C14 Row C, place 14

ISRAEL JACKSON

Private, Co. F, 1st U.S. Colored Infantry. Mason. Born Maryland or Washington, D.C., about 1843. Died Providence, July 31, 1913.

The stone reads

ISRAEL JACKSON
CO. F. 1 U.S. COL. TR[OOPS]
[date line below ground]

White marble, lying flat and sunk at the foot, so that the lower part of the second line and any date line are buried. Lettering filled with soil; the name and the first line of the unit are legible. Photograph IMG_1297 (B. Brennan). [1]

The stone's "1 U.S. COL. TR." and the Army's "1 U.S. Col'd Inf." name the same regiment. [2] The register and survey sheet read the stone as "Col. Inf."; the photograph reads "COL. TR" with the end of the line in the ground. Re-read on site, and clear the turf to read the date line: the survey sheet (PV001) gives a death in 1905, the register 1913, and the stone itself has not yet been read for a date. [1]

Life

Israel Jackson was born in the early 1840s. The Army wrote down Montgomery County, Maryland; in later life he gave Washington, D.C. His parents were Felix and Emily Jackson. [2][6][7]

On June 21, 1863, at Mason's Island in the Potomac at Washington, he enlisted for three years in Company F of the 1st U.S. Colored Infantry, under Colonel William Birney. He was nineteen, a waiter, five feet seven. [2] His regiment went on to Petersburg and New Market Heights in 1864 and to Fort Fisher and Wilmington in 1865. [16] At some point he was wounded in the right hip by a piece of shell. [3] In May 1865 his papers were sent to the hospital at Raleigh; they came back in June. He was mustered out at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, on September 29, 1865. [2]

By the early 1870s he was in Providence, a mason, living at 6 Lilac Street with his wife Rebecca. The two opened a savings account together. [4] The city directories list him as a mason at 6 Lilac Street through the 1880s. [5] In 1890 he was still on Lilac Street, where several other Black veterans lived, and he told the census taker about his wound. [3]

On December 10, 1890, a widower working as a teamster, he married Melvina H. Beams, a widow born in Baltimore. An A.M.E. pastor performed the service. [6] In 1900 they lived at 63 Van Zandt Street with her son William Beams, a barber. Israel did job work. Melvina had borne five children; one was living. [7][8]

From 1903 the directories have him a mason again, at 93 Wadsworth Street, and they keep him there through 1910. [9][10][11][12]

He died on July 31, 1913. [13]

The records

• Headstone photograph (shown above) — Headstone of Israel Jackson, grid C14, Prescott Post lot, 2026 (IMG_1297). [1]

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The bank signature book, the marriage register and the directories are cited in Sources and will be linked to their repositories, not hosted.

What we don't know

• His birth year and birthplace. The Army took him at 19 in June 1863; he was 47 in December 1890 and "July 1843" in 1900. But the bank clerk of the early 1870s wrote "37 yrs old," which would put his birth about 1835. The Army said Montgomery County, Maryland; his marriage and the 1900 census say Washington, D.C. The tree's "2 Feb 1844" has no record behind it in the working folder. [2][4][6][7][15]
• Whether he was born enslaved. No record seen says so. The 1860 slave schedule attached to the tree is not his: it names a slaveholder called Israel Jackson in Prince George's County, Maryland. That man held six people, one of them a boy of sixteen, the age our Israel was that June. Whether that is coincidence or the origin of his surname is a question, not a finding. The 1865 tax list of Hyattsville (Israel Jackson Sr. and Jr., with carriages and a piano) is the same slaveholding family, and the tree's "1865 residence, Maryland" rests on it; in 1865 our man was in North Carolina with his regiment. [2][17][18]
• Where and when he was wounded. The 1890 schedule says "right hip by piece of shell" and gives no place. The register's note of a leg wound at Petersburg has no source in the working folder. The 14 unread cards of his service record (muster rolls, hospital and casualty entries) should answer this. [2][3]
• His pension. The jacket's reverse carries pencilled numbers that look like pension references. No General Index to Pension Files card has been found yet, and no file has been ordered. [2]
• His first wife, Rebecca A. Jackson. She signed the bank book with him in the early 1870s, aged 39. Her maiden name, their marriage, and her death (before December 1890, when he was a widower) are not found. [4][6]
• The 1890 marriage against the 1900 census. The register has the marriage on December 10, 1890; the census says the couple had been married seven years, which would be 1893. The register is weighted as the record made at the time. [6][7]
• Melvina's children. Five born, one living in 1900. William Beams, 30, a barber born in Maryland, was in the house as "son." [7]
• His death. The register and tree give July 31, 1913; the survey list (PV001) gives 1905; the stone's date line is in the ground. The tree's sources (VA Master Index card, Find a Grave, the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission index) are not in the working folder; the death return has not been seen. [13][15]
• When he was buried in this plot, and the City's ledger entry.
• The undated directory pages. Four pages (pp. 138, 149, 178, 218) carry no year; by their page numbers they fall between about 1870 and 1883. Confirm the years from Ancestry's image data. One page (p. 252) is in the folder twice as two scans. [5]
• Whether "J." stands for James. Only the 1890 marriage register spells it out. [6]
• Felix and Emily Jackson. His parents are named once, in 1890. No record of them has been looked for. [6]
• Lilac Street. The 1890 schedule lists him on the same page as Charles C. Ringgold, Jefferson White, Anthony Shepard and Ambrose Clark of the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, who lies in this plot at L24. Whether they were neighbours by chance or by community is for the city directories to show. [3]

