David Edward Jackson

David Edward Jackson (1788-1837), known as Davey Jackson, was a trapper, fur trader, pioneer American explorer.

He spent his early years west of the Shenandoah Mountains in what was then part of Virginia and is now in West Virginia. He was born in Randolph County, and his parents, Edward and Elizabeth Jackson, soon moved the family west to Lewis County on the Cumberland Plateau.

David was one of those who helped open the Oregon route, having explored many valleys related to that route in his life as a trapper. In 1826 Jackson bought a majority stake in a fur company that had been in existence for three years, the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Along with several partners, it prospered while the beaver skins were plentiful. Beaver populations then began a rapid decline around 1833, probably due to overexploitation.

The Jackson Hole Valley in Wyoming honors his memory. He was also the uncle of the celebrated Civil War general, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Notes Bibliography

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