The Milton Jackson letters is a collection of 12 letters from Milton Jackson to Alban Gilpin Thomas written between 1863 and 1867. The letters are arranged chronologically. They describe both Jackson's daily life as a University of Michigan student and the contemporary politics of the time. Notably, one letter describes Jackson's visit to hear Frederick Douglass speak in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Also included is one letter written on birch bark from his visit to Marquette and a cloth letter bag.
The collection also contains a letter from Jackson's wife, Caroline "Carrie" Swayne to Thomas along with two announcements of her and Jackson's wedding.
Jackson's letters were transcribed by the donor, James A. Boone. These transcriptions are included and complete for all but one of the letters and other supplemental material. Note that the arrangement and some of the dates in the transcript are erroneous. Transcripts are available as digital files as well as hard copies.
This collection contains racist and harmful language used to describe the Black community of Ypsilanti and the Indigenous nations of northern Michigan. See further explanation in the Processing Information.
Milton Jackson was born in 1845 in Rising Sun, Maryland to Job and Ann Jackson. He and his family lived in London Grove, Pennsylvania where his father was a farmer. The family were Quakers, and therefore Jackson did not enlist as a soldier during the Civil War. In 1864, Jackson attended the University of Michigan, and he received his BS in 1867 and his MS in 1870.
Jackson married Caroline "Carrie" Swayne in 1867. Carrie was born in 1847 in Delaware to Henry and Ann Swayne. After Jackson graduated from college, the couple settled in Delaware. There Jackson served as the Principal of Delaware Institute. The family then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While in Philadelphia, Milton worked at D. K. Miller Lock Company as a treasurer and business manager. In 1907, the couple retired to travel across Europe, Asia and Africa. The pair wrote a set of travel diaries that were later transcribed into "Around the world with Caroline and Milton Jackson" (2010). During their visit to Shanghai, Jackson became fatally ill with dysentery and died in 1909 at the age of 64. Swayne died two decades later in 1931 at the age of 84.
During the years of 1863 to 1867, Jackson is known to have written to Alban Gilpin Thomas of Sandy Spring, Maryland. Thomas was born in 1843 to a prominent Quaker family. He worked as a merchant for 20 years, and then moved into banking. He worked for the Citizens National Bank and the Saving Institute of Sandy Springs. He founded the First National of Bank of Laurel, Maryland in 1909. Thomas died in 1928 at the age of 85.
