SIMSBURY, Conn. (WFSB) – As America marks its 250th year, researchers are uncovering stories of people whose names didn’t make history books but whose sacrifices shaped the nation.

In Simsbury, one such story centers on Esther Wallace Jackson, a woman born free to formerly enslaved parents who became the anchor of a multigenerational military family whose service spans nearly every major American conflict.

Jackson’s story was almost lost, scattered across probate records and fading documents.

Connecticut researcher John Mills spent years piecing it together, uncovering a formerly enslaved family whose military contributions include service from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.

Mills, a genealogist and founder of the nonprofit Alex Breanne Corporation, discovered the family while tracing the family tree of a Civil War soldier from Bloomfield.

“It turns out he was a grandson of Peter and Esther Jackson. And so, I started chasing down that story and discovered that Peter Jackson had been enslaved in Simsbury,” Mills said.

The family’s military legacy runs deep. Jackson’s father, London Wallace, served in the French and Indian War.

Her three brothers fought in the Revolutionary War.

Generations later, seven of Peter and Esther’s grandsons served in the Civil War, and six never returned home.

“With every major conflict, this family is deeply involved,” Mills said.

For men who were enslaved or newly freed, military service carried deeper meaning.

“You’re fighting for the country while you also don’t have the same freedom as others,” Mills said.

Mills partnered with the Simsbury Historical Society and the Department of Veterans Affairs to install a burial marker honoring the family’s military legacy.

The marker was placed next to the headstones of Peter and Esther Jackson.

In June, descendants gathered to see their family’s untold story commemorated.

“The intent was to have every person that we knew of who fought in one of these U.S. conflicts that were a part of their family on this monument,” Mills said.

Jackson’s obituary described her as a respected community member who walked two miles to her church on Hopmeadow Street well into her nineties.

Her legacy now lives in the Simsbury Public Library, where a hand-painted portrait depicts her likeness using features of her descendants.

“We unveiled it on June 19, 2025. Now, we have something visual so that the family and the community have to align with the story of Esther Jackson,” Mills said.

Mills said the research serves a broader purpose beyond memorializing individuals.

“The information we find, the research we do, is not only for them to be memorialized. It’s to create something that the public and the community, that specific town, has something that gives them the history,” Mills said.

The Wallace-Jackson descendants say they plan to return to Simsbury this Memorial Day to place flags at the monument bearing their family’s name.

Click here for more information about the Alex Breanne Corporation.

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Independent polling conducted after Gov. Ned Lamont’s reelection kickoff found Connecticut voters give him a solid approval rating, but a significant minority are “indifferent or neutral” about him serving a third term.

A Nutmeg State Poll released Monday by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found voters approve of his performance by a margin of 55% to 38%, a net approval rating of +17, virtually unchanged since September.

Lamont’s challenger for the Democratic nomination, Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden, barely made an impression among likely Democratic voters after four months of campaigning. Nearly 80% had no opinion of him, while 69% had a favorable opinion of the two-term governor.

If a Democratic primary were held today, the poll found Lamont outpolling Elliott, 55% to 7%, with 37% undecided and 2% saying they would write in someone else.

The data released Monday offered no matchups between Lamont and either of the two Republican candidates, Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich or former Mayor Erin Stewart of New Britain.

Overall, 34% of voters were enthusiastic (11%) or satisfied (23%) about Lamont’s candidacy for a third term, while 31% were dissatisfied (21%) or angry (10%), 28% indifferent or neutral, and 6% unsure.

Among Democratic voters, the poll found little evidence of the dissatisfaction that liberal Democratic lawmakers have expressed about Lamont over his refusal to embrace a more progressive tax code or higher spending.

Eighty-seven percent of self-described liberals, 76% of progressives and 63% of moderates had favorable opinions of Lamont. Forty-eight percent of socialists had a favorable opinion, but only 15% of socialists were negative.

Asked to name the most important problems facing Connecticut, the cost of living was named by 22%, following by taxes (18%), housing (15%), jobs and the economy (10%) and immigration (5%). Four percent mentioned national issues or the federal government.

The poll was conducted from Nov. 12 to 17 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5% percent on questions posed to all voters and 6.5% on questions posed only to likely Democratic voters.

The survey is based on “a probability-based web panel” recruited by phone, text-to-web, or mail-to-web surveys sent to randomly chosen individuals.

A chilly start today, but it will be a quiet day ahead after the early clouds, sprinkles and flurries move out! Looking quiet for much of the day tomorrow before rain arrives late. The heavy rain moves out with just a few scattered showers possible for Wednesday’s busy travel. Turning wind & chilly for Thanksgiving and colder & windier for all of your shopping plans Friday.

Early this morning: Variable clouds with a flurry or shower clearing & chilly with lows in the 30s.

Today: Clouds moving out! Mostly sunny & a bit windy for the morning through noon with highs 45-51.

Tonight: Some increasing cloudiness & frosty with lows 27-35.

Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with rain arriving 3-6pm. Highs in the lower to mid 50s.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy and mild with a few isolated showers. Highs in the upper 50s to around 60!

Thanksgiving Day: Sun & clouds, becoming windy and colder. Highs near 50, then falling throughout the day. Wind chills in the 30s for the afternoon with wind gusts 30-35mph.

Friday: Sun and clouds, blustery and cold! A few flurries possible. Winds could occasionally gusting to 40mph. Highs in the 40s with wind chills in the 20s and teens.

Saturday: Sun and clouds and continued cold. Breezy with highs near 40.

Sunday: Becoming cloudy with evening rain developing. Highs in the mid to upper 40s.

Monday: Rain tapering. Highs in the mid 50s.