In Loudoun county, Virginia, William Jackson was born in 1768, eight years before our forefathers sent forth to the world the Declaration of Independence, and all through the long contest of seven years this sturdy Virginia boy remained at home, the support and comfort of his mother. He was fifteen years old when old England acknowledged the independence of the thirteen colonies, and in the hands of the three millions of people on the Atlantic shore of the new world was entrusted the great problem of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Since then the history of the new world cannot be written without the glorious history of the grandest republic of modern times. When William Jackson arrived at years of manhood he emigrated to Pennsylvania, near Red Stone Fort, and there he met, wooed and won for his wife Elizabeth Credlebaugh, who was born in Frederick, Maryland, of German parents. Soon afterward the young married couple concluded to seek a home in the new-formed state of Ohio, and in 1804 they settled in Warren county, where they remained four years, when they removed to what is now Elizabeth township, Miami county, in a then wild wilderness with here and there a pioneer's rude log cabin. He lived for a time upon the farm of Benjamin Dye, a relative of his, who came here in 1799, and settled on the farm that, in part, yet remains in the Dye family. Two years previous to his removal to Miami county, William Jackson visited Benjamin Dye, and purchased a hundred and thirty acres at one dollar and a quarter per acre. He desired to purchase the farm now known as the LeFevre farm, which was offered at one dollar per acre, but the Miami river and Lost creek were at flood tide, and the LeFevre farm was a lake of water, and neither Staunton, then the county seat, nor Troy could be reached except by a skiff. The writer mentions this fact to show that at that early date Miami and Lost creek went together below the Broad ford as they did in 1898. He cleared a small field and erected a cabin on the one hundred and thirty acres, close by the present residence, and here was born his son, William Jackson, December 5, 1812, the father of Marion Jackson. William Jackson, Jr., worked and resided with his father until his marriage to Mary A. Ramsey, which occurred May 12, 1839, and he then lived on the home place for three years, when he purchased a farm of fifty acres, within a mile of his father's farm, and lived there eight years. His father died on the 5th day of December, 1843, at the age of seventy-five years. In 1851 William Jackson, Jr., sold his fifty-acre farm and purchased of his brothers and sisters their interest in the old home-stead. In 1854 his mother died at a ripe old age, after a life full of good deeds, a typical pioneer mother. William Jackson, Jr., had five children: Ellen, who married Jacob See; Amanda, Marion, Albert, and William Henry, who died in infancy. He was a man of much more than ordinary judgment as a farmer, and although he had but a limited education, yet he was a good business man, for to the old homestead he added forty acres of land, and afterwards purchased, within a mile of the old homestead, a farm of one hundred and eighty-eight acres, which he paid for off of the products of the farms, and then added to his farms by purchasing, in partnership with his son-in-law, a place known as the French farm of one hundred and forty acres. He died March 8, 1878, respected and honored by all who knew him. The writer knew him well. He was a frugal, industrious farmer with a record of strict honesty, and so cautious and careful in his business matters that he enjoyed the confidence of the community in which he lived. He was occasionally selected as the administrator to settle estates, and guardian for minor children, and no one ever criticized his management, and he was very successful in closing the business of estates satisfactorily to the court, the heirs and the creditors. He often regretted his lack of education and gave to his children good common school educations. For many years he was a director in the school district in which he lived. His wife, Mary (Ramsey) Jackson, was a worthy helpmate to her husband, and she survived him sixteen years. She passed away November 2, 1894. Marion Jackson, the subject of this sketch, was born in Elizabeth township, Miami county, March 4, 1849. He always lived on the farm with his parents, and after his father died he and his sister Amanda, and brother, Albert, purchased their sister Ellen See's interest in her father's estate, except forty-eight acres in the French farm, which they deeded to her, and all three remained on the farm with their mother until February 12, 1891, when Albert, the youngest son, was married to Miss Lillie Bradfute, of Greene county, Ohio. Since then Albert has lived on what is known as the Bousman farm. To his marriage were born five children; two have passed away and three are living. Marion and his sister remained single, and live on the old Jackson homestead. The two brothers and their sister, Amanda, are equal partners in the land left by their father and acquired since his death. Marion is the business manager, and Albert has charge of the farms and farm hands. He is a natural mechanic, and does most of the repairing, both in iron and woodwork. To the estate of their father they have added since his death a farm known as the old Edwards, or Morrison farm, of one hundred and thirty-five acres, also a half interest in one hundred and seventy-two acres known as the Booher farm, which is all bottom land lying along the Miami river, and the Bousman farm, adjoining the old homestead, of one hundred and twenty-two acres. They own in common seven hundred and seven acres, all of the best quality, well tiled, and improved in every respect, for the two brothers are good farmers, and have been very successful both as farmers and stock dealers. Marion Jackson in many respects has the characteristics of his father, and inherits his business qualifications. He is known over this county as a good business man, and has the reputation of being a man of stern integrity. He has settled many estates and has served his township as justice of the peace for twelve years. He is a man of few words, and while he votes the Democratic ticket, he is not a partisan nor a politician. In farming he and his brother, Albert, are up with the times, and are recognized as money-makers and money-savers, and yet they live well, but have no money to squander or waste in the giddy pleasures of the world. The sister, Amanda, is a noble woman of domestic tastes, and has devoted her life to the care of her mother and brothers. She has remained unmarried from choice, believing her life duty was to care for her parents and her brothers, and a loving, faithful daughter and sister she has been. The lesson of this sketch is that on the farm, with economy and industry, a comfortable living can be made, and that also a reasonable competence can be secured. There were numbers of rich farmers' sons in Lost Creek and adjoining townships that are poor today because they thought a farmer's life was below their dignity, and they sold their interests in the old homestead and moved to the city to lead the life of "city gentlemen." Many of them engaged in mercantile trade without previous training for that business; others led a life of ease and idleness until their money was gone. Nine-tenths of them are today daily laborers, and some of them pay their rent by moving every few months, but the Jackson boys are comparatively rich, because they stayed by the old farm and followed the occupation they learned in boyhood. The writer desires to emphasize the statement for the benefit of the farmer boys of this county: Stay by the farm and the farm will stay by you.