Jackson Scarborough
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Jackson Scarborough
By Spessard Stone
Jackson Scarborough was a pioneer cattle rancher of the Sweetwater area, west of Crewsville, Hardee County, Florida.
Silas Scarborough, father of Jackson, was born March 31, 1810 in Bulloch County, Georgia. He was the son of James and Susannah (Thornton) Scarborough. In Emanuel County, Georgia on May 9, 1847, Silas married Katharine Byrd, a widow born December 23, 1817. By 1850, Silas and Katharine had moved to Florida. They were listed in the censuses of Columbia County in 1850, Levy County in 1860, and Suwannee County in 1870. Silas was a farmer and blacksmith, and also served as probate judge of Levy County from 1859-1864. Silas died November 9, 1878 in the O'Brien area of Suwannee County. Katharine died January 21, 1898.
Jackson Scarborough, the third of six children of Silas and Katharine, was born February 5, 1852 in Columbia County, Florida. He was enumerated with his parents in the 1860 and 1870 censuses, the latter of Suwannee County, being dated August 6, 1870.
Seeking to earn passage for boat fare to Galveston, Texas, Jackson in 1870 walked to Cedar Key where he found work in a saw mill. After less than a month, the sawmill owner went broke, and Jackson found himself unemployed. Moving on, near Tampa, he met Irven Locklar, a cattle rancher (in 1873 he was taxed on 1,000 cattle) in Manatee County. Locklar had bought supplies in Tampa and was returning home. The older Locklar advised the younger Scarborough to avoid Tampa due to a yellow fever epidemic and offered him a job. Deciding to leave Tampa, Jackson caught up with Locklar and accepted his offer of work, and headed south.
In Manatee County on August 1, 1872, Jackson married Julia Locklar, fifteen-year-old daughter of Irven and Penelope Locklar. That the marriage was performed by Dempsey D. Crews, a Crewsville justice of the peace, would tend to indicate the couple were residents of the Crewsville area. Julia Scarborough died in childbirth, as did her baby. Burial was in Midway Cemetery, east of Sweetwater, near Crewsville.
In DeSoto County on November 18, 1887, Jackson married (2) Mrs. Mary Jane (Daughtry) Daughtrey, born September 26, 1866, Fort Drum, Florida, daughter of Arthur and Maheny (Jernigan) Daughtry and the widow of James A. Daughtrey whom she had wed on August 26, 1884. James A. and Mary Jane had a son, James A. Daughtrey, Jr. (1886-1962).
Jackson and Mary Jane made their home in the Sweetwater area. A cattle rancher, he, on August 7, 1893, purchased for $900 from Mary and Harvey Locklar "one certain stock of cattle marked crop and upper half crop in one ear, split and upper bit in the other ear branded circle eye." Jackson, known as "Jack" or "Uncle Jack," accumulated a large estate of cattle and citrus and, upon his death, was able to pass on to his wife and children a substantial inheritance.
Jackson Scarborough died March 24, 1941. Mary Jane Scarborough died May 24, 1956. They are buried in Crewsville Cemetery.
Issue of Jackson and Mary Jane (Daughtry) Scarborough:
1. William Jackson "Willie" Scarborough, born September 14, 1888; died October 28, 1963; married on July 23, 1913 Ruby Parnell (1890-1972), daughter of William H. and Narcissus (Prescott) Parnell.
2. Katharine "Kate" Scarborough, born January 9, 1892; died September 26, 1951; married D. Hunter Flowers (1879-1937).
3. Thomas Jason "Jay" Scarborough, born September 22, 1894; died October 9, 1974; married on April 1, 1917 Lottie Still (1899-1986), daughter of Henderson K. and Carolyn (Collier) Still.
4. Elbert Preston Scarborough, born April 10, 1897; died February 15, 1976; married on April 20, 1918, Blanche Williams (1899-1981), daughter of Fitz Hugh and Sallie (Collier) Williams.
5. Mae Scarborough, born June 14, 1899; died February 28, 1980; married on August 15, 1918 Irven Locklar (1899-1990), son of Irven and Carrie (Daughtry) Locklar, Sr.
6. Alene Scarborough, born March 5, 1902; died June 25, 1963; never married.
7. Smiley Scarborough, born July 20, 1904; died July 3, 1967; married on June 4, 1940, Pauline Waldron, daughter of Kenzie and Ethel (Messer) Waldron.
8. Anna Lee Scarborough, born August 30, 1907; married on July 19, 1933, George Marsh (1907-1977), son of Jack and Fannie B. (Crum) Marsh.
Acknowledgments: This profile was adapted from The Descendants of William Scarborough 1652-1986 by Martha H. Crawford and Hazel W. Scarborough and used with the permission of Mrs. Scarborough.
This profile was published in The Herald- Advocate (Wauchula, Fla.) of December 17, 1992.
January 26, 2001 & October 17, 2001.