B. about 1815 in (probably) Putnam County, Indiana
M. 17 Jan 1838 in Parke County, Indiana
Wife: Mary Fleming
D. 1 Apr 1878 in Merriam, Kansas
Jackson Sutherlin spent his adult life with a hearing disability that was likely severe. But in spite of being able to operate a farm, in his old age, he carelessly walked into a dangerous situation that caused his death.
According to census records, Jackson was born in Indiana in about 1815. Given the approximate date, he was probably named for the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson. There’s no paper trail connecting Jackson to his parents, but through DNA testing of his descendants, as well as circumstantial evidence, it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that his parents were William Sutherlin and Mary “Polly” Franklin (see below). He seems to have been their youngest child, and he had as many as 8 siblings. The family lived on a farm in Putnam County, and because his father was no longer a young man, Jackson likely shouldered a lot of the work. His mother died by about 1830, and it’s believed that his father died before 1840.
The earliest instance where Jackson was recorded by name was on a marriage record dated January 17, 1838 in neighboring Parke County. His bride was Mary Fleming, who appeared to have come from a family who lived there. Just about everything else we know about Jackson came from census records, and they told a story of a man who faced many challenges in life. He was identified as being illiterate, so he almost certainly received no education as a child. And wherever personal wealth was listed, Jackson usually had less than the others on the same page.
Record of Jackson and Mary's marriage.
It was also noted in more than one census record that Jackson was deaf, and on the 1870 census, he was described as “deaf and dumb,” which literally meant that he couldn't speak. The 1840 census has a mark in a column indicating that someone in his household was blind. Since it's known that neither he nor the people with him were blind, it seems likely that this was a mistake, and that the mark should have gone in the deaf column. If it was true that he was deaf in 1840, he had a hearing problem at a young age, and possibly from birth.
Jackson and his wife Mary had seven children born between 1840 and 1859. The family moved around a lot, never seeming to own any land. From 1838 to about 1844, they lived in Putnam County, then they moved to Missouri, and were listed on the 1850 census in Holt County. In about 1854, Jackson and his family returned to Indiana for maybe a couple of years, but they were back in Missouri by 1859. The 1860 census had Jackson’s household enumerated twice — once in Anderson County, Kansas, and a few weeks later in Lexington, Missouri. They were in Johnson County, Kansas in 1865, and finally in 1870, in Jackson County, Missouri.
The area of the country where Jackson lived during the 1850s and 1860s was a violent place. Before the Civil War, Northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas were hotbeds of sentiment regarding the issue of slavery. Jackson’s farms were in a region where acts of terror frequently took place between pro- and anti-slavery gangs. This must have been a difficult environment to raise a family. The situation remained dangerous right through the Civil War.
The area of the country where Jackson lived during the 1850s and 1860s was a violent place. Before the Civil War, Northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas were hotbeds of sentiment regarding the issue of slavery. Jackson’s farms were in a region where acts of terror frequently took place between pro- and anti-slavery gangs. This must have been a difficult environment to raise a family. The situation remained dangerous right through the Civil War.
After 1870, Jackson seems to have moved at least one more time to Merriam, Kansas, which was a few miles southwest of Kansas City, and it was here that he met a tragic end just eight years later. On April 1, 1878, Jackson headed on foot into town, and for some unknown reason, chose to walk along the bed of the railroad track. For anyone else, this would have been a good option — it was probably easier to gain a footing — but Jackson was deaf, and couldn’t hear the train that came that day.
From the engineer’s view, he could see the man up ahead and sounded his whistle, but Jackson kept walking. The engineer gave a second whistle, and with no reaction this time, he applied the brakes of the train. It was too late to avoid hitting poor Jackson, who was hurled towards the gutter of the track bed, and got tangled up in the mechanism of the train. After the engine came to a stop, those onboard rushed out to help Jackson, and found he was in very bad shape. They managed to get him home where he died several hours later, never having regaining consciousness.
From the engineer’s view, he could see the man up ahead and sounded his whistle, but Jackson kept walking. The engineer gave a second whistle, and with no reaction this time, he applied the brakes of the train. It was too late to avoid hitting poor Jackson, who was hurled towards the gutter of the track bed, and got tangled up in the mechanism of the train. After the engine came to a stop, those onboard rushed out to help Jackson, and found he was in very bad shape. They managed to get him home where he died several hours later, never having regaining consciousness.
