(Plans for this volume were made during Mrs. E. A. Lindsey's term as
regent of the Ladies' Hermitage Association. They were brought to
completion during the administration of her successor, Mrs. Reau E.
Folk, with the full coöperation of Mrs. Lindsey and other members of the
board of directors. Plans for the present edition were begun under the
regency of Mrs. George F. Blackie and are being completed under the
regency of Mrs. Robert F. Jackson. The purpose of this little book is to
provide a small, easily readable volume on the Hermitage of Andrew
Jackson's day and to bring out certain interesting unpublished material
relating to this period. These additional notes, given in the briefest
possible space, represent material too voluminous to publish at the
present time, but too important to pass without some mention.)
_Preservation and Refurnishing of the Hermitage._--The reader is
naturally interested in the period which intervened between the death of
Andrew Jackson and the opening of his home as a patriotic shrine, the
authenticity of the relics, the degree to which the garden and the
grounds are faithful to their past, and other details of the
preservation of the historic Hermitage estate.
The Hermitage and five hundred acres of adjoining land were purchased by
the State of Tennessee from Andrew Jackson, Jr., in 1856. At this time
Andrew Johnson, another Tennessean who was to ascend to the Presidency
of the United States, was governor. The original purpose was to tender
the property to the United States Government for the establishment of a
military academy similar to West Point, and such an offer was made to
Congress by the State of Tennessee. The plan was not consummated,
however, for clouds which gave warning of the great storm of internal
strife which was about to break, obscured all other interests. The Civil
War soon followed and five young men from the Hermitage--sons of Sarah
York and Andrew Jackson, Jr., and of Mrs. Jackson's widowed sister, Mrs.
Adams--went to join the Confederate Army. Only one, Colonel Andrew
Jackson, III, returned.
Andrew Jackson, Jr., died in 1865, but his widow continued, at the
invitation of the State of Tennessee, to live at the Hermitage until her
death in 1888. In the following year, 1889, the Ladies' Hermitage
Association was organized, and on April 5, 1889, the mansion, tomb, and
adjoining buildings were conveyed to the trustees of the Ladies'
Hermitage Association. After this first step the Association busied
itself with the raising of funds for the purchase of furniture, relics,
and valuable papers which belonged in the mansion and which Col. Andrew
Jackson, III, had inherited from his mother. The major portion of the
present collection was completed by 1900, and in that year Col. Jackson
and his sister, Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, signed a statement which
forever establishes the authenticity of the relics. Col. Jackson died in
1906, but Mrs. Lawrence lived until 1923 and under her guidance, as well
as that of "Uncle Alfred," the slave who was General Jackson's body
servant, the furniture was rearranged as it was when the old warrior
lived in the Hermitage.
This work was not done without continuous, untiring, and devoted effort
on the part of the leading spirits of the Ladies' Hermitage Association.
Their work received national recognition in 1907, when President
Theodore Roosevelt, impressed by his visit to the Hermitage, sponsored
an act of Congress which provided $5,000 for additional work in
repairing and preserving the Hermitage as a national shrine.
_Library, or Office._--Among the most interesting of the unpublished
collections of Jackson material is that owned by The Ladies' Hermitage
Association. It has been the privilege of the writer to make a detailed
study of this material. The library, or office, as it was generally
called, contains over four hundred volumes. One of the most striking
features of this collection is that such a large portion of it is the
work of Jackson's contemporaries--not only in military and political
subjects, but in biography, fiction, and poetry.
There are a number of Sir Walter Scott's works, including his _Life of
Napoleon_, _Tales of My Landlord_, and others. There is Henry Fielding's
_History of Tom Jones_, some volumes of Addison's _Spectator_, Dickens'
_Oliver Twist_, Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_, Jane Porter's _Scottish
Chiefs_ and _Thaddeus of Warsaw_, Milton, Shakespeare, and a score of
others reflecting lively and varied taste.
The collection shows that it was acquired naturally and gradually, for
the purpose of meeting the needs and the interests of the household.
There are law books, religious writings, biography, technical books on
military subjects, numbers of bound political pamphlets, current
magazines, and a few newspapers, as well as the previously mentioned
fiction and poetry. There are also various publications on agriculture,
cook books, music books, hymnals, and, most delightful of all for the
human touch it gives, a baby book published in 1805!
This book, _A Treatise on the Diseases of Children, with Directions for
the Management of Children from Birth_, was published in 1805 in London.
It was written by Michael Underwood, M.D., of the Royal College of
Physicians, Physician to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.
It was, most likely, the most important book at the Hermitage in 1809,
when Rachel and Andrew took into their hearts the infant nephew who
became their adopted son and heir.
_Slaves._--No history of the Hermitage is complete without at least a
reference to the slaves who toiled in its fields, attended the
thoroughbreds in its stables, or performed duties at "the big house"
with well-bred courtesy and ease. Some few live by name, but most of
them, like shadows in a brilliantly colored picture, have passed into a
hazy, undefined background. Alfred sleeps in a marked grave in the
garden, only a few feet from his beloved master. Across the fence, a few
feet from the family burying ground, are other unidentified graves--among
them, it is said, is that of Gracie, Alfred's wife.
