Andrew Jackson
Nicknamed: "Old Hickory"
Born: March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaws Settlement in Mecklenburg County, NC, in
the area that later became Union County, NC.
Married in 1791 to Rachel Donelson.
Seventh President 1829-1837.
Died: June 8, 1845 at the Hermitage, near Nashville, Tennessee
Andrew Jackson was the third son of immigrant parents from
northern Ireland, Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Hutchinson. His parents lived in
North Carolina, near present-day Mineral Springs in Union County. His father died just
before Andrew's birth. After Andrew was born, his Mother moved to S.C. to live
with her sister.
He is sometimes credited with having been born in South Carolina, but this is
due to the close proximity between the George McCamie (McKamie) cabin in which he was born (in NC), and the James Crawford plantation in which they soon afterwards moved to
(in SC). At the time, the border between NC and SC was vague.
He lost his mother and two brothers by sickness during the
American Revolution, in which he had himself served as a mounted courier when
he was but 13 years old. He spent the postwar years in North Carolina, where he
devoted himself to legal studies and was admitted to the bar at the age of 20.
In 1788 he began his public career with an appointment as prosecuting officer
for the Superior Court in Nashville, Tennessee, which at that time was a part
of the Western District of North Carolina. After Tennessee's admittance to
Statehood, Jackson served in numerous political positions. He became a General
during the War of 1812 and emerged a national hero after his defeat of the
British at the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams in
the 1828 Presidential election and four years later defeated Henry Clay in the
election of 1832. Rachel Jackson died a few weeks before her husband's first
inauguration. In 1837, he retired to his home near Nashville which he and
Rachel had named The Hermitage. When The Hermitage was first built it
was little more than a small cabin, but by Jackson's retirement it had been
expanded, remodeled, and rebuilt into a spacious plantation house. Even after
retirement, Jackson remained active in politics.
Andrew and Rachel Jackson did not have any children of their own, but adopted
one of Rachel's nephews and gave him the name of Andrew Jackson, Jr.
Jackson willed the Hermitage to Andrew Jr., but young Jackson's debts forced
the sale of the property to the State of Tennessee in 1886. The Hermitage is
today open to the public as an historic site.
1861 Engraving of President Jackson's Birthplace (NC)
This print is from the 1861 edition of John W. Barber and Henry Howe's book
"Our Whole Country:
A strong oral tradition claims that Jackson was born
in North Carolina. Chief among this is the testimony of Mrs. Sarah
Lathen, who's mother was a midwife at Jackson's birth. She claims that
the birth took place at the McCamie cabin in North Carolina.
Pistol Once Owned by President Andrew Jackson
RELATED LINKS:
Museum
of the Waxhaws and Andrew Jackson Memorial
Official White House Biography of Andrew Jackson
State Library of N.C. Biography of Andrew Jackson
ANDREW JACKSON: A Quiet Presbyterian
Site with numerous Andrew Jackson links
This page was created on Sept 19, 2003 by Julie Hampton Ganis - Updated Sept. 22, 2009