Honoré Jackson

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Honoré Jaxon
Honoré Jaxon, 1907, Chicago
Born(1861-05-03)May 3, 1861
Toronto, Canada West
DiedJanuary 10, 1952(1952-01-10) (aged 90)
New York City
NationalityCanadian
CitizenshipCanadian
EducationUniversity of Toronto
EmployerLouis Riel
Known forSecretary to Louis Riel during the North-West Rebellion in Canada, participant in Coxey's Army
SpouseAimée

William Henry Jackson (May 3, 1861 – January 10, 1952), also known as Honoré Jackson or Jaxon, was secretary to Louis Riel during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885. He was married to Aimée, a former teacher in Chicago.[1]

He was born in

North-West Territories' District of Saskatchewan, where he soon began to sympathize with the Métis and their struggle against the Canadian government, though he was not a Métis himself. Jackson became personal secretary to Louis Riel when Riel returned to Canada in 1884, and the two organized a Métis militia and planned a provisional government. Open fighting broke out between the disgruntled Métis and the North-West Mounted Police along with hastily raised militia on March 18 at Duck Lake
.

That same day (18 March 1885), Jackson was baptized

Catholic by Father Fourmond. Riel stood as godfather for the ceremony and gave him the name "Honoré Joseph Jaxon". The next day Riel declared the establishment of a provisional government (see Exovedate
).

However, Jackson's mental health was affected by the religious event, and by the turmoil and excitement of open rebellion, and within days, Riel imprisoned Jackson, perhaps thinking he had gone insane but also fearing that his eccentric religious ideas and his support for Henry George's radical philosophical ideas against private ownership of land may cause discord within his (Riel's) followers.[3] Later during the rebellion, Riel released Jackson.

He was captured when Canadian government troops overcame the last Métis resistance in the

Winnipeg, Manitoba. He escaped the asylum on November 2 and fled to the United States
.

Once there, he changed his name to Honoré Jaxon and joined the

Washington, DC, to demand an eight-hour workday. In 1897 he converted to the Baháʼí Faith and oriented his concerns to Canada.[4][5][6]

He returned to Canada briefly between 1907 and 1909, spending some of the time interviewing former participants of the Rebellion and addressing labour/socialist meetings. He returned to the United States, eventually moving to New York City. He collected books, newspapers, and pamphlets relating to the Métis people in an attempt to establish in their honour a museum in New York. However, years went by and he slipped into poverty and extreme old age. He was evicted from his apartment on December 12, 1951, and his collection (considered unimportant by the city) was sold as waste paper.[7] He died a month later.

References

  1. ^ Messamore, Barbara J. (Autumn 2011). "Review of Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary, by Donald B. Smith" (PDF). Journal of Historical Biography. 10: 134–137. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  2. ISBN 978-0-17-650251-5
    .
  3. ^ Beal and Macleod, Prairie Fire, p. 132-33; Donatien Fremont, The Secretaries of Riel (1985), p. 103-106
  4. ISBN 978-1-55050-367-8
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-55458-706-3
    .
  6. ISBN 0-87743-199-X
    .
  7. ^ Smith 2007, p. iii.

Sources

  • Smith, Donald B. (1981). Honoré Joseph Jaxon. A Man Who Lived for Others. Saskatchewan History 34:(3) 81–?.
  • Donald B. Smith. Honore Jaxon: Prairie Visionary, Regina, Coteau Books, 2007.
  • Bob Beal and Rod Macleod, Prairie Fire: the 1885 North-West Rebellion, second edition, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1994.

External links

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