Thomas was born around early March 1826 in the village of Ribchester in Lancashire.  He is the only child we can be certain was born to Richard Jackson, a Labourer, and his wife Margaret (nee Clayton), although there are clues to possible siblings¹.  Thomas was baptised on the 18th of March 1826 at the church of St Wilfred in Ribchester.

At some point, probably during the 1830's, his parents left Ribchester and moved to Preston in Lancashire, no doubt attracted by the employment opportunities in the Cotton Mills there.  The 1841 census shows the family of three sharing a terraced house at number 10 Sergeant Street, in the Fishwick district of Preston, along with seven other people.  Both Thomas, aged 15 years, and his father are working in a Cotton Mill.

On the 11th of May 1845, Thomas, who was by then living in Water Street, Preston and working as a Labourer, married Mary Barton, a Winder in a Cotton Mill.  Both signed the register with 'X' and gave their ages as 21 (they were both 19).  Four months later, Mary gave birth to their first child, a son, who was registered and baptised with the name Hugh Jackson on the 29th of September 1845. Like many parents, they tried to follow the naming convention which was popular at that time². Unfortunately, they got it wrong but soon changed it 'unofficially' by calling him Richard, which is the name that appears in the censuses that followed.  Their next child was a girl and was correctly given the name Ellen, after Mary's mother. However, when their second son was born, they couldn't use the name 'Hugh', according to the convention, as they had already 'officially' used it. Instead they used the next one in the sequence which was Thomas, after the father.

When the 1851 Census was taken on the 30th of March, Thomas, Mary and their four children, were sharing the home of his parents at 18 Ribbleton St in the Deepdale district of Preston. Thomas was still working as a General Labourer and gave his age as 23, which must be wrong since, from his baptism date, he was at least 25. There doesn't seem any reason why he would understate his age at this stage of his life.

Thomas and his family moved from Preston to Blackburn sometime between 1852 and and 1854, where they set up home in Lyon Street, which was in the Bank Top district of the town.

December 1858 was the start of an unhappy period for Thomas; His mother died in Preston and was buried on Christmas Day in St Wilfred's Churchyard in Ribchester. Then, a few months after the birth of their seventh child, his wife Mary died of Phthisis³ on the 22 May 1859 at their home of number 38 Lyon Street - she was only 33 years years old. It appears that Thomas's father joined him in Blackburn during this period, presumably to help look after the children but sadly, in May 1860, he also died and was buried alongside his wife in Ribchester. This must have been a desparate time for Thomas, with seven children including a three month old baby to look after. It is not surprising that the baby died just a few months later.

By the time of the next census, in April 1861, Thomas had moved a few doors away to number 34 Lyon Street. He was working as a Flagger's Labourer, three of his children were working in the Cotton Mills, he had three lodgers and there was also a 44 year old unmarried mother called Mary Green living there. Mary was described in the census, rather grandly, as a 'Servant' but presumably carried out household duties, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc for the eleven occupants of the small two-up two-down terraced house.

Over the next ten years most of the children became independant and moved out, so that by April 1871, only the youngest child, James, was still living at home. Their address had changed to number 6 Byrom Street, which was just off King Street and closer to the centre of town. Mary Green was still living with Thomas but was now described as a 50 year old Widow and one of four boarders in the house.

Thomas died on the 28th of March 1880 at his home of number 60 Brunswick Street in 'The Wrangling' district of Blackburn. The cause of death was recorded as Brights Disease⁴. He was buried in the graveyard of St Wilfred's Church in Ribchester on the 1st of April 1880.

Thomas and Mary had seven children

Richard (Hugh) Jackson 1845 - ??
Ellen Jackson 1847 - ??
Thomas Jackson 1849 - 1891
Joseph Jackson 1851 - ??
John Jackson 1853 - 1927
James Jackson 1856 - ??
Robert Jackson 1859 - 1860

Notes

1. Possible Siblings
Elizabeth, daughter of a Richard Jackson of Ribchester was buried in buried in Sep 1827 aged 2 years.  However there were two Richard Jackson's with young families in Ribchester at that time and baptism records are confusing.

One of the witnesses to the marriage of Thomas and Mary was Joseph Jackson.  It was quite common for a brother or sister to act as a witness.  Thomas and Mary also seem to have followed the traditional naming convention for their children (see below), so naming their fourth son Joseph would suggest that Thomas had an older brother called Joseph. However, no baptism record has been found for Joseph, nor can he be found in the census records.

2.Naming Convention
There was a convention in the order in which the ancestors were honored – probably to avoid insulting anyone. Although it was far from universally used, the usual British naming convention was as follows:

• The first son was named after the paternal grandfather..........(For this family - it was Richard)
• The second son was named after the maternal grandfather..........(For this family - it should have been Hugh)
• The third son was named after the father..........(For this family - it was Thomas)
• The fourth son was named after the oldest paternal uncle..........(For this family - Joseph, suggests a brother of Thomas)
• The fifth was named after the second oldest paternal uncle or the oldest maternal uncle
• The first daughter was named after the maternal grandmother..........(For this family - it was Ellen)
• The second daughter was named after the paternal grandmother
• The third daughter was named after the mother
• The fourth daughter was named after the oldest maternal aunt
• The fifth was named after the second oldest maternal aunt or the oldest paternal aunt

If there was duplication (for example, the paternal grandfather and the father had the same name), then the family moved to the next position on the list.

3. Phthisis is an archaic term for a wasting of the body due to tubercolosis or cancer.

4. Bright's Disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling (Dropsy), due to an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin and in the cavities of the body, which can cause severe pain, and the presence of albumin in the urine.