Aged Father Comes to Fight for Son Held as Convict.
Victim of mistaken identity, W. K. Jackson, grocer, was released yesterday after six days imprisonment in the Duval county jail. He had been held since Thursday as Chester Wilson, escaped life-term Georgia convict.
The sheriff of Wilcox county, Ga., positively identified Jackson as this fugitive convict. But several residents of Georgia declared he was not the man sought. Wilson according to authorities, killed a bank cashier in a personal dispute in 1920. After twice being sentenced to hang, his sentence was commuted to life. Then, after serving two years, he escaped.
Looks Like Hunted Man
A remarkable resemblance between Jackson and Wilson caused the grocer's arrest at his store, which he conducts at Avenue D and King's Road.
J. J. Jackson, 82, father of the grocer, arrived in Jacksonville a few hours after his son's release. He came here from his home in Alabama more than 400 miles, determined, he said, to fight for his boy.
"I knew my son wouldn't kill anybody," the father declared. "Knew there must have been some mistake."
Wife Summons Relatives.
Other relatives of Jackson also arrived in Jacksonville yesterday morning in response to urgent appeals from his wife. All were on hand for the purpose of effecting his release from prison and saving him from being returned to Georgia to serve the remainder of his life in the penitentiary for a crime he did not commit or know about until his arrest last Thursday, they said.
Among Jackson's other relatives coming to his aid were his sister, Mrs. Hettie Painter; his brother, Columbus Jackson and two nephews, Albert and Lawrence. All reside at Altoona, Ala.
Family Celebration
"I'm so glad, so glad," Mrs. Jackson expressed thanksgiving at her husband's release. "Here he was in jail all this time for something he didn't do. I did everything I could to help him. It seemed my efforts were of no avail. So I wrote all his people to come and help me. They did. His release, though, came just a short time before they arrived in Jacksonville.
"We are now having a happy family reunion. Many of his friends have also called to see him throughout the day, and told him that they knew from the first he couldn't be guilty of any crime.
"I'm certainly thankful, not only to have my husband back, but to know that I am not the wife of a murderer. I married him in April of last year."
Aged Father Comes to Fight for Son Held as Convict.
Victim of mistaken identity, W. K. Jackson, grocer, was released yesterday after six days imprisonment in the Duval county jail. He had been held since Thursday as Chester Wilson, escaped life-term Georgia convict.
The sheriff of Wilcox county, Ga., positively identified Jackson as this fugitive convict. But several residents of Georgia declared he was not the man sought. Wilson according to authorities, killed a bank cashier in a personal dispute in 1920. After twice being sentenced to hang, his sentence was commuted to life. Then, after serving two years, he escaped.
Looks Like Hunted Man
A remarkable resemblance between Jackson and Wilson caused the grocer's arrest at his store, which he conducts at Avenue D and King's Road.
J. J. Jackson, 82, father of the grocer, arrived in Jacksonville a few hours after his son's release. He came here from his home in Alabama more than 400 miles, determined, he said, to fight for his boy.
"I knew my son wouldn't kill anybody," the father declared. "Knew there must have been some mistake."
Wife Summons Relatives.
Other relatives of Jackson also arrived in Jacksonville yesterday morning in response to urgent appeals from his wife. All were on hand for the purpose of effecting his release from prison and saving him from being returned to Georgia to serve the remainder of his life in the penitentiary for a crime he did not commit or know about until his arrest last Thursday, they said.
Among Jackson's other relatives coming to his aid were his sister, Mrs. Hettie Painter; his brother, Columbus Jackson and two nephews, Albert and Lawrence. All reside at Altoona, Ala.
Family Celebration
"I'm so glad, so glad," Mrs. Jackson expressed thanksgiving at her husband's release. "Here he was in jail all this time for something he didn't do. I did everything I could to help him. It seemed my efforts were of no avail. So I wrote all his people to come and help me. They did. His release, though, came just a short time before they arrived in Jacksonville.
"We are now having a happy family reunion. Many of his friends have also called to see him throughout the day, and told him that they knew from the first he couldn't be guilty of any crime.
"I'm certainly thankful, not only to have my husband back, but to know that I am not the wife of a murderer. I married him in April of last year."
Inscription
Father Gone But Not Forgotten
Family Members
-
William Thomas "Buddy" Jackson
1865–1904
-
Spencer Jackson
1867–1893
-
Hettie Ann Jackson Painter
1868–1945
-
Andrew Columbus "S. A." Jackson
1870–1956
-
James Monroe Jackson
1871–1905
-
Helen Selena Jackson Walker
1873–1960
-
Martha Jane "Patsy" Jackson McClendon
1874–1955
-
Jasper Jonah Jackson
1877–1963
-
Elijah L. Jackson Sr
1878–1963
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement