Honoré Jackson

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Honoré Jackson

William Henry Jackson (born May 13, 1861 in Wingham , Ontario , Canada , † January 10, 1952 in New York City , United States ; better known as Honoré Jackson or Jaxon ) was a Canadian journalist and rebel . He played a central role as a member of the Provisional Government during the Northwest Rebellion in what is now Saskatchewan Province .

biography

Jackson studied Classical Antiquity at the University of Toronto . He moved to Prince Albert with his parents in 1882 and worked there as a farmer. The plot was near the proposed Canadian Pacific Railway route , but that same year the federal government moved the route several hundred kilometers south and the land was practically worthless. Jackson then founded a government critical newspaper and was elected secretary of a militant peasant organization.

Louis Riel , the leader of the Red River Rebellion , returned from exile. Jackson, who sympathized with the Métis , joined him and became his secretary. On July 28, 1884, he published a manifesto detailing the grievances and demands of the settlers. The Methodist Jackson converted to Catholicism , where he was given the name Honoré at baptism . He was a member of the Saskatchewan Provisional Government, which was constituted on March 19, 1885.

A week later the Northwest Rebellion broke out. The Métis questioned Jackson's loyalty and placed him under arrest. Eventually, the North-West Mounted Police captured him on May 15 after the Battle of Batoche . He was charged with high treason, but acquitted due to poor sanity and transferred to a madhouse in Lower Fort Garry . He broke out a few weeks later and fled to Chicago . There he was relatively successful as a general contractor for around two decades, lobbying for the cement industry.

Jackson, who now called himself Jaxon and pretended to be a Métis, remained politically active. He showed solidarity with the labor movement , supported the Industrial Workers of the World and frequented anarchist circles. He also converted to the Baha'i . In 1907 he was pardoned by the Canadian government, after which he lived for a short time in the province of Saskatchewan . Soon after, however, he returned to Chicago.

In 1919 Jackson moved to New York City , where he worked as a janitor. Otherwise he was mainly noticed as an eccentric and troublemaker . He collected books and newspapers dealing with the Métis with the aim of opening a museum in their honor. In December 1951, however, he was expelled from his apartment and the city authorities had his collection taken away by the garbage disposal. Jackson died a month later at the age of 90.

literature

  • Donald B. Smith: Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary . Coteau Books, Regina 2007, ISBN 978-1-55050-367-8 .
  • Donald B. Smith: Honoré Joseph Jaxon. A Man Who Lived for Others . 1981.
  • Bob Beal, Rod Macleod: Prairie Fire: the 1885 North-West Rebellion . 2nd Edition. McClelland & Stewart, Toronto 1994, ISBN 0-7710-1109-1 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Jackson, Honoré
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jackson, William Henry (real name); Jaxon, Honoré
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian journalist
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Wingham, Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 1952
Place of death New York City , United States