1870s train belonging to Fort Scott & Gulf, the railroad company of Jackson's accident.
An inquest was held that ruled the railroad wasn’t guilty of wrongdoing, the argument being that an ordinary person would have easily stepped away from the path of the train, and they had no way of knowing Jackson was deaf. His wife Mary survived him by many years, later moving to Labette County, Kansas, and she passed away in 1907 in Oklahoma.
Proof of Jackson Sutherlin’s Parents
Jackson was my 3G grandfather, and because he’s so far back on my pedigree, I thought that solving the mystery of his parents would be impossible with my DNA. But as I studied my DNA matches, and identified the segments I shared with them, I realized I inherited a large amount of DNA from Jackson.
The matches who clustered with Jackson’s descendants showed that most shared segments with me on chromosomes 5, 6 and 20, each with more than 40 cM. By using DNA Painter to map my chromosomes, I noticed something unusual with the segment on chromosome 5. While some matches on that segment had ancestors named Sutherlin, others did not, and they had a different name in common: Franklin. I began to make a list of them, and I tried to trace as many as I could up their Franklin line. And each one I could trace led to the same couple, John and Phoebe Franklin who lived in Burke County, North Carolina in the late 18th century. I soon found that John and Phoebe Franklin had two daughters who married two brothers named Sutherlin. Further, I found that both Sutherlin brothers, Fendel and William, had moved to Putnam County in Indiana.
I felt that one of these two Sutherlin-Franklin couples had to be Jackson’s parents, so I then looked at the 1820 and 1830 census records for Fendel and William. Did they have any sons born between 1810 and 1820? Both of them did, but Fendel’s children are well-documented, and both sons in that age-range are accounted for. But William Sutherlin had a son born between 1810 and 1820 who has never been identified in genealogical data. I now believe that he must have been Jackson. He was apparently a late-in-life child, perhaps the youngest in the family. This may explain why knowledge of his parents didn’t get passed along; Jackson’s children never had contact with their paternal grandparents.
After I found that William Sutherlin and his wife Mary “Polly” Franklin were the likely parents of Jackson, I wanted to see what would happen with my Ancestry ThruLines™. So I entered them into my Ancestry® Family Tree, along with their parents, William and Mary (Owen) Sutherlin, and John and Phoebe Franklin. These two couples would now be among my 5G grandparents.
And ThruLines showed I had many DNA matches with the descendants of both couples. William and Mary (Owen) Sutherlin revealed 46 DNA matches through 6 children besides William, and 15 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with me. The results for John and Phoebe Franklin were even stronger. I had 56 DNA matches through 7 children besides Mary, and 15 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with me. I also manage my sister’s DNA test on Ancestry, and I know that she inherited a bit more of the chromosome 5 “Franklin” segment; she showed 83 DNA matches through John and Phoebe Franklin, descendants of 8 children besides Mary, and 25 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with her. (These numbers keep growing as more people are tested.)
My DNA, along with my sister’s, has revealed a strong suggestion that the parents of Jackson Sutherlin were William Sutherlin and Mary “Polly” Franklin. When this is combined with the circumstantial evidence of the 1820 and 1830 census records, I feel that this is enough to consider it to be true.
Children:
1. Sarah Ann Sutherlin — B. 16 Feb 1840, (probably) Putnam County, Indiana; D. 26 Jan 1901, Payne County, Oklahoma; M. Thomas Jefferson Nail (1833-1902), 3 Oct 1859, Westport, Missouri
2. Elizabeth C. Sutherlin — B. about 1844, Missouri; D. about 1869, Kansas; M. (1) Simon C. Carey (~1844-1865), 24 Dec 1863, Ray County, Missouri; (2) James Hiram Hampton (~1834-1893), 13 Aug 1868, Allen County, Kansas
3. Susan Sutherlin — B. about 1846, Missouri
4. Catherine Sutherlin — B. about 1848, Missouri; D. before 25 Jul 1860
5. Andrew Jackson Sutherlin — B. about 1852, Missouri; D. after 17 Aug 1870
6. James Madison Sutherlin — B. 22 Apr 1854, Indiana; D. 18 Jan 1948, Grady County, Oklahoma; M. Sarah Margaret Smith (1861-1933), about 1877
7. William M. Sutherlin — B. Sep 1859, Missouri; D. after 17 Aug 1870
Sources:
Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007
1840, 1850, & 1860 U.S. Census records
1865 Kansas Census
“Death on the Rail: A Deaf Man Killed While Walking on a Railroad Track,” The Kansas Star, 11 Apr 1878
Jackson was my 3G grandfather, and because he’s so far back on my pedigree, I thought that solving the mystery of his parents would be impossible with my DNA. But as I studied my DNA matches, and identified the segments I shared with them, I realized I inherited a large amount of DNA from Jackson.
