He received his early education at Leyland, Lancashire, under Mr. Sherburn, and was admitted a commoner of St. Mary Hall, Oxford, in 1638.
He was a staunch royalist, and declined the office of proctor of the university rather than submit to the parliamentary government.
He then began the study of medicine, and in 1652 was appointed ‘replicant to all inceptors of physic,’ which office qualified him for the degree of M.D.
Jackson afterwards issued proposals for publishing his work under the title of ‘Brigantia Lancastriensis Restaurata; or History of the Honourable Dukedom or County Palatine of Lancaster, in 5 vols.
No further progress was made, and the manuscripts, in a crabbed and almost illegible hand, and consisting of crude materials without arrangement, are now preserved in the Heralds' College (8 vols.
He was a friend of Sir William Dugdale, and acted as his deputy and marshal at a visitation held at Lancaster.