Sources

Conflicts. Birth year: Army, marriage and 1900 census agree on about 1843–44 against the bank's "37" in the early 1870s; the page says "early 1840s" and records the bank's figure. Birthplace: Montgomery County, Md. (Army, 1863) against Washington, D.C. (his own statements in 1890 and 1900); both are given, neither preferred. Marriage year: 1890 (register) over 1893 (1900 census). Death year: 1913 (register, tree) over 1905 (PV001), pending the death return and the stone's date line.

1. Gravestone of Israel Jackson, grave C14, Prescott Post plot, North Burial Ground, Providence. Photograph by Bernard Brennan (IMG_1297), ⟨date⟩.
2. Compiled Military Service Record of Israel Jackson, Co. F, 1st U.S. Colored Infantry. National Archives, Washington, D.C., RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War, Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States Colored Troops: 1st USCI; NARA microfilm M1819, roll 8. Three of seventeen cards read: jacket ("Jackson, Israel, Co. F, 1 U.S. Col'd Inf., Private, Private"; card numbers 6243572, 6243654, 6243740, 6243839, 6243938, 6244041, 6244135, 6244229, 6244322, 6244412, 6244510, 6244602, 6244697, 6244790, 6244881, 6244974, 9058705); jacket reverse (pencil: "A. 1451065 P.O. …" and "2072486" ⟨read uncertain; probably pension references⟩); Company Descriptive Book card (age 19; 5 ft 7 in.; complexion black, eyes brown, hair black; born Montgomery Co., Md.; occupation waiter; enlisted June 21, 1863, Mason's Island, Va. ⟨sic; the island is in the District⟩, by Col. Birney, 3 years; remarks: "D. list sent to Raleigh Hospital May 20, 1865. D. list returned June 1865. Mustered out at Roanoke Island N.C. Sept. 29, 1865, per G.O. 179 C.S. Dept. of N.C."; copyist A. L. Ames). Read by Bernard Brennan and Claude from Ancestry.com, U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863–1865, images m1819_8-0862 to -0864, 1 Nov. 2026. The tree also cites image -0865, not downloaded; the remaining cards (-0865 onward) are to be read.
3. Special Schedule, Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc., 1890, Rhode Island, Providence, S.D. 139, E.D. 66, page ⟨not in frame⟩, line 31: house 145, family 234, "Jackson, Israel J.," private, Co. F, 1 U.S. Col. Vol., enlisted 21 June 1863, discharged 9 Sept. 1865, service 2 years 2 months 18 days; post-office address Lilac St., Prov. R.I.; disability "Wounded in Right Hip by piece [of] Shell." NARA M123, roll 92; Ancestry image RIM123_92-0380. Same page, lines 30, 32–34: Charles C. Ringgold (Co. D, 14 R.I.H.A.), Ambrose Clark (Co. M, 14 R.I.H.A., 35 Salem St.), Jefferson White (Co. E, 26 U.S. Col. Vol.), Anthony Shepard (Co. B, 23 U.S. Col. Vol.), all of Lilac or Salem Street.
4. Providence Institution for Savings (Old Stone Bank), signature book, vol. 7, 1870–73, p. 187, entry of June ⟨day and year not on the page; the volume runs 1870–73⟩: "Israel J. Jackson or his wife Rebacca A. Jackson or the survivor of them — East Prov. ⟨read uncertain⟩ 6 Lilac st — Mason — 37 yrs old"; "Housekeeper 39." Rhode Island Historical Society, Old Stone Bank records; Ancestry, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., Old Stone Bank Records, 1844–1924, image osbsb_07_1870-73_193.
5. The Providence Directory (Providence: Sampson, Murdock & Co.), entries "Jackson Israel J. mason, house 6 Lilac": editions of 1880 or 1881 (p. 209; the page records a death of May 23, 1880), 1884 (p. 248; deaths of 1883), 1884 or 1885 (p. 252; a death of June 11, 1884; two scans), and four undated pages (pp. 138, 149, 178, 218; ⟨years to confirm; by page sequence c. 1870–83⟩); and "Israel J. mason, h. 56 Lilac," 1887 (p. 285; deaths of March–April 1887). Ancestry, U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995, images 13641753, 14534505, 15553114, 15553995, 15566053, 15811641, 15813672, 15695017, 14340004.
