William JACKSON, Congress, MA (1783-1855)

JACKSON, William, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Newton, Middlesex County, Mass., September 2, 1783; attended the district school; member of the board of selectmen; served on the school board committee of Newton; chief founder of Newton Temperance Society; engaged in the manufacture of soap and candles; became interested in railroads 1826-1836; member of the State house of representatives 1829-1832; secretary of the Newton Female Academy in 1831; first president of the Newton Savings Bank 1831-1835; again president 1848-1855; elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1833-March 3, 1837); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress; resumed his manufacturing pursuits; one of the founders of the Liberty Party in 1846; president of the American Missionary Society 1846-1854; publisher of a newspaper; died in Newton, Mass., on February 27, 1855; interment in the Old Burial Ground.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present