Cummins Jackson

Who was Cummins Jackson?

Cummins Edward Jackson was a paternal uncle of Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. He owned and operated a grist mill at Jackson's Mill, Virginia.

Jackson was born at Jackson's Mill, the eldest son of Edward Jackson and his second wife. He was 26 when his father died and he inherited the mill. Some of the family members claim he seized control and refused to share any of the estate; they sued to get their fair shares, but the case was never settled. Stonewall Jackson biographer James Robertson described Cummins as "unscrupulous and vindictive ... absurdly litigious", having a strong fondness for gambling, horse racing, and drinking, and he quotes an acquaintance calling Cummins a "rascal". In 1835 Cummins arbitrarily constructed a 6-foot high dam stretching 150 feet across the West Fork River, needing additional power, but he disregarded the needs of his neighbors downstream. They also sued him, but that apparently was unsuccessful because the dam still stands.

Into this environment, 6 year-old Thomas Jackson and his younger sister Laura Ann went to live with Cummins Jackson in 1830. Cummins's brother, Clarksburg attorney Jonathan Jackson, had died of typhoid fever. The children's mother, Julia Neale Jackson, died five years later, leaving her children orphaned. Although some biographies of Stonewall Jackson portray Cummins as a "father figure", this does not characterize the relationship adequately. The young boy called him "Uncle", but thought of him more as an elder brother, one whose morals would have a notable negative effect on him. The sole positive effects of Cummins's guardianship seem to have been the work ethic Thomas developed around the mill, and the equestrian skills he learned at the four-mile racetrack Cummins built nearby, populated with a number of blooded horses.