Andrew Jackson (1767 - 1845)

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is Notable.

• Seventh President of the United States (1829 - 1837).

• Nicknames: Old Hickory; Hero of New Orleans, because of his tough and aggressive personality.

• Vice Presidents: John C. Calhoun (1829–1832) (Calhoun resigned) and Martin Van Buren (1833–1837).

Biography

President Andrew Jackson served for Tennessee in the War of 1812
Service started:
Unit(s):
Service ended:

Andrew Jackson was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in the War of 1812.

Much is written about Jackson's presidency, but his role as an outspoken Freemason is less known. Jackson was a Freemason. Initiated at Masonic Lodge, Harmony No. 1 in Tennessee. Participated in chartering several other Tennessee lodges. Only U.S. president to be a Grandmaster of a State Lodge until Harry S. Truman in 1945. Jackson was said to be tough, as he fought many duels, and even killed some opponents. But primarily, Jackson was a plantation man who made his money off slavery.^[1] Although he never had children with Rachel, the couple adopted three sons, were legal guardians for eight others, and had hundreds of slaves.

Children at Hermitage

Rachel Jackson’s brother Severn and his wife Elizabeth Rucker became parents of twin boys in December 1808, Andrew and Thomas. Researchers have suggested many reasons for their decision to split up the twins and allow Andrew and Rachel Jackson to raise Andrew as their son and heir. There is no contemporary documentation to clarify the matter. The first written record of Andrew Jr. in the Jackson household is in medical accounts beginning in October 1809. They never adopted him in the legal sense that we know adoptions today.^[2]

In addition to being the adopted father of Andrew Jr., Jackson served as guardian for numerous children, although not all of them lived with the Jacksons. In the early 19th century, if a child’s father died, the courts appointed a guardian to supervise the child’s interests, even if his mother was still alive.

Among these were the children of General Edward Butler who had named Jackson as their guardian. Caroline, Eliza, Edward and Anthony did not always live at The Hermitage. Andrew also served as guardian for the sons of Rachel’s brother, Samuel Donelson, after Samuel died in 1804. The boys, John Samuel, Andrew Jackson and Daniel did live part-time at The Hermitage.

Even though Jackson took a strong interest in all of these children, it was Andrew Jackson Donelson (1799-1871) who became his protégé. Jackson assured that he received an appointment to West Point and that he studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Eventually, Donelson served as personal secretary to Jackson during his presidency.^[3]

In 1813, Andrew Jackson sent home to Tennessee a Native American child, Lyncoya, who was found on the battlefield with his dead mother. This boy, Lyncoya, (c1811-1828), may have originally been intended as merely a companion for Andrew Jr., but Jackson soon took a strong interest in him. Lyncoya was educated along with Andrew Jr., and Jackson had aspirations of sending him to West Point, as well. He died of tuberculosis in 1828.^[4][3]

The last of the children embraced by the Jacksons was [[Hutchings-17|Andrew Jackson Hutchings], the grandson of Rachel’s sister Catherine and the son of a former business partner of Jackson’s. Both of his parents died by the time he was five. So in 1817, little Hutchings, as the family called him, came to live permanently at The Hermitage.^[3]

Timeline

The life of Major General Andrew Jackson : comprising a history of the war in the South, from the commencement of the Creek campaign to the termination of hostilities before New Orleans : addenda containing a brief history of the Seminole War, and cession and government of Florida (1828)

1767 March 15

Born in the Waxhaws border region between North and South Carolina.^[5]

Jackson's father died at 29. He was in an accident 3 weeks before Andrew was born.

1779 June 20 (age 13)

Joined the Revolutionary War as a courier.

Eldest brother, Hugh, dies from heat exhaustion at Battle of Stono Ferry.

1781 April 25 (age 14)

Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, near Camden South Carolina. He and brother Robert are caught by the British.

1781 April 27

Andrew's brother Robert dies shortly before their release by the British. Both nearly starved to death as POWs.

1781 November 7

Mother Elizabeth volunteers to nurse POWs aboard two ships in Charleston harbor. Dies of a Cholera outbreak on-board, and Jackson's orphaned at 14. Following the death of his mother and brothers during the war, Jackson blames the British for his losses.

1788 (age 21)

Jackson boards with Rachel Stockley Donelson. Widow of John Donelson. Meets her uhappily married daughter, Rachel Donelson Robards. At the time, Rachel was in an unhappy marriage with Captain Lewis Robards; he was subject to fits of jealous rage. The two were separated in 1790.

1790

Jackson marries Rachel after hearing she's divorced. It wasn't complete, so the marriage was technically bigamous and invalid.

1791

Jackson buys Aaron (c.1785 - c.1878) who's only six years old.

1794

Rachel and Jackson remarry after divorce finalized. Controversial, Charles Dickinson published an attack in the local newspaper during May of 1806. Jackson wrote a challenge for a duel.

