A Protestant (Ulster-Scottish) from Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ireland, John Jackson had moved to London, England, where he was convicted of the capital crime of larceny for stealing £170; the judge at the Old Bailey sentenced him to seven years of indentured servitude in America.His wife, Elizabeth, a strong, blonde woman over 6 feet (180 cm) tall, had been born in London, England and was also convicted of larceny in an unrelated case (for stealing 19 pieces of silver, jewelry, and fine lace) and received a similar sentence.They began to acquire large parcels of virgin farming land near the present-day town of Buckhannon, including 3,000 acres (12 km2) in Elizabeth's name, although trans-Appalachian settlement had been prohibited by the peace treaty at the end of the French and Indian War.John and his two teenage sons became early recruits for the American Revolutionary War, fighting in the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780.While the men were in the Army, Elizabeth converted their home into "Jackson's Fort," to serve as a refuge against attacks by Native Americans seeking to enforce their treaty rights.He had a shock of dark red hair and piercing blue eyes like those of his famous cousin, Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson.[7] When Virginia seceded from the Union, Jackson, a proponent of slavery, resigned from his position as judge and enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a Private.[9] On April 15, 1865, six days after Gen. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Jackson disbanded his brigade.