Mary Francis married William Jackson in the following spring of 1864, they left from White Cloud, Kansas, just across the Missouri line, by wagon train, crossing the plains to California.
Mrs. Jackson was even then a remarkable woman, and drove a mule team the entire distance. The journey lasted four months, and in September the party reached Sebastopol, Sonoma County.
Mrs. Jackson's father and three brothers had started across the plains for California in 1849, but the father (Pearl Francis) and two brothers had died of cholera and were buried somewhere on the road. This much Mrs. Jackson and her mother knew also that one brother had reached California. Arrived in California, Mrs. Jackson found her brother, and from him learned that her own father and two brothers were buried there on Laramie flat, where she had camped. All the way, she says, she wondered where they lay, and yet camped beside their graves without knowing it.
Before telling the rest of her story, this incident should be given It is known to all students of the history of our Civil War that Missouri was the scene of a terrible struggle between the Union and Confederate forces, each trying to save the state for its own side.
At Springfield, where Mary Francis was then a schoolgirl, the Union men were trying to keep "Old Glory" floating until General Sigel and his ten thousand men, many of them Germans, should arrive. Several times the Confederate men tore down the flag and tramped it tinder foot. At last they shot the Union men who tried to guard it at night. Sigel was coming. Should the Stars and Stripes greet him or not? One day, the day before he was expected, the principal of the school said, "Will any one here volunteer to guard the flag tonight?" Mary Francis arose and said, "I will." Girl after girl arose until twelve girls had said, "I will."
At home she told what she was going to do, and a brother, the last one remaining, said, '"If you do that, I will enlist in the Confederate army tomorrow morning." The twelve girls went to the public square and the flag was run up. There they stayed all night dancing, singing, but always circling the flag pole. About ten the next morning a glad shout went up from the Union men and women, who, at dawn, began to collect about the brave girls that had guarded the flag all night and whom no man had molested; for listen, faint and far away, sounds of fife and drum and then as on a sea of glass, the sun flashed on ten thousand glistening bayonets. In a little while General Sigel and his men swept around the square. The bands surrounded the girls and serenaded them and the flag, while General Sigel shook hands with each and thanked them for this service to their country.
True to his word, the brother (Robert) enlisted in the Southern Army, and Mrs. Jackson recalls how her mother stood at the gate one evening while General Lyon, on his fine dappled gray charger, rode past on his evening ride. She questioned him, saying, "Do you think there will be a battle?" "Yes, Madam, there will be a battle, probably tomorrow." At break of day, the roll of artillery began. Five miles away a son and brother were fighting against the flag that the sister had guarded; but so it was all through those awful years—son against father, brother against brother, on the battlefield, while the women wept, worked and prayed at home with no drums, no fifes, no yelling hordes, to cheer them on and so it will ever be while the hell of war is allowed by so-called civilized nations.
The husband and wife had brought little cash with them, but great store of pluck and energy. Mrs. Jackson says she grew tired of living without butter and milk, so urged Major Jackson to offer her fine gold watch and chain to a man who owned some good-looking cows, for one of them. At first the Major demurred, but she finally had her way, and in exchange for watch and chain, the man gave her two of his best cows. Each cow had a heifer calf and when, in 1867, the family decided to remove to Santa Barbara County, those cows and young" heifers came along, following the wagon in which the family rode. It took two weeks for the trip, but it was spring and feed was fine, so cows and folks arrived in good condition.
Mrs. Jackson says as long as they ranched, the cows were always hers, as she started the herd with her gold watch and chain. When they went to Lompoc valley, some years later, sixty head of fine cattle followed the wagons.
In 1874, Major Jackson was one of a hundred men who bought seventy-two thousand acres of land in Lompoc Valley, the Downing boys being members of the company. Hither the Major and his family removed; and here they lived for about twenty-eight years. In 1902 Major and Mrs. Jackson removed to Orange.
Mrs. Jackson was a charter member of the Mothers' and Daughters' Degree of Masonry, which later became the Eastern Star of San Luis Obispo. Irvin McGuire installed the members.
Mrs. Jackson, a very bright, interesting woman, active in social and benevolent duties, still resides in Orange. The children are judge Grant Jackson of Los Angeles; Mrs. Hattie M. Ross of Santa Barbara; Mrs. Louisa Meyers, deceased; Mrs. Julia Stafford of Santa Barbara; Fred Jackson, a conductor on the Southern Pacific, who lives at Santa Barbara; Robert and Adeline, twins, and Logan, the youngest son, who resides in Orange. Adeline died at the age of thirteen. Robert lives in Pomona.
