Matilda and Nathaniel Jackson

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Matilda Hicks, born around 1801, and Nathaniel Jackson, born 1798, were an interracial couple who helped enslaved people escape between 1859 and 1865. They gave shelter and even ran a ferry across the Rio Grande into Mexico, guided by their religious faith and anti-slavery beliefs. They are said to have helped anyone in need.

There are no records that Matilda was ever freed. Nathaniel’s family bought Matilda when she was a child, and he later inherited her. They had seven children while enslaved by Nathaniel’s family in Alabama. They moved to Texas in 1859 because of racial prejudice there. The 1860 census lists Matilda as a 59-year-old house servant born in Georgia, living with Nathaniel Jackson in Hidalgo County, Texas.

In 1859, Matilda, Nathaniel, and their adult children left Alabama in wagons with five other families and eleven Black freedmen. They did not make it to Mexico; instead they settled on the north side of the Rio Grande in what is now Hidalgo County. They started a ranch known as Jackson Rancho, where they raised cattle, sheep, goats, and grew cotton, sugar cane, and vegetables. Nathaniel also ran a market in what is now Rio Grande City and traded across the river in Mexico.

Two of their sons, Martin and Eli, started Jackson Ranch Church and built two cemeteries that are recognized for their historical significance. Nathaniel was born in Georgia to a Quaker mother and a plantation-owning father. He grew up in Alabama and formed a relationship with Matilda Hicks, who was enslaved on the family’s plantation. By 1857 they had moved away from Alabama after selling the estate.

Because laws like the Fugitive Slave Act offered little protection for free Black people, the Jacksons hoped to settle in Mexico. They lived near Silvia and John Webber, another family helping enslaved people escape. They also had a licensed ferry across the Rio Grande. The Civil War era brought more enslaved people seeking freedom, but it is not clear how many Jackson family members supported the Union.

Nathaniel died in 1865 and was buried in the family cemetery. The ranch was divided among six of his children, the widow of Lucinda, and Matilda.