6. Marriages Registered in the City of Providence, R.I., for the year ending December 31, 1890, p. 98: December 10, 1890, Israel James Jackson and Melvina H. Beams, both of Providence, ages 47 and 41, colored; groom teamster; born Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md.; parentage American; his parents Felix and Emily, hers Joseph S. and Martha Johnson; second marriage for each, both widowed; by B. F. Combash, A.M.E. pastor; certified by Charles V. Chapin, City Registrar. Providence City Archives; Ancestry, Rhode Island, U.S., Marriage Registrations, 1853–1922 ⟨confirm collection⟩, image marriages_1890_261.
7. U.S. Census, 1900, Providence, Rhode Island, Ward 7, E.D. 63, sheet 15B, Van Zandt St., house 63, lines 52–54 (enumerated June 9, 1900, by B. H. Woods ⟨read⟩): Israel J. Jackson, head, B, M, born July 1843, 56, married 7 years, born Washington, D.C., parents Washington, D.C., job work, 0 months unemployed, reads, writes, speaks English, rents house; Melvina, wife, B, F, born Feb. 1853, 47, married 7 years, 5 children born, 1 living, born Maryland, parents Maryland, cannot read or write; William Beams ⟨read⟩, son, B, M, born May 1870, 30, single, born Maryland, parents Maryland, barber. NARA T623, ⟨roll⟩; Ancestry image 4120512_00138.
8. The Providence Directory, 1900 (p. 478; deaths of March–April 1900): "Israel J. mason, h. 63 Van Zandt." Ancestry image 15665020.
9. The Providence Directory, 1903 (p. 394; deaths of 1902–March 1903): "Israel J. mason, h. 93 Wadsworth." Ancestry image 15652785.
10. The Providence Directory, 1908 (header reads 1908; p. ⟨not captured⟩): "Israel J mason h 93 Wadsworth." Ancestry image 15568485.
11. The Providence Directory, 1909 (p. 356; deaths of 1908): "Israel J mason h 93 Wadsworth." Ancestry image 15608998.
12. The Providence Directory, 1910 (p. 361): "Israel J mason h 93 Wadsworth." Ancestry image 13515509.
13. Death, July 31, 1913, Providence County, R.I.: as given in the plot register and in the Ancestry tree [15], which cites the U.S., Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917–1940, the U.S., Find a Grave Index and the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission Index. ⟨None of these images is in the working folder. Obtain the VA Master Index card and the City of Providence death return.⟩
14. National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database, "Jackson, Israel," 1st Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. F, private in, private out, M589 roll 44. ⟨link once verified⟩
15. Bernard Brennan, "Israel Jackson, 1844–1913," Ancestry family tree 203574402, person 242656956530, printed Nov. 1, 2026 (3 pp.). Working file; not cited on the page.
16. Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines: Dyer Publishing Co., 1908), regimental history of the 1st U.S. Colored Infantry (organized at Washington, D.C., May–June 1863; Petersburg, June 1864; Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, Sept. 29–30, 1864; Fort Fisher, Jan. 15, 1865; Wilmington, Feb. 22, 1865; mustered out Sept. 29, 1865). ⟨confirm page; the regiment's record, not his⟩
17. U.S. Census, 1860, Schedule 2, Slave Inhabitants, First District, Prince George's County, Maryland, p. 6 (enumerated June 18, 1860, by Joshua T. Clarke): slave owner "Israel Jackson," six persons (M 51, F 50, M 30, M 35, M 25, M 16), one slave house. NARA M653; Ancestry image mdm653_485-0152. Not this man; see What we don't know.
18. U.S. Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, Maryland, Collection District 5, Division 7, 1865, alphabetical list, lines 39–42: "Jackson, Israel, Senr., Hyattsville, 1 carriage"; "Jackson, Israel, Junr., Hyattsville, 1 carriage, 1 gold watch, 1 piano." NARA M771 ⟨confirm⟩; Ancestry image rhusa1862_101885-00106. Not this man.
19. Find a Grave, memorial for Israel Jackson, North Burial Ground. ⟨link once verified; link only⟩
20. James Bessel, Civil War veterans list (PV001), 2022, entry "Jackson, Israel," death 3/27/1905 — conflicts with [13].

Credits

Researched by Bernard Brennan. Records courtesy City of Providence, Department of Parks, North Burial Ground. Revised 2026-11-01.