Simsbury unveils monument to Peter and Esther Jackson on Juneteenth

Simsbury officials and descendants of Peter and Esther Jackson gathered on June 19, 2025, to unveil a monument honoring the couple and their descendants, whose service and presence in the town organizers said have gone largely unrecognized.

Organizing researcher John Mills opened the ceremony by thanking the crowd “for coming out to join us and celebrating the Peter and Esther Jackson family from Simsbury, Connecticut.” The event included an invocation, poetry, remarks from elected officials and the unveiling of a portrait and the cemetery marker that Mills said was funded by $8,000 raised from donors around the country.

The monument dedication took place on Juneteenth, a date several speakers said underscored the ceremony’s purpose to surface neglected histories. “This morning you’ll learn about Peter Jackson and Esther Wallace, two individuals with deep connections to Simsbury whose grandchildren went on to serve in the Civil War,” First Selectman Wendy McStudios said, thanking local historical organizations that assisted Mills’ research.

State Rep. Melissa Osborne said the ceremony was meant to lift up “the legacy of this incredible family” and to remind the community that individual acts of perseverance can have long-term impact. “It matters extraordinarily,” Osborne said of Esther Jackson’s life and legacy.

State Senator Paul Honig noted the timing and wider significance: “We’re gathering here on Juneteenth, our newest state and federal holiday. It’s a day that asks us all to reflect honestly on our history,” he said, praising Mills’ research for bringing the Jacksons’ story to light.

Town Manager Mark Nelson read a proclamation from Gov. Ned Lamont honoring Peter and Esther Jackson and their family’s contributions to Connecticut. Several speakers credited local repositories — the Simsbury Free Library, Simsbury Historical Society and the Connecticut State Library — and individual archivists for helping reconstruct the family’s record.

Speakers summarized the family’s documented history as Mills presented it: according to the research cited at the event, Peter Jackson first appears in town records in 1797 and is listed in the federal census in 1810; he drowned that November while traveling between Turkey Hill and Simsbury. Esther Wallace Jackson later purchased property in 1836 and sold land to the New Haven and Northhampton Railroad Company in 1849, then moved to a house near present-day Hoskins Road. Mills and other presenters said that seven of the couple’s grandsons enlisted in Union regiments during the Civil War and that six of those men died while serving; several of those grandsons’ names were displayed on a traveling banner shown at the ceremony.

Poet Grace Figueroa read a piece reflecting on Esther Jackson’s life and mobility in the town; the program also included remarks from Tyresha Bachelor, Simsbury Public Schools’ director of equity and access, who said the district planned to incorporate the family’s story into school programming so students would “know from where they’ve come.” Community organizer Shannon Leary and Jane McAlpine, executive director of the Simsbury Historical Society, spoke about the importance of preserving and sharing local records.

Artist Kern (Curran) Bruce presented a painted portrait created from photographs supplied by the family and from descendant likenesses; Mills said the portrait will be part of a larger traveling collection honoring African American figures. Mills also described a previously unmarked or mismarked detail on the cemetery headstone: the stone for Peter Jackson lists the year “1819,” which Mills said appears to be an error based on an 1810 inquest record; Mel Smith of the Connecticut State Library assisted with the correction of the historical record.

Mills thanked cemetery staff and monument artisans and said the group raised $8,000 to produce the new marker. He also said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs supplied a cenotaph marker to honor a grandson whose remains were lost in Plaquemines, Louisiana; that stone was installed near Peter and Esther’s marker so visitors could see his name.

After the indoor program speakers led attendees across the street for the outdoor unveiling and to view the newly installed grave markers in Simsbury Cemetery.

The event combined ceremony and local history work: organizers emphasized that the monument is intended both as a corrective to what they described as an incomplete town record and as a prompt for ongoing teaching, research and commemoration.