While moving to Oregon in 1852, North Carolina native and medical doctor Henry L. Jackson and his wife, Nancy Ann (Holland), were in route to visit her family in Burnet County, Texas. They made a stop at Fort Gates, in Coryell County, Texas, an area prone to Indian raids, and Jackson joined efforts to recover stolen property. During an expedition in 1853, Jackson learned of Nancy Ann’s death. Later that year, he moved to Ellis County, where he wed sixteen-year-old Mary Presley. Jackson had nine children from each marriage.