A Vampire’s Great Grandfather!

Who is Jackson Rathbone?  Ask any pre-teen girl and she will tell you that he is one of the “hotties” in The Twilight Saga films.  Jackson plays the vampire Jasper Hale.  His full name is Monroe Jackson Rathbone V and he is the fifth generation to be named after his great-great-great-great-grandfather Judge James Monroe Jackson.  Judge James Monroe Jackson (1825-1901) was a prominent citizen in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century.  Those of you who attended the 2004 Jackson Brigade Reunion in Parkersburg. WV may recall that we celebrated the rededication of Judge James Monroe Jackson’s bust and fountain at the Wood County Courthouse.

However, this post is about Jackson “Jay” Rathbone’s great grandfather Monroe Jackson Rathbone II.  Here are two interesting links about him send in by Nancy Jackson.

• Monroe Jackson Rathbone II and Lehigh University
• NNDB entry for Monroe Jackson Rathbone II

As shown by the accompanying genealogy, Monroe Jackson Rathbone II descends from the Colonel George Jackson line of John and Elizabeth Cummins Jackson.

Genealogy of Monroe Jackson Rathbone II

1.   John Jackson (b. 1715 Coleraine, Londonderry, Ireland; d. 25 Sep. 1801 Clarksburg, WV) m. 4 Jul. 1755 Elizabeth Cummins (b. 8 Jan. 1720? London, England; d. 1825 Clarksburg, WV).
2. Colonel George Jackson (b. 9 Jan. 1757 Cecil Co., MD; d. 17 May 1831 Zanesville, OH) m. (1st) 13 Nov. 1776, Elizabeth Brake (b. 22 Feb. 1757; d. 22 Mar. 1812).
3. Judge John George Jackson ( 22 Sep. 1777 in Hardy Co., WV; d. 28 Mar. 1825 in Clarksburg, Harrison Co., WV) and Frances Emelia Triplett had son John Jay Jackson out of wedlock.
4. General John Jay Jackson (b. 13 Feb. 1800 Wood Co., WV; d. 1 Jan. 1877 Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV), illegitimate son of then U. S. Congressman John George Jackson of Clarksburg, WV and Frances Emelia Triplett of near Parkersburg, WV; m. 29 June 1823 Wood Co., WV, Emma G. Beeson (b. Apr. 1800; d. 18 July 1842), d/o Col. Jacob Beeson.
5. Judge James Monroe Jackson ( 3 Dec. 1825; d. 14 Feb. 1901 Parkersburg, WV; m. his cousin, 5 Oct. 1851 Helen G./S Seely, Trumbull Co., Warren, OH (b. 6 Sep. 1827; d. 6 June 1861), d/o Dr. Sylvanus and J. Mary W. (Jackson) Seely.
6. Mary Emma “Mamie” Jackson (b. ca 1854), m. 25 Nov. 1873 Wood Co., WV, Francis Vinton Rathbone ( 8 July 1851 in Burning Springs Wirt Co., WV, d. 26 Sep. 1883 in Excelsior, Hennepin Co., MN), s/o John Valeau and Anna Marie (Doremus) Rathbone.
7. Monroe Jackson Rathbone I ( 23 July 1874 Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV; d. 18 Oct. 1928 Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV), m. 19 Oct. 1898 in Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV Ida Virginia Welch (b. 9 Dec. 1872 Keyser, Mineral Co., WV; d. 18 Feb. 1956 Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV), d/o of W. M. Welch. Monroe was manager of Camden Works refinery at Parkersburg, West Virginia for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.
8. Monroe Jackson Rathbone II ( 1 Mar. 1900 Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV; d. 2 Aug. 1976 Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA) m. April 1922 in Allentown, Lehigh Co., PA Eleanor Kline Groves (b. 10 Nov. 1902 in Allentown, Lehigh Co., PA; d. Feb. 1982 Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA). He was the chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey, which later became Exxon.  He was Exxon President and CEO from 1960 to 1965.

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