John William Jackson, always known as William Jackson, is believed to have been born in Mile End, London, Middlesex, England, in 1868, the son of Richard Matthew and Isabella Jackson (née Parsons). His father was a tobacco pipe maker. Due to his name being quite a common one, trying to identify records pertaining to him has proved difficult.
At some stage the family moved to Manchester, Lancashire, where his father died while William was quite young, and his mother some years later. Nothing is known of his childhood, except that he was one of five children.
He worked as a blacksmith and was married with a son named William, who was born in 1894 in Manchester, but nothing is known about his wife or other circumstances. At some stage his wife died, but when and where is not known.
On the 13th July 1908, he married Sarah Jane Webb, and sometime after their marriage the couple had immigrated to 65. Moreland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, where, presumably William Jackson found employment.
In the spring of 1915, however, the couple decided to return to Great Britain, maybe as a result of the Great War blazing in Europe and consequently, they booked third class passage on the Lusitania which was scheduled to leave New York on 1st May 1915. Accompanying them on their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was Mrs. Elizabeth Webb, aged 69, who was presumably William Jackson’s mother-in-law. For some reason, William and his wife's names were recorded on the passenger manifest as Webb!
All three joined the liner at Pier 54, in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May and had been allocated their cabins by the time the liner left the port, just after mid-day. Six days later, with the liner only 250 miles away from her Liverpool destination, she was torpedoed and sunk, whilst sailing past The Old Head of Kinsale off the coast of southern Ireland.
All three family members were killed as a result of the torpedoing and as none of their bodies was ever recovered and identified afterwards, none has a known grave. William Jackson was aged 46 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, London England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1923, Manchester England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1930, 1871 Census of England & Wales, 1881 Census of England & Wales, Cunard Records, Manchester Evening News, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Nyle Monday, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.