Wearing the white dress she had purchased for her husband's inaugural ceremonies
in March 1829, Rachel Donelson Jackson was buried in the garden at The
Hermitage, her home near Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Eve in 1828. Lines
from her epitaph--"A being so gentle and so virtuous slander might wound, but
could not dishonor"--reflected his bitterness at campaign slurs that seemed to
precipitate her death.

Rachel Donelson was a child of the frontier. Born in Virginia, she journeyed to
the Tennessee wilderness with her parents when only 12. At 17, while living in
Kentucky, she married Lewis Robards, of a prominent Mercer County family. His
unreasoning jealousy made it impossible for her to live with him; in 1790 they
separated, and she heard that he was filing a petition for divorce.

Andrew Jackson married her in 1791; and after two happy years they learned to
their dismay that Robards had not obtained a divorce, only permission to file
for one. Now he brought suit on grounds of adultery. After the divorce was
granted, the Jacksons quietly remarried in 1794. They had made an honest
mistake, as friends well understood, but whispers of adultery and bigamy
followed Rachel as Jackson's career advanced in both politics and war. He was
quick to take offense at, and ready to avenge, any slight to her.

Scandal aside, Rachel's unpretentious kindness won the respect of all who knew
her--including innumerable visitors who found a comfortable welcome at The
Hermitage. Although the Jacksons never had children of their own, they gladly
opened their home to the children of Rachel's many relatives. In 1809 they
adopted a nephew and named him Andrew Jackson, Jr. They also reared other
nephews; one, Andrew Jackson Donelson, eventually married his cousin Emily, one
of Rachel's favorite nieces.

When Jackson was elected President, he planned to have young Donelson for
private secretary, with Emily as company for Rachel. After losing his beloved
wife he asked Emily to serve as his hostess.

Though only 21 when she entered the White House, she skillfully cared for her
uncle, her husband, four children (three born at the mansion), many visiting
relatives, and official guests. Praised by contemporaries for her wonderful
tact, she had the courage to differ with the President on issues of principle.
Frail throughout her lifetime, Emily died of tuberculosis in 1836.

During the last months of the administration, Sarah Yorke Jackson, wife of
Andrew Jackson, Jr., presided at the mansion in her stead.