Andrew Jackson, during the bitter campaign of 1828, was accused of being
a negro trader. Nothing could be more absurd to people who understand
the conditions under which he lived. He bought slaves and, occasionally,
sold them--but slave dealing implies constant trade in negroes for profit
and the records do not indicate, at any period of his life, that he
deserves the opprobrious term of negro trader.
Among the slaves of the early period of the Jackson household were more
than likely George and Moll, who were given to Rachel in 1791, as a part
of the property which she inherited in the settlement of her father's
estate. Davidson County court records show that in the same year Andrew
Jackson bought a man named Peter and a six-year-old boy, named Aron. In
1793 he bought a negro girl named Peg, about twenty-six years old; a
little later a negro girl named Rock, aged about twelve years; and on
July 8, 1794, "A negro wench by the name of Hannah and her child called
Bett," for 80 pounds Virginia currency. Hannah rose to an important
position in the household. She was, in more ways than one, to be Mrs.
Jackson's right hand--she supervised the poultry, the household, and
seemed to be, in addition to these duties, personal maid to her
mistress. It was she who nursed Rachel in her last illness.
Hannah passed to Sarah York Jackson, by gift of General Jackson, along
with Alfred, Gracie, George Washington, Mary, Augustus, Sarah, and
others. (Slave deed--original at Tennessee State Library--dated August 16,
1854--A. Jackson, Jr.)
When the Hermitage was transferred to the custody of the Ladies'
Hermitage Association "Uncle Alfred," by legislative request, went with
it.
Senate Joint Resolution, No. 14, adopted April 3, 1889, reads:
"Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee,
That ---- Jackson, colored, an old manservant of General Andrew Jackson,
who now lives in a small cabin within one hundred yards of the tomb of
General Jackson, that in transferring the Hermitage to the Confederate
Home Association and the Ladies' Association, by recent legislation,
that we request the Trustees of the Confederate Home Association and
the Ladies' Association, not to disturb this old and good negro, but
allow him to live in his cabin until he is called to meet his master
on the other side of the river, and rest with him under the shade of
the trees.
"Benj. J. Lea, Speaker of the Senate; W. L. Clapp, Speaker of the
House of Representatives. Approved April 6, 1889. Robert L. Taylor,
Governor."
"Uncle" Alfred, who was born in 1803, died September 4, 1901. In
fulfilment of his dearest wish he was buried near the tomb of his
master, where he does, indeed, in the words of the dying Confederate
general, Stonewall Jackson, "rest under the shade of the trees."
_Sword Presented to Andrew Jackson by Citizens of Philadelphia._--(Niles
Register--Vol. 47--p. 402. Issue of February 7, 1835.)
Philadelphia, January 1st, 1835.
To gen. Andrew Jackson, president of the United States.
Sir: The undersigned citizens of Philadelphia, beg leave, on the
anniversary of the glorious battle of New Orleans, to offer, by the
attention of their friend, Col. A. L. Rumfort, the accompanying sword,
from the manufacture of their fellow citizen, Mr. F. W. Widmann, as a
testimonial of their love and gratitude towards the benefactor of
their country.
The artist has endeavored, in the ornamental work, to depict that
conflict, which resulted in the most decisive and glorious victory
known to our American annals. Art may indeed be inadequate to do
justice to such a subject, but its details will be indelibly engraved
on the minds and memories of the present and of each succeeding
generation of Americans, worthy of the name. In an equal degree must
their grateful hearts be impressed with the image of the devoted
patriot chief, who, battling for THE PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS,
is ever invincible, by foreign or domestic foes, by force or fraud,
unconquered and unconquerable.
With sentiments of the highest esteem, we remain your friends and
fellow citizens.
(Here follow the names of between 60 and 70 gentlemen.)
Washington, January 8, 1835.
Sir: I receive, with emotions of the deepest gratitude, the sword you
are pleased to present me as a testimonial of the regard which a
portion of my friends, in Philadelphia, entertain of my services at
New Orleans, this day twenty years ago. In memory of the troops that
coöperated with me on that occasion, and to whose patriotism and
courage more than to the skill of their commanding general, the
country is indebted for the signal repulse of the enemy on the 8th of
January, I accept it with a pleasure which I cannot express.
I pray to you, sir, to convey to the gentlemen who have united with
you in the presentation of this sword, my sincere thanks for the honor
due me personally, and the assurances that it shall be preserved as a
memento, valuable as a specimen of manufacture, and useful to those
who will come after us, as a proof that the public service of the
soldier will always find in the approbation of a free people the
fullest reward.
Allow me, sir, to tender to you personally my acknowledgments for the
eloquent and complimentary terms you have employed in the execution of
the trust assigned to you on this occasion. I am, very respectfully,
your obedient servant,