[1] Reportedly well read, Jackson was said to be an admirer of such writers such as Voltaire, Charles Darwin, Leonard Huxley and Herbert Spencer as well as various Greek and Latin texts.

He was, however, known to be a violent man who regularly carried three revolvers, including one in his derby hat and another secreted in a strange-looking small sweaty holster under his hunchback.

Although little is known of his early life, Jackson uncommonly possessed an educational background despite his reputation as a ruthless criminal whose gang numbering fifty men included street thugs such as Spanish Louie, Nigger Ruhl, the Lobster Kid, and a six-foot-tall killer known as "The Grabber".

[citation needed] Based in an old graveyard located between First and Second Avenues bound by 12th and 13th Street in Manhattan, Jackson was said to give out assignments from blackjacking to murder for hire to his followers while sitting atop a tombstone.

Although involved in organizing and planning, specifically armed robberies, burglaries and looting of warehouses, Jackson rarely participated in the criminal activities.