The eldest son of John Jackson (died 1707, aged about 48), rector of Sessay, near Thirsk, North Riding of Yorkshire, was born at Sessay on 4 April 1686.
In 1730 Benjamin Hoadly offered him a prebend at Salisbury on condition of subscription, but after the publication (1721) of Daniel Waterland's Case of Arian Subscription he had decided to subscribe no more.