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sea song - me jacKson Mouse or mncocK uounty - Hancock county Historical society
Page i or 8
What about the alternate date, 1840? The former president would then have been a tired old man of 73 years of age and in poor health - not impossible perhaps, but improbable.
The reason this date appears might be because Jackson had consented to travel to New Orleans for the 25th anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, but there is no evidence that he detoured to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In point of fact, he needed to rest frequently on the way, and at one point suffered another hemorrhage. ? Besides, he had to be persuaded to make the trip, and on balance consented partly because it gave him the opportunity of borrowing money to pay pressing debts. It should be remembered that through much of Jackson?s adult life, including the years as president, he was burdened by debts created by his adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr. The year 1840 was a particularly bad year financially, Jackson being quoted as saying, ?I would always sacrifice property than the credit of my adopted son or myself.? E
To spend money on a new house in an isolated area at this stage would have been folly, especially paying for it twice.
Among other loans, one that resulted after the New Orleans visit was from General Jean B. Plauche,
Jackson?s old friend who had commanded the Orleans battalion. Plauche had insisted on having the ?honor? of advancing $6,000. 0
What has perpetuated the legend is the fact that several of the circumstances recited above are correct, but for the other Andrew Jackson, being the adopted son. He was born into the Jackson family as a twin, his father being Rachel?s brother, Severn Donelson. Thus, he became Jackson?s nephew, and as a child was taken in by Andrew and Rachel as their own, as they were childless. Some have believed that the mother of the twins was sickly, and could only take care of one.
Family Correspondence
To clear the air, the Hancock County Historical Society is privileged to have transcripts of a series of letters written within the family of Andrew, Jr. These cover a period of 1857 to 1860, and are the basis for some of the conclusions that follow. They have come to us courtesy of the Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee.
The first such letter is dated March 26, 1857, from Clifton Plantation. It was *	1
written by Andrew Jr.?s son Samuel, age 20, to his mother, Sarah. It describes three locations, the first being referred to as the Dannial [sic] place, which will later be shown to be Clifton, a plantation of 640 acres on Mulatto Bayou.
The second so described was the Mitchell place, and the third was the Russ	1
Place.	----------- --------------
In the body of the letter, Samuel was contemplating his parents coming down to his area, and counseled his mother that she would not like the Daniell place, and there was not too much to say for Mitchell. The Russ place, however, ?is a very prettie one, the house is a very good size the rooms are I think too small they are very little half more than half as large as our place. ? He also mentioned pretty flowers and fruit trees and tall cotton, and told of a marsh of 200 acres.
The latter site was intended to become the residence of Samuel?s parents, who would be moving from Nashville.
In the same letter, Samuel related that he had been advised by Col. Claybourn [sic] to record two deeds. 0 One was from James Mitchell and the other ?by a Mr. Russ. ?
At this juncture, one must wonder about the sources of Andrew Jr.?s wealth. These questions cannot be answered from the letters. Hopefully, therefore, the reader must indulge this writer in a search for answers, and they lie, fortunately, in the history books.
In addition, a full understanding predates the letters.
There is much background information available about the finances of the former general and president, as well as relevant history regarding his adopted son. For purposes of clarity and brevity, a quote from one of the Jackson biographers is in order: ?Within ten years of Jackson?s death his son was close to $100,000 in debt. The state of Tennessee in 1856 purchased the Hermitage and 500 acres of adjoining land for $50,000, $2,000 of which was withheld for rent for a two-year period.? 0
And so we have a clue. One year before the first letter, Andrew Jr. and his family were caused to leave the
http://www.hancockcountyhistoricalsociety.com/history/seasong.htm
4/2/2009