Nancy Jane Jackson

Nancy Jane Jackson was the mother of my mysterious Great Great Grandfather, Rankin Moore. Naturally, every mysterious figure has an equally mysterious mother…

Everything I knew about Nancy Jane Jackson prior to researching her came from my Mamau, her great granddaughter. Almost every time I saw my Mamau, I would ask about Rankin and his mother. She told me the same few things every time: Nancy Jane Jackson was blind and she had another son who was named Albert Powell. No one knew who raised the boys, it was accepted that they had just raised themselves. She also said that all the information about Nancy came from Rankin’s wife Bertha Daniels Moore, Rankin never spoke about his childhood.

Article on Nancy Jane Jackson’s blind pension, 1936, Middlesborro Daily News.

In 1918, in Bell County, KY Albert Powell (b.1897) of Balkan, Bell County signed up for the draft. He wrote in his mother as Nancy Jane Jackson of Wasioto, Bell, Kentucky. I located “Jane Jackson” on the 1920 Census in Wasioto, Bell, KY living as a boarder in the home of John A. Faulkner. She was 51, widowed, and unable to read or write.

I was also able to locate Jane Jackson on the 1930 Census. She was 60, widowed, and living in the county poor farm. According to the census, she had been seventeen at the time of her first marriage.

In 1936, an article ran in the Middlesborro Daily News concerning Nancy Jane Jackson, her blind pension, and a man named Ed Shackleford. The story covers thirteen weeks of her $2 per week blind pension, totaling $26. One man “Lee” was supposed to take it tot the bank and endorse it for her, but instead handed it over to Ed Shackleford who endorsed the check but it then seems that he intended to keep the money for himself until he was indicted by a jury for the crime. At the time, Nancy was living with Albert Powell in Blackmont, Bell County, Kentucky.

I am still looking for more information on Nancy Jane Jackson and her life. If you are related or have any information please feel free to comment on this blog post or email me by clicking the “About & Contact” link above.