Presentation of William Jackson Street Sign

The William Jackson Family
Included in the photo (names not in order): Sally Coomber, Shirley Robinson, Stacie Branton,
Sue & Ross Whyte, Will, Jackson, Sam & Jaye Robinson, Bill Crossland,
Judy & Alan Shiels, Elizabeth Cherniak, Councillor Johnson & Mayor Ryan.

Accepting the sign:

Granddaughters of William Jackson: Judith Elizabeth Shiels Susan Blanche Whyte Sally Irene Coomber and the great granddaughter: Stacie Jean Branton Also present for presentation: Shirley Robinson (Eldest desendent – oldest granddaughter of William Jackson) (her father was also named William Jackson, as he was William Jackson’s eldest child) Great Grandchildren: Elizabeth Cherniak Jaye Robinson Great Great Grandchildren: Jackson Ford Robinson Samuel Merritt Robinson William James Robinson Kaite Beaver Granddaughers (from above, but listed here with husbands): Judith Elizabeth Shiels (husband Alan) Susan Blance Whyte (husband Ross) Sally Irene Coomber (husband Rick)

WILLIAM H. JACKSON (1859-1933)

William H. Jackson was born in the hamlet of Brock Road (corner of Brock Rd and Taunton Rd) in 1859. He learned the trade of blacksmith from his father James Jackson, who had immigrated to Pickering Township from Ireland in the 1840s.

In addition to blacksmithing, Jackson was a woodworker, carriage maker, merchant, postmaster, and entrepreneur. He served his community as a member of the Methodist Church Board (which after 1925 was the United Church Board) for 40 years and was Brougham Union Sunday School Superintendent for 30 years.

One can best follow the fortunes of his business through the advertisements he put into the local newspaper (the Pickering News). In the beginning (as early as 1884) he advertised himself as a general blacksmith, horseshoer, and woodworker. Within a few years he was running the “Brougham Harness Depot”. In the 1890s he added a dry goods section to his growing business, and then convinced the federal government to open a post office in Brock Road, with him as postmaster. Soon he was advertising “The Jackson Cart”, which featured a new design in cart springs; he patented the concept and manufactured the carts himself. As the automobile became more popular, and carriages were less in demand, he adapted his business to suit. By 1914 he was now manufacturing a “Universal Sawing Machine”, which, again, he manufactured himself. He sold it as “a combination of efficiency and simplicity”. Also in 1914 he was selling Gray Gasoline Engines, and before he died he was running a Service Station along with his general store on the Brock Road. In his 50 or more years as a businessman, William proved himself to be innovative and adaptable, as well as conscientious and generous.

William Jackson had three children who survived childhood: William Archibald (“Archie”) Jackson, Frank Jackson, and Walter Henry (“Pete”) Jackson, who died at the end of 2008 in his 104th year.