JACKSON, JAMES FREDERICK (16 Aug. 1861-4 Jan. 1927), social worker, served ASSOCIATED CHARITIES as General Secretary for over two decades (1904-10, 1912-27) and as General Superintendent of the Department of Charities and Correction of the city of Cleveland for one term (1910-12). Transforming local charity by volunteers into scientific relief administered by trained personnel, he emphasized the coordination of charitable efforts among city agencies. Jackson was born in Wabasha, MN to Mary Pendleton Jackson and William S. Jackson, proprietor of a general store. After graduating from Carleton College (MN) in 1882, he farmed (1883-86) and worked in the lumber business (1886-92) in St. Paul before accepting joining the fledgling St. Paul Associated Charities (1892). By the century's end he was president of that group (1899-1901) and secretary of the Minnesota State Board of Charities and Corrections (1898-1901). While serving similar organizations in New York (1901-02) and Minneapolis (1902-04) and speaking at national conferences, Jackson developed a reputation as a knowledgeable proponent and practitioner of modern methods of relief. Interested in making WELFARE/RELIEF more efficient in Cleveland, JOHN WHITTLESEY WALTON recruited Jackson in the winter of 1903-04.
At Associated Charities Jackson quickly initiated training classes in social work and later helped organize the School of Applied Social Sciences of Western Reserve University (see CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY). He also helped establish the Anti-Tuberculosis Society (see NORTHERN OHIO LUNG ASSOCIATION) and served as director until his death. Jackson participated in the White House Conference on Dependent Children (1909) and, as a member of the local Committee on Cooperation, helped organize the Western Reserve Conference on Neglected and Dependent Children the next year. A member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, he served as part-time secretary of the Welfare Federation (see FEDERATION FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING), president of the PHILOSOPHICAL CLUB OF CLEVELAND (1918), and helped coordinate disaster services for the AMERICAN RED CROSS, CLEVELAND CHAPTER. He cultivated relationships with a group of area business and civic leaders, later informally dubbed The Society of the Friends of James F. Jackson. A Republican, Jackson also belonged to the CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND and served as a trustee of Carleton College (1897-1919) and the president of the Ohio State Conference of Charities and Corrections (1913). Jackson married Linda C. Pomeroy in June 1885; there were no children.