L., a gardener living at Flat Rock,
Indiana; George A., a teacher, living in
Shelby township, is single; Frank, living in Sacramento, California, is
in the emply of a railroad company;
Edwin is a farmer in Shelby township; Eva is the wife of Elmer Hurst,
of Shelbyville.
After his marriage, Mr. Jackson rented land for some time.
Finally, in April, 1898, he bought an eighty
acre farm in Brandywine township, this county, going in debt for a part
of it. He lived there until 1906, when
he sold out and purchased one of one hundred and sixty-seven acres --
the old Jackson farm that was entered
from the government by the maternal grandfather of the subject. Mr.
Jackson is a good farmer and keeps his
place in good condition, reaping excellent harvests from it year by year
as a result of his good management and
habits of industry. He also keeps some good stock and he has excellent
buildings and latest models of farming
machinery. He and his wife are members of the Pleasant Grove Christian
church. In politics Mr. Jackson is a
Democrat.
From Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, pages 554-555.
Copied by Phyllis Miller Fleming