Spoiler alert: Andrew and Rachel Jackson had no children of their own…
Plus…
Andrew Jackson had no blood relatives of his own. Two months before Andy was born, his father died. His mother and two older brothers had all died (likely tuberculosis) by the time Andy was fourteen. His last remaining blood kin, an uncle, died when Andy was seventeen or eighteen.
As might be expected, Andrew Jackson felt a deep need for family.
Fortunately, Rachel Donelson, who became his wife, came from a large and prolific family. She was one of ten, and her nine siblings all married and had numerous progeny. AJ now had “family.” Most lived in close proximity. The emptiness that Andrew and Rachel Jackson felt from their childlessness was somewhat offset by the number of nieces and nephews (many named Rachel or Andrew or Jackson) running around their home at will. Both Jacksons were very fond of children.
Surrogates
Andrew Jackson had come to Nashville, TN when he was twenty-one, a new attorney who had recently passed the bar. In the late 1780s, Tennessee was growing by leaps and bounds, and there was property to buy and sell, businesses to buy and sell, partnerships to cement or dissolve, and all sorts of petty arguments to settle. Ergo, lawyers were a solid commodity, and Andrew Jackson fit hand-in-glove. Tennessee loved him. They always would.
When Tennessee was about to gain statehood, AJ was elected as a delegate to help draft its constitution. Then he was elected as its first Congressman. He was still in his twenties.
Thus, as one of the State’s best known worthies, many of AJ’s associates asked him to serve as foster parent or guardian to their children – if necessary. He was happy to do so, although most of these “fosterings” were without actual “paperwork.” Some sources claim that some three dozen children lived at the Hermitage at some time in their childhood, but it is hard to document. Rachel Jackson’s motherly heart was always open to the babies and children she would never bear.
The Adoption
In 1808, when the Jacksons were around forty, and had given up on parenthood, Rachel’s brother Severn and his wife had twin sons. They already had a large brood. Their property was barely supporting them. And his wife, already weakened by her many offspring, had become frail.
Thus Andrew and Rachel offered to adopt one of the twins and raise him as their own, and the offer was gratefully accepted. They named the baby Andrew Jackson Jr., the only one who bore the “Jackson” name. By this time, AJ (Senior) had been “elected” as General of the Tennessee Militia. It was considered an honorary position, but Jax took it very seriously, learned military strategies and practices, called regular drills, and it is said, never practiced law again.
By the end of the war of 1812, General Jackson was a well-seasoned soldier with his “Old Hickory” nickname, and an indelible mark on history at the Battle of New Orleans.
Andrew Jackson Junior
In brief, Jax Junior as an adolescent, was sent to Davisdon Academy and later the University of Nashville with his personal body servant, his own horse, a very generous allowance, fine clothing including silk hose and imported handkerchiefs. He also accumulated a debt of more than $300 to a posh Nashville merchant. It is said that the princely sum could support of family for a year.
Junior’s extravagant tastes were lifelong. While he seemed to be satisfactory academically, he was without ambition or discipline, and usually failed at whatever enterprise he attempted. According to Jackson biographer Robert Remini, he was a constant disappointment to his father, who time and again bailed him out, frequently selling off pieces of his property to pay his son’s debts.
On the plus side, however, Andy Junior was a convivial fellow, good looking, pleasant in temperament, and truly devoted to his parents. He was also a “ladies’ man.”
By the time Old Hickory was elected President, “Junior” was a considered a “man about town,” and hugely eligible.
Junior: S.O.P. (Son of POTUS)
Andrew Junior had no “official” position early in the Jackson administration. Formal assignments went mostly to Andrew Jackson Donelson, Andrew and Rachel’s favorite nephew who had married his cousin Emily, who assumed the hosting responsibilities for the newly-widowed President. Both had been particularly close to “Aunt Rachel,” who had died only weeks before the inauguration.
But “Junior,” handsome, well mannered, immaculately dressed, and with an engaging personality, was popular, and usually welcomed everywhere, usually with a different lady on his arm.
A few years later, after prodding from Papa Hickory, he married Sarah Yorke (1805-87). The President was thrilled, and always considered Sarah as a daughter. He provided them with property of their own, but insisted they consider the Hermitage their primary residence. In fact, he assigned AJ Jr. as the plantation manager, and Sarah as the mistress of the Hermitage.
After a devastating fire at the hermitage, the Donelsons returned to Nashville, partly due to Emily’s failing health, and Andy Junior and Sarah were now installed at the White House with official duties, usually mismanaged.
In Old Hickory’s retirement and old age, he continued to bail his son out of the financial woes caused by Andy Junior, whose poor judgement and extravagance nearly ruined the elderly man. Despite the financial grief, and the joy at being a grandfather of five (only three lived to adulthood), he never stopped loving or forgiving his adopted namesake.
The Hermitage was willed to Andrew Jr., but due to overwhelming debts, it was sold to the State of Tennessee as an historical site.
Sources:
Burstein, Andrew – The Passions of Andrew Jackson – Borzoi/Knopf, 2003
Remini, Robert V. – Andrew Jackson 1767-1821 – Vol. 1: American Experience – History Book Club, 1998
https://thehermitage.com/history-of-the-hermitage#following-jacksons-death
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