Source: excerpts from History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs California with Biographical Sketches; Mrs. Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon
Mrs. Jackson was even then a remarkable woman, and drove a mule team the entire distance. The journey lasted four months, and in September the party reached Sebastopol, Sonoma County.
Mrs. Jackson's father and three brothers had started across the plains for California in 1849, but the father (Pearl Francis) and two brothers had died of cholera and were buried somewhere on the road. This much Mrs. Jackson and her mother knew also that one brother had reached California. Arrived in California, Mrs. Jackson found her brother, and from him learned that her own father and two brothers were buried there on Laramie flat, where she had camped. All the way, she says, she wondered where they lay, and yet camped beside their graves without knowing it.
Before telling the rest of her story, this incident should be given It is known to all students of the history of our Civil War that Missouri was the scene of a terrible struggle between the Union and Confederate forces, each trying to save the state for its own side.
At Springfield, where Mary Francis was then a schoolgirl, the Union men were trying to keep "Old Glory" floating until General Sigel and his ten thousand men, many of them Germans, should arrive. Several times the Confederate men tore down the flag and tramped it tinder foot. At last they shot the Union men who tried to guard it at night. Sigel was coming. Should the Stars and Stripes greet him or not? One day, the day before he was expected, the principal of the school said, "Will any one here volunteer to guard the flag tonight?" Mary Francis arose and said, "I will." Girl after girl arose until twelve girls had said, "I will."
At home she told what she was going to do, and a brother, the last one remaining, said, '"If you do that, I will enlist in the Confederate army tomorrow morning." The twelve girls went to the public square and the flag was run up. There they stayed all night dancing, singing, but always circling the flag pole. About ten the next morning a glad shout went up from the Union men and women, who, at dawn, began to collect about the brave girls that had guarded the flag all night and whom no man had molested; for listen, faint and far away, sounds of fife and drum and then as on a sea of glass, the sun flashed on ten thousand glistening bayonets. In a little while General Sigel and his men swept around the square. The bands surrounded the girls and serenaded them and the flag, while General Sigel shook hands with each and thanked them for this service to their country.
True to his word, the brother (Robert) enlisted in the Southern Army, and Mrs. Jackson recalls how her mother stood at the gate one evening while General Lyon, on his fine dappled gray charger, rode past on his evening ride. She questioned him, saying, "Do you think there will be a battle?" "Yes, Madam, there will be a battle, probably tomorrow." At break of day, the roll of artillery began. Five miles away a son and brother were fighting against the flag that the sister had guarded; but so it was all through those awful years—son against father, brother against brother, on the battlefield, while the women wept, worked and prayed at home with no drums, no fifes, no yelling hordes, to cheer them on and so it will ever be while the hell of war is allowed by so-called civilized nations.
The husband and wife had brought little cash with them, but great store of pluck and energy. Mrs. Jackson says she grew tired of living without butter and milk, so urged Major Jackson to offer her fine gold watch and chain to a man who owned some good-looking cows, for one of them. At first the Major demurred, but she finally had her way, and in exchange for watch and chain, the man gave her two of his best cows. Each cow had a heifer calf and when, in 1867, the family decided to remove to Santa Barbara County, those cows and young" heifers came along, following the wagon in which the family rode. It took two weeks for the trip, but it was spring and feed was fine, so cows and folks arrived in good condition.
Mrs. Jackson says as long as they ranched, the cows were always hers, as she started the herd with her gold watch and chain. When they went to Lompoc valley, some years later, sixty head of fine cattle followed the wagons.
In 1874, Major Jackson was one of a hundred men who bought seventy-two thousand acres of land in Lompoc Valley, the Downing boys being members of the company. Hither the Major and his family removed; and here they lived for about twenty-eight years. In 1902 Major and Mrs. Jackson removed to Orange.
Mrs. Jackson was a charter member of the Mothers' and Daughters' Degree of Masonry, which later became the Eastern Star of San Luis Obispo. Irvin McGuire installed the members.
Mrs. Jackson, a very bright, interesting woman, active in social and benevolent duties, still resides in Orange. The children are judge Grant Jackson of Los Angeles; Mrs. Hattie M. Ross of Santa Barbara; Mrs. Louisa Meyers, deceased; Mrs. Julia Stafford of Santa Barbara; Fred Jackson, a conductor on the Southern Pacific, who lives at Santa Barbara; Robert and Adeline, twins, and Logan, the youngest son, who resides in Orange. Adeline died at the age of thirteen. Robert lives in Pomona.
