At Jack Home Construction, I am sort of the family genealogist. In my research I discovered that the Jack family has been here since 1837. That is when my fourth great-grandfather named John Jack and his three sons came to Southern Illinois and homesteaded in both Johnson and Williamson counties. 

The three sons were John, Samuel A., and William C. Jack. Each son was already married and had several children before they arrived. As far as we know, anyone with the last name Jack in the Southern Illinois area are descendants of these three men. We are descendants of William C. Jack.  

They had large families back then, and there are plenty of descendants of these men scattered all over Southern Illinois. One of them, John Jack, was a little bit famous. He is our third great uncle. 

Here is an excerpt about him from a history book published in 1893.

JOHN JACK, attorney-at-law at Cave in Rock, Hardin County, is a son of William C. Jack…

John Jack was born in Gibson County, Tenn. October 27, 1832. He was reared on his father’s farm and obtained his education in a three-months subscription school, taught in one of the pioneer log schoolhouses. In 1837 he came with his father to Illinois and started out in life for himself in 1849. He returned to Gibson County, Tenn., where he attended school six months, working at hard labor in order to pay his tuition. In 1850 he returned to his home in Illinois and became a clerk in a store at a salary of $4 per month. Remaining in this store two years, he went to Anna, Ill., and worked in a saloon one month, when he went to work on the Illinois Central Railroad as a brakeman, continuing thus engaged one year. He then went to work in a sawmill, and remained in the mill and timber business until 1857, after which he bought land in Johnson County, working his farm in the summers and leaching school in winters until 1862, when he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, serving until April 4, 1863, when he was discharged on account of ill-health. He removed to Hardin County in 1864, and for some time followed farming. In 1865 he was elected County Superintendent of Public Instruction and held the office two terms for four years each. He served as Justice of the Peace for several years, and from his court no appeal was ever taken. In 1880 he removed to Cave in Rock and was engaged in the drug business there one year. He then engaged in general merchandising, and in 1885 he was appointed Postmaster, serving for four years. He had studied law several years when admitted to the Bar in 1889, and has continued in practice ever since, winning quite a reputation as an attorney. He was married March 16, 1856, to Martha E. Harris, daughter of John Harris, of Tennessee, but has had no children. He is a member of Lodge No. 444, A. F. & A. M., and is an Odd Fellow. In politics he is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.

Extracted from Biographical Review of Johnson, Massac, Pope, and Hardin Counties, Illinois, published in 1893, page 371.

I find this kind of history fascinating.  I have found this John Jack in the census data and I found his tombstone at the Cave-In-Rock Cemetery.  We have deep roots here in Southern Illinois!

Jack Home Construction – A Design Build Firm that specializes in custom-built homes and home remodeling.  Call us for all your home improvement needs at 618-995-2288.