Nannie Rider Jackson (1849-1930)
MSA SC 3520-2281
First Lady of Maryland, 1888-1892
Annie Frances "Nannie" Rider Jackson was born in Salisbury, Wicomico
County, Maryland on August 10, 1849. She was the daughter of Dr.
William H. Rider and Margaret Anne Rider, both of distinguished families
of Somerset County. She attended a boarding school at Norristown,
Pennsylvania before marrying Elihu Emory Jackson of Salisbury on November
24 or 25, 1869.1 In 1885 her husband built "The Oaks,"
a mansion in Salisbury that Mrs. Jackson transformed into a cultural and
social center of the Eastern Shore.2 The couple resided
there with their children, who included Nellie, Hugh, Everette, Richard,
and Margaret. In 1907, Mrs. Jackson was named by Governor Edwin Warfield
one of five women to work with the Maryland Commission for the Jamestown
Exposition. She was a member of the Maryland Society, the Colonial
Dames of America, the National Society of the Daughters of the American
Revolution in Maryland, the Arundell Club, the Baltimore Country Club,
and Trinity Southern Methodist Church in Salisbury. She became First
Lady of Maryland in January 1888 when her husband was inaugurated governor
of Maryland. As First Lady of Maryland, Mrs. Jackson hosted the many
customary receptions at Government House as well as a debutante party in
honor of her daughter Margarette.3 In May 1888, the Evening
Capital implied that Mrs. Jackson overstepped her bounds as
First Lady when it reported that she had engaged in "petticoat government;"
that is, she was supposed to have influenced several appointments made
by her husband during the 1888 legislative session.3 After
the death of her husband, she resided at "Briarfield" in Baltimore County,
and died there on July 11, 1930.4 Her estate included
some Chinese porcelain now held by the Talbot County Historical Society
in Easton, Maryland.
Return to Nannie Rider Jackson's introductory page
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|