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Affiliation | Democratic |
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Name | Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson |
Address | , Tennessee , United States |
Email | None |
Website | None |
Born |
June 15, 1767
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Died | December 22, 1828
(61 years)
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Contributor | Thomas Walker |
Last Modifed | Thomas Walker Feb 04, 2004 09:58am |
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Info | Born:June 15, 1767 (The date of Rachel Jackson’s birth is open to conjecture) - Halifax County, Virginia
Died: December 22, 1828
Father: Colonel John Donelson, Surveyor, Soldier
Mother: Rachel Stockley Donelson
Ancestry: English
Siblings: Rachel was the fourth daughter of a total of twelve children
Physical Description: Small, with brown eyes and black hair, Rachel Jackson was considered a handsome woman. Known as a young woman for her sparkling personality and her love of dancing, later in life Rachel became very heavy, which compared somewhat humorously with her hasband’s extreme thinness.
Religion: Very devout Presbyterian
Education: Almost non-existent. Her letters, the few that have survived, were those of a woman with very limited grasp of spelling and grammar. In later years her reading was confined to the Bible and religious works. Hers was the education offered to frontier women: reading the Bible and little else.
Husband(s):
1. Lewis Robards (dates uncertain) – in Harrodsburg, Kentucky 1785 or 1787
2. Andrew Jackson (1767 – 1845)
Courtship and Marriage: Rachel’s marriage to Lewis Robards was not a happy one. Some sources indicate that she was an abused wife and that she may have suffered a miscarriage at his hand. Rachel left Robards and fled to the home of her widowed mother in Nashville, Tennessee. There she met one of her mother’s lodgers, Andrew Jackson. In 1790, Robards petitioned the Virginia Legislature for a divorce (Kentucky was then part of Virginia). Rachel went to stay at an uncle’s home in Natchez. Jackson arrived in Natchez with news of the divorce, and Rachel and Andrew were married in 1791. Unbeknownst to the young couple, the divorce had not been decreed, only placed on the docket to be heard. The final decree of divorce was actually granted on September 27, 1793. In the eyes of the law, Rachel Jackson had committed bigamy by marrying Andrew Jackson. Andrew and Rachel remarried in 1794. The charge of bigamy would haunt the Jacksons for the rest of their lives.
Age at Marriage: 27 years
Personality: As a young woman, Rachel Jackson had been lively, fun-loving and filled with zest. The scandal of her marriage and society’s disapproval, however, turned her into a shy, reclusive woman who rarely left the home that she and “The General” built in Nashville called “The Hermitage”. She was known for her kind nature, her religious outlook, and her calming influence on her hot-tempered husband. She adopted a large number of nieces and nephews. Eventually the Jacksons also adopted a son, Andrew Jackson, Jr.
Children: Adopted – one son and many nieces and nephews.
Years Before the White House: Rachel Jackson would not live to be First Lady, but she did live to see her husband elected President in 1828. Her life, in direct relation to the scandal of her bigamy, caused Rachel Jackson to withdraw from society’s glare. Also, the thought of mingling with the fine ladies of Washington caused her misgivings. Her life with Jackson, aside from his times away from her, were happy and fulfilled. She helped him build their home, the Hermitage. Her mollifying nature had a calming effect on his hot temper. The elections of 1824 and 1828 caused Rachel Jackson much grief. Her one visit to Washington made her feel inferior. Her health, which was poor due to heart problems and excessive weight, had declined even further by 1828. Being the source of libelous. scandalous, petty stories, Rachel dreaded the outcome of the 1828 election. Her husband was, however, elected. She made the best of it and had even purchased an inaugural gown. Before she could wear it, she was fatally stricken by a heart attack in December 1828.
Burial: The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee
Legacy: Though never in reality a First Lady, Rachel Jackson looms largely in the history of the President’s wives. Her virtues of gentleness, sweetness of nature and her faith, all pale next to the scandal of the mixup with her divorce and remarriage. The scandals had a detrimental effect on her life, and created the difficulties her surrogate, Emily Donelson, would face as Jackson’s official hostess. The ghost of Rachel Jackson never ceased to haunt Andrew Jackson.
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