Source: excerpts from History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs California with Biographical Sketches; Mrs. Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon
Mary Francis married William Jackson in the following spring of 1864, they left from White Cloud, Kansas, just across the Missouri line, by wagon train, crossing the plains to California.
Mrs. Jackson was even then a remarkable woman, and drove a mule team the entire distance. The journey lasted four months, and in September the party reached Sebastopol, Sonoma County.
Mrs. Jackson's father and three brothers had started across the plains for California in 1849, but the father (Pearl Francis) and two brothers had died of cholera and were buried somewhere on the road. This much Mrs. Jackson and her mother knew also that one brother had reached California. Arrived in California, Mrs. Jackson found her brother, and from him learned that her own father and two brothers were buried there on Laramie flat, where she had camped. All the way, she says, she wondered where they lay, and yet camped beside their graves without knowing it.
Before telling the rest of her story, this incident should be given It is known to all students of the history of our Civil War that Missouri was the scene of a terrible struggle between the Union and Confederate forces, each trying to save the state for its own side.
At Springfield, where Mary Francis was then a schoolgirl, the Union men were trying to keep "Old Glory" floating until General Sigel and his ten thousand men, many of them Germans, should arrive. Several times the Confederate men tore down the flag and tramped it tinder foot. At last they shot the Union men who tried to guard it at night. Sigel was coming. Should the Stars and Stripes greet him or not? One day, the day before he was expected, the principal of the school said, "Will any one here volunteer to guard the flag tonight?" Mary Francis arose and said, "I will." Girl after girl arose until twelve girls had said, "I will."
At home she told what she was going to do, and a brother, the last one remaining, said, '"If you do that, I will enlist in the Confederate army tomorrow morning." The twelve girls went to the public square and the flag was run up. There they stayed all night dancing, singing, but always circling the flag pole. About ten the next morning a glad shout went up from the Union men and women, who, at dawn, began to collect about the brave girls that had guarded the flag all night and whom no man had molested; for listen, faint and far away, sounds of fife and drum and then as on a sea of glass, the sun flashed on ten thousand glistening bayonets. In a little while General Sigel and his men swept around the square. The bands surrounded the girls and serenaded them and the flag, while General Sigel shook hands with each and thanked them for this service to their country.
True to his word, the brother (Robert) enlisted in the Southern Army, and Mrs. Jackson recalls how her mother stood at the gate one evening while General Lyon, on his fine dappled gray charger, rode past on his evening ride. She questioned him, saying, "Do you think there will be a battle?" "Yes, Madam, there will be a battle, probably tomorrow." At break of day, the roll of artillery began. Five miles away a son and brother were fighting against the flag that the sister had guarded; but so it was all through those awful years—son against father, brother against brother, on the battlefield, while the women wept, worked and prayed at home with no drums, no fifes, no yelling hordes, to cheer them on and so it will ever be while the hell of war is allowed by so-called civilized nations.
The husband and wife had brought little cash with them, but great store of pluck and energy. Mrs. Jackson says she grew tired of living without butter and milk, so urged Major Jackson to offer her fine gold watch and chain to a man who owned some good-looking cows, for one of them. At first the Major demurred, but she finally had her way, and in exchange for watch and chain, the man gave her two of his best cows. Each cow had a heifer calf and when, in 1867, the family decided to remove to Santa Barbara County, those cows and young" heifers came along, following the wagon in which the family rode. It took two weeks for the trip, but it was spring and feed was fine, so cows and folks arrived in good condition.
Mrs. Jackson says as long as they ranched, the cows were always hers, as she started the herd with her gold watch and chain. When they went to Lompoc valley, some years later, sixty head of fine cattle followed the wagons.
In 1874, Major Jackson was one of a hundred men who bought seventy-two thousand acres of land in Lompoc Valley, the Downing boys being members of the company. Hither the Major and his family removed; and here they lived for about twenty-eight years. In 1902 Major and Mrs. Jackson removed to Orange.
Mrs. Jackson was a charter member of the Mothers' and Daughters' Degree of Masonry, which later became the Eastern Star of San Luis Obispo. Irvin McGuire installed the members.
Mrs. Jackson, a very bright, interesting woman, active in social and benevolent duties, still resides in Orange. The children are judge Grant Jackson of Los Angeles; Mrs. Hattie M. Ross of Santa Barbara; Mrs. Louisa Meyers, deceased; Mrs. Julia Stafford of Santa Barbara; Fred Jackson, a conductor on the Southern Pacific, who lives at Santa Barbara; Robert and Adeline, twins, and Logan, the youngest son, who resides in Orange. Adeline died at the age of thirteen. Robert lives in Pomona.
