Henry Fletcher Joseph Jackson

Henry F. J. Jackson, grandfather of A.Y. Jackson, noted Canadian painter, was born in England and educated in King’s College, London. He came to Canada in 1844 on a sailing ship, a journey that took eight weeks, and worked in Ottawa and Montreal.

He chose railroading as an occupation and became general agent of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway. He then became a subcontractor for the laying of a section of the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway through Waterloo County, coming to this area by steamboat and stagecoach. After the building of the railway Jackson represented the Canada Life, Provincial Fire and other companies, and was a founder of the Economical Insurance Co. He was superintendent of schools for three years and a magistrate for ten years.

He later moved to Montreal and became vice-president of the Jacques Cartier Bank. Jackson was a man of many talents, a fine linguist and a patron of painting.