Los Angeles-San Diego County CA Archives Biographies.....Jackson, Arthur E. 1870 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 1, 2006, 1:55 am Author: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) ARTHUR E. JACKSON, for about twenty-two years a resident of Santa Monica, and well known as an active and successful business man, is a native of Kankakee, Illinois, born April 1st, 1870. His father, Stephen Jackson, was a native of Sheffield, England, and came to this country with his parents, Edmund and Anna Jackson, and was raised on a farm near Kankakee. The family consisted of seven sons and one daughter. Here young Stephen grew up and at the age of fifteen, upon the breaking out of the Civil War, entered as a volunteer in the United States Army. His father was so bitterly opposed to the move that, by reason of his age, he demanded and secured his release and return home. The spirit of adventure and brief taste of army life had so fired the zeal of the boy that he clandestinely left home and re-entered the army. He was an expert rifleman and was mustered into what was known in military circles as Yates Sharp Shooters and during his term of service was almost continuously on active duty. He was in the battle of Lookout Mountain, where men fell at both his right and left in line of battle, and was also in many other fierce and bloody engagements. Later he made the famous march through Alabama and Georgia to the sea with Sherman. Upon his return to civil life he married Miss Eliza Hammer at Kankakee, a native of London, England. He entered the employ of the Chicago & Rock Island R. R. Company as a track man and became a civil engineer, finally doing heavy contract work for the Fort Scott & Gulf, the Texas Pacific and Union Pacific Railway Companies. He came to California in 1883 and to Southern California in 1885, locating in Santa Monica in February, 1886. He built the Santa Monica and Soldiers' Home horse car line for the W. D. Vawter Company. He owned the old North Beach Hotel and laid the first sidewalk on Third Street, in front of what was then the E. D. Suits meat market, now Kennedy's Buffalo Market. He made the first street grade in Santa Monica, which was on Second Street from Utah to Nevada Avenues. He did the contract work for the U. S. Government at the National Soldiers' Home. He at one time owned the Santa Monica Hotel, now the North Beach Hotel, which he sold to J. M. Orr. He took an active part in local civic affairs and was highly esteemed for his sterling merits as a citizen and a business man. As a veteran of the Civil War he was very popular in the Grand Army of the Republic and when the G. A. R. post was organized at Santa Monica it was given the name of Stephen Jackson post. He died April 18th, 1898. Arthur Jackson was a lad of sixteen years when the family located in Santa Monica. He passed through the local schools and entered the employ of his father as timekeeper and accountant. In 1893 he opened a cigar and tobacco store on Third Street; finally disposing of this stock he replaced it with books, stationery, toys and school supplies, later adding a stock of pianos. He conducts the Los Angeles Daily Times and the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper routes which constitutes a feature of his business. In 1894 Mr. Jackson married Miss Mary H. Lawrence, a native of San Diego, California, the daughter of Mr. Frank Lawrence, who was the first representative of the Wells Fargo Express Co. in that city. They have two sons—Lawrence A., and Kenneth A. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Masonic Lodge, the I. O. O. F. and the B. P. O. E. Mrs. Jackson is Past Matron and Grand Organist of the O. E. S. The family residence is at No. 1117 Fifth Street. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities: prefaced with a brief history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County, 1542 to 1908: supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and embellished with views of historic landmarks and portraits of representative people. Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/losangeles/bios/jackson241bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 4.5 Kb