The matches who clustered with Jackson’s descendants showed that most shared segments with me on chromosomes 5, 6 and 20, each with more than 40 cM. By using DNA Painter to map my chromosomes, I noticed something unusual with the segment on chromosome 5. While some matches on that segment had ancestors named Sutherlin, others did not, and they had a different name in common: Franklin. I began to make a list of them, and I tried to trace as many as I could up their Franklin line. And each one I could trace led to the same couple, John and Phoebe Franklin who lived in Burke County, North Carolina in the late 18th century. I soon found that John and Phoebe Franklin had two daughters who married two brothers named Sutherlin. Further, I found that both Sutherlin brothers, Fendel and William, had moved to Putnam County in Indiana.
I felt that one of these two Sutherlin-Franklin couples had to be Jackson’s parents, so I then looked at the 1820 and 1830 census records for Fendel and William. Did they have any sons born between 1810 and 1820? Both of them did, but Fendel’s children are well-documented, and both sons in that age-range are accounted for. But William Sutherlin had a son born between 1810 and 1820 who has never been identified in genealogical data. I now believe that he must have been Jackson. He was apparently a late-in-life child, perhaps the youngest in the family. This may explain why knowledge of his parents didn’t get passed along; Jackson’s children never had contact with their paternal grandparents.
After I found that William Sutherlin and his wife Mary “Polly” Franklin were the likely parents of Jackson, I wanted to see what would happen with my Ancestry ThruLines™. So I entered them into my Ancestry® Family Tree, along with their parents, William and Mary (Owen) Sutherlin, and John and Phoebe Franklin. These two couples would now be among my 5G grandparents.
And ThruLines showed I had many DNA matches with the descendants of both couples. William and Mary (Owen) Sutherlin revealed 46 DNA matches through 6 children besides William, and 15 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with me. The results for John and Phoebe Franklin were even stronger. I had 56 DNA matches through 7 children besides Mary, and 15 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with me. I also manage my sister’s DNA test on Ancestry, and I know that she inherited a bit more of the chromosome 5 “Franklin” segment; she showed 83 DNA matches through John and Phoebe Franklin, descendants of 8 children besides Mary, and 25 of the matches shared at least 15 cM with her. (These numbers keep growing as more people are tested.)
My DNA, along with my sister’s, has revealed a strong suggestion that the parents of Jackson Sutherlin were William Sutherlin and Mary “Polly” Franklin. When this is combined with the circumstantial evidence of the 1820 and 1830 census records, I feel that this is enough to consider it to be true.
Children:
1. Sarah Ann Sutherlin — B. 16 Feb 1840, (probably) Putnam County, Indiana; D. 26 Jan 1901, Payne County, Oklahoma; M. Thomas Jefferson Nail (1833-1902), 3 Oct 1859, Westport, Missouri
2. Elizabeth C. Sutherlin — B. about 1844, Missouri; D. about 1869, Kansas; M. (1) Simon C. Carey (~1844-1865), 24 Dec 1863, Ray County, Missouri; (2) James Hiram Hampton (~1834-1893), 13 Aug 1868, Allen County, Kansas
3. Susan Sutherlin — B. about 1846, Missouri
4. Catherine Sutherlin — B. about 1848, Missouri; D. before 25 Jul 1860
5. Andrew Jackson Sutherlin — B. about 1852, Missouri; D. after 17 Aug 1870
6. James Madison Sutherlin — B. 22 Apr 1854, Indiana; D. 18 Jan 1948, Grady County, Oklahoma; M. Sarah Margaret Smith (1861-1933), about 1877
7. William M. Sutherlin — B. Sep 1859, Missouri; D. after 17 Aug 1870
Sources:
Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007
1840, 1850, & 1860 U.S. Census records
1865 Kansas Census
“Death on the Rail: A Deaf Man Killed While Walking on a Railroad Track,” The Kansas Star, 11 Apr 1878
