Samuel Jackson (lawyer)

Samuel Jackson
Portrait of Samuel Jackson
Born	(1831-04-16)16 April 1831 Providence Green, Green Hammerton, Yorkshire, England
Died	29 July 1913(1913-07-29) (aged 82) Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand
Nationality	England
Occupation	attorney and solicitor
Known for	'father' of the legal profession in Auckland
Relatives	Hughlings Jackson (brother) William Jackson (brother)

Samuel Jackson (16 April 1831 – 29 July 1913) was a solicitor in Auckland, New Zealand. He worked in his profession until shortly before his death and was at the time the oldest practising solicitor in the country, and was regarded as the father of his profession in his city. He joined the solicitor Frederick Merriman and they called their firm Merriman & Jackson. Upon Merriman's death in 1865, he took on a new partner and the firm was renamed Jackson Russell, by which name it is still known today. In his younger years, he was involved in provincial politics.

Jackson was born in 1831 in Providence Green, Green Hammerton, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Samuel Jackson (1806–1858), a brewer and yeoman who owned and farmed his land, and Sarah Jackson (née Hughlings; 1807/08–1836), the daughter of a Welsh revenue collector. His mother died when he was five. He had three brothers and a sister; all but his youngest brother emigrated to New Zealand.

His parents had married on 24 March 1828. His oldest sibling was his sister Ann (30 April 1829 – 9 August 1859). She died three days after giving birth to her first child. He himself was the oldest of the brothers and he was born on 16 April 1831, and baptised a month later on 24 May. His brother William was the third of the children; he was born on 11 October 1832 and baptised a month later on 12 November. Thomas (2 December 1833 – 15 November 1906) was the next sibling. He became a mariner and also emigrated to New Zealand. His youngest brother, John (4 April 1835 – 7 October 1911), remained in England and became a prominent neurologist.

Jackson studied law at the University of York, then joined the Inner Temple and was called to the bar in 1853. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1855 on the Merchantman and arrived in Auckland from Plymouth on 4 September 1855. Amongst the other passengers was the family of Reverend James Mandeno. He married Sarah Anne Mandeno, the eldest daughter of the family, on 26 August 1856.