Jackson buys Hannah (c.1782/83 - c.1895) before she turns twelve. She will flee with her daughter Martha during the Civil war.^[1]

1796 Dec 4 – Sep 26, 1797 (age 29)

Member U.S. House of Reps: Tennessee's At-Large district

1797 Sep 26 – 01 Apr 1798

U.S. Senator: Tennessee

1812

Colonel Major general in the Tennessee Militia United States Army, Battle of Pensacola, Battle of New Orleans defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815) He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

1820

Hannah and Aaron become a couple. Issue: 10.^[1]Children: Byron, Rachel, Charlotte, Moses, Mary, Martha, Abraham, Ned, Margaret Ellen, and George Washington.

1821 Mar 10 – Dec 31, 1821

Military Gov. of Florida

1826 Mar 4 – Oct 14, 1825

Tennessee Senator

1828 December 22

Rachel dies from a heart attack two weeks after her Jackson's election and two months before he took office. Jackson blames nasty political attacks of John Q. Adams for wife's death.

1829 March 4 – March 4, 1837 (age 62)

Elected for two terms as the 7th President (Democrat). Jackson ends up with 2 VPs with a time lapse bween them. John C. Calhoun (1829–1832), None (1832–1833), Martin Van Buren (1833–1837)

1830 May 28: Indian Removal Act

A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, he dismantled the Second Bank of the United States. Worse yet, he went on a hate campaign and implemented policies of genocide for profit, which continue to affect many dislocated American families today.

Sadly, Jackson's plantation frame of mind bled over into the White House. As president, he forced the relocation of Native American tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River.

His followers created the Democratic Party. The 1830–1850 period later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy.

1845 June 8

Dies at 78 due to chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure.

One of the more sickly U.S. presidents, Jackson had chronic headaches, abdominal pains, and a hacking cough, caused by a musket ball in his lung that was never removed. It often brought up blood, and sometimes made his whole body shake.

After retiring to Nashville, he lived another eight years. Jackson's buried at ✞ The Hermitage in Nashville.

Freemason

Andrew Jackson, 15 March 1767 – 08 June 1845, 04 March 1829 – 04 March 1837

Member of St. Tammany (later Harmony) Lodge No. 1, Nashville, Tennessee.

Elected Grand Master of Tennessee on 07 October 1822 and served until 04 October 1824.

Vitals

p. Elizabeth (Betty) Hutchison ABT 1760 Carrickferegus, Antrim, Ireland^[6][7]

Birth: 15 March 1767 Lancaster, Waxhaws^[7][8][9]Jackson was the third and youngest son.^[8]

Death: The Hermitage 08 June 1845 Nashville, Davidson Co, Tennessee^[7]

Most Distant Known Ancestors

Paternal' Hugh Jackson died in Northern Ireland in 1786

Maternal Elizabeth Unknown wife of John Lesslie: Link to Wikitree Widget to see 10 generation ancestor chart

Slaves

Andrew Jackson acquired more than 300 slaves. The Hermitage plantation has released a PDF copy containing some of the families.^[10]

• Family of Hannah and Aaron Jackson^[1]
• Family of "Old Nancy"^[1]

Legacy

• Twenty-one U.S. states have named counties in Pres. Jackson's honor. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In addition to Jackson County, the state of Missouri also named Hickory County in his honor.

Links

• The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson
• Hermitage: Slave list
• Library of Congress: Andrew Jackson: A Resource Guide
• Wikipedia: Andrew Jackson
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/534/andrew-jackson: accessed 19 November 2022), memorial page for Andrew Jackson (15 Mar 1767–8 Jun 1845), Find a Grave Memorial ID 534, citing Jackson Family Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave
• White House:Andrew Jackson
• PBS Judgement Day: Indian Removal

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson
2. ↑ Andrew Jackson junior at the Hermitage
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} https://thehermitage.com/learn/andrew-jackson/family/children/ "Children" of Andrew Jackson]
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95005982/lyncoya-jackson: accessed 08 February 2023), memorial page for Lyncoya Jackson (1811–1 Jun 1828), Find a Grave Memorial ID 95005982, citing Jackson Family Cemetery, Hermitage, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by James Mason Fritz (contributor 46523292).
5. ↑ Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress United States. Congress January 1, 1928 U.S. Government Printing Office, Page 9738
6. ↑ Report on Andrew Jackson’s Genealogy, The Hermitage. 19 June 2009.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Biography of Andrew Jackson from GenealogyMagazine
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) June 2009. State Library of North Carolina
9. ↑ Remini, Robert Vincent. The Life of Andrew Jackson
10. ↑ Hermitage Slave List. PDF.

• Alvah L. Sawyer. A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and Its People. Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago 1911
• Portrait & Bio. Album of Mahaska Co. IA (1887)

Photo here: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/dag/item/2004664006/

Acknowledgements

• Jackson, Pres.-1 on Dec 1, 2011 by Andrew Morrow.
• Jackson-2825 on Jul 9, 2011 by John Clements.
• Jackson-5444 on Oct 28, 2012 by Vivian Kahn.
• indygrandma.ged on 02 January 2011.
• JDS_09_17_10.ged on 09 February 2011. User ID: F4A49E8A90704A4CA967B8F1F57AEB319A09

Return to Top