Source: excerpts from History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs California with Biographical Sketches; Mrs. Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon
Mrs. Jackson was even then a remarkable woman, and drove a mule team the entire distance. The journey lasted four months, and in September the party reached Sebastopol, Sonoma County.
Mrs. Jackson's father and three brothers had started across the plains for California in 1849, but the father (Pearl Francis) and two brothers had died of cholera and were buried somewhere on the road. This much Mrs. Jackson and her mother knew also that one brother had reached California. Arrived in California, Mrs. Jackson found her brother, and from him learned that her own father and two brothers were buried there on Laramie flat, where she had camped. All the way, she says, she wondered where they lay, and yet camped beside their graves without knowing it.
Before telling the rest of her story, this incident should be given It is known to all students of the history of our Civil War that Missouri was the scene of a terrible struggle between the Union and Confederate forces, each trying to save the state for its own side.
At Springfield, where Mary Francis was then a schoolgirl, the Union men were trying to keep "Old Glory" floating until General Sigel and his ten thousand men, many of them Germans, should arrive. Several times the Confederate men tore down the flag and tramped it tinder foot. At last they shot the Union men who tried to guard it at night. Sigel was coming. Should the Stars and Stripes greet him or not? One day, the day before he was expected, the principal of the school said, "Will any one here volunteer to guard the flag tonight?" Mary Francis arose and said, "I will." Girl after girl arose until twelve girls had said, "I will."
At home she told what she was going to do, and a brother, the last one remaining, said, '"If you do that, I will enlist in the Confederate army tomorrow morning." The twelve girls went to the public square and the flag was run up. There they stayed all night dancing, singing, but always circling the flag pole. About ten the next morning a glad shout went up from the Union men and women, who, at dawn, began to collect about the brave girls that had guarded the flag all night and whom no man had molested; for listen, faint and far away, sounds of fife and drum and then as on a sea of glass, the sun flashed on ten thousand glistening bayonets. In a little while General Sigel and his men swept around the square. The bands surrounded the girls and serenaded them and the flag, while General Sigel shook hands with each and thanked them for this service to their country.
True to his word, the brother (Robert) enlisted in the Southern Army, and Mrs. Jackson recalls how her mother stood at the gate one evening while General Lyon, on his fine dappled gray charger, rode past on his evening ride. She questioned him, saying, "Do you think there will be a battle?" "Yes, Madam, there will be a battle, probably tomorrow." At break of day, the roll of artillery began. Five miles away a son and brother were fighting against the flag that the sister had guarded; but so it was all through those awful years—son against father, brother against brother, on the battlefield, while the women wept, worked and prayed at home with no drums, no fifes, no yelling hordes, to cheer them on and so it will ever be while the hell of war is allowed by so-called civilized nations.
The husband and wife had brought little cash with them, but great store of pluck and energy. Mrs. Jackson says she grew tired of living without butter and milk, so urged Major Jackson to offer her fine gold watch and chain to a man who owned some good-looking cows, for one of them. At first the Major demurred, but she finally had her way, and in exchange for watch and chain, the man gave her two of his best cows. Each cow had a heifer calf and when, in 1867, the family decided to remove to Santa Barbara County, those cows and young" heifers came along, following the wagon in which the family rode. It took two weeks for the trip, but it was spring and feed was fine, so cows and folks arrived in good condition.
Mrs. Jackson says as long as they ranched, the cows were always hers, as she started the herd with her gold watch and chain. When they went to Lompoc valley, some years later, sixty head of fine cattle followed the wagons.
In 1874, Major Jackson was one of a hundred men who bought seventy-two thousand acres of land in Lompoc Valley, the Downing boys being members of the company. Hither the Major and his family removed; and here they lived for about twenty-eight years. In 1902 Major and Mrs. Jackson removed to Orange.
Mrs. Jackson was a charter member of the Mothers' and Daughters' Degree of Masonry, which later became the Eastern Star of San Luis Obispo. Irvin McGuire installed the members.
Mrs. Jackson, a very bright, interesting woman, active in social and benevolent duties, still resides in Orange. The children are judge Grant Jackson of Los Angeles; Mrs. Hattie M. Ross of Santa Barbara; Mrs. Louisa Meyers, deceased; Mrs. Julia Stafford of Santa Barbara; Fred Jackson, a conductor on the Southern Pacific, who lives at Santa Barbara; Robert and Adeline, twins, and Logan, the youngest son, who resides in Orange. Adeline died at the age of thirteen. Robert lives in Pomona.
Source: excerpts from History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs California with Biographical Sketches; Mrs. Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon
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