Will Jacks
Will Jacks, the older son of David and Mary Jacks, was born Jan. 4, 1867, and he was home-schooled until he attended the University of Pacific (San Jose), Cornell, and Harvard. He became a lawyer, earning an LL B degree in 1894, and practiced law in New York and Boston for several years. Will married Bertha Wilcoxen of Salinas and became president of the David Jacks Corporation in 1917, after his mother’s death. Will took on an impressive list of duties and responsibilities:
Most importantly, Will served as the president of the board of trustees or mayor of the city of Monterey
from 1905 to 1910. Will was a member of many societies, among them, the Monterey Masonic Lodge and Knights Templar in Watsonville. He was also master of the Monterey Masonic Lodge and a member of the Monterey Elks Lodge. He was a recipient of a special engraved sword from the Knights of Pythias, and the sword resides in the Mayo Hayes O’Donnell Library today.
The Monterey Herald states, “Will Jacks was loved by a large group of friends who admired him for his integrity, honesty and kindly interest in his fellow citizens. Among his acquaintances and business associates his word was always as good as his bond.” Will gave his family home, an estate of three acres next to the Presidio, to the Shriners. His charity reached so far that he left approximately $80,000 to the Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children in San Francisco. Will died on January 29, 1936, at the age of 69. His sisters, Lee, Vida, and Margaret, then took over the task of controlling the David Jacks Corporation and giving more money and land and providing more charitable deeds that mark their permanent place in Monterey history.
- to generate and handle electricity and gas
- to raise and deal in sheep, cattle and other livestock,
- to cultivate land for various purposes,
- to maintain and conduct stores, hotels and other commercial enterprises,
- to manufacture building products,
- to mine for oil and gas,
- to maintain docks and all that goes therewith,
- to mine for various materials,
- to deal in timber and wood, salt and market products,
- to handle bonds, real estate and money,
- to acquire water plants,
- to conduct all kinds of transportation lines, handling whatever machinery and
- vehicles are necessary,
- to own plants for publishing newspapers and printed matter of all kinds and
- to produce such newspapers and printed matter.
Most importantly, Will served as the president of the board of trustees or mayor of the city of Monterey
from 1905 to 1910. Will was a member of many societies, among them, the Monterey Masonic Lodge and Knights Templar in Watsonville. He was also master of the Monterey Masonic Lodge and a member of the Monterey Elks Lodge. He was a recipient of a special engraved sword from the Knights of Pythias, and the sword resides in the Mayo Hayes O’Donnell Library today.
The Monterey Herald states, “Will Jacks was loved by a large group of friends who admired him for his integrity, honesty and kindly interest in his fellow citizens. Among his acquaintances and business associates his word was always as good as his bond.” Will gave his family home, an estate of three acres next to the Presidio, to the Shriners. His charity reached so far that he left approximately $80,000 to the Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children in San Francisco. Will died on January 29, 1936, at the age of 69. His sisters, Lee, Vida, and Margaret, then took over the task of controlling the David Jacks Corporation and giving more money and land and providing more charitable deeds that mark their permanent place in Monterey history.
Will Jacks buried in the Monterey Cemetary, Cementerio El Encinal