Hermitage in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
“A Being so Gentle And Yet So Virtuous”
Rachel and Andrew’s Tombs
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
1. “A Being so Gentle and Yet So Virtuous” Marker
Inscription.
“A Being so Gentle And Yet So Virtuous”. Rachel and Andrew’s Tombs. Rachel Jackson quietly suffered through Jackson’s bid for the White House, as his enemies attacked the circumstances of their marriage. Although Jackson easily won the presidency, Rachel dreaded the gossiping whispers of Washington’s social circles. Whether this stress contributed to her death on December 22, 1828 is not known, but Jackson believed that it did., Jackson buried his Rachel in her beloved garden, erecting a temporary shelter over her grave until a more suitable monument could be built. In 1831, Jackson commissioned architect David Morrison to design this Greek Revival tomb. For Jackson’s contemporaries, the architecture of ancient Greece symbolized not only political, but moral virtue. Consciously or not, Jackson’s selection of this style conveyed his belief in Rachel’s virtue., At the end of his presidency, Jackson returned to The Hermitage, where numerous accounts confirm that he visited Rachel’s tomb daily. When he died on June 8, 1845, he was laid to rest next to Rachel. His tombstone simply reads, “General Andrew Jackson.”
Rachel Jackson quietly suffered through Jackson’s bid for the White House, as his enemies attacked the circumstances of their marriage. Although Jackson easily won the presidency, Rachel dreaded the gossiping whispers of Washington’s social circles. Whether this stress contributed to her death on December 22, 1828 is not known, but Jackson believed that it did.
Jackson buried his Rachel in her beloved garden, erecting a temporary shelter over her grave until a more suitable monument could be built. In 1831, Jackson commissioned architect David Morrison to design this Greek Revival tomb. For Jackson’s contemporaries, the architecture of ancient Greece symbolized not only political, but moral virtue. Consciously or not, Jackson’s selection of this style conveyed his belief in Rachel’s virtue.
At the end of his presidency, Jackson returned to The Hermitage, where numerous accounts confirm that he visited Rachel’s tomb daily. When he died on June 8, 1845, he was laid to rest next to Rachel. His tombstone simply reads, “General Andrew Jackson.”
12.885′ N, 86° 36.714′ W. Marker is in Hermitage, Tennessee, in Davidson County. Marker can be reached from Rachels Lane, 0.3 miles east of Hermitage Road. This marker is in The Hermitage Garden in front of the Tomb of Rachel and President Andrew Jackson. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4580 Rachels Lane, Hermitage TN 37076, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Grand Funeral Procession in Memory of Gen. Jackson
Andrew Jackson was a national hero and the nation mourned his death in 1845. Ceremonies and funeral parades in cities and town across the nation like the one pictured here in New York, honored Jackson’s memory. Mourners often wore silk ribbons like this one, and then kept them as mementos. Note that the engravers chose to call him “Gen’l Jackson,” not President Jackson.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
3. Alfred’s Grave
To the right of the Jackson’s tomb, note the grave of Alfred Jackson, a former Hermitage enslaved worker. Alfred requested that the ladies’ Hermitage Association bury him next to Jackson’s tomb. The marker reads “Uncle Alfred” because in the late ninetieth centuries, the terms “uncle” and” auntie” were considered a polite way of addressing elderly black people. No longer used today, these terms are now seen as derogatory
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
4. - Andrew Jackson to Hardy Murfree Cryer, May 19, 1829
I find myself a solitary mourner, deprived of all hope of happiness this side of the grave, and often wish myself at the Hermitage there to spend the remnant of my days, & daily drop a tear on the tomb of my beloved wife.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
5. Here lie Remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson wife of President Jackson who died the 22n Dec 1828- age 61.
The exact cause of Rachel’s death is not known, but evidence points to heart failure. After Rachel died, Jackson hired Louisa Catherine Strobel to paint this miniature of her. Jackson carried it with him all the time.
This moving inscription Jackson placed on Rachel’s tomb highlights his sensitivity towards questions about her honor. It shown here as it appears on the tomb.
Here lie Remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson wife of President Jackson who died the 22nd Dec 1828- Aged 61
Her face was fair, her person pleasing: her temper amiable, and her heart kind; she delighted in relieving the wants of her fellow creatures and cultivated that divine pleasure by the most liberal and unpretending methods: to the poor she was a benefactor; to the rich an example; to the wretched a comforter, to the prosperous an ornament, her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her creator for being permitted to do good.
A being so gentle, and yet so vituous, slander might wound but could not dishonor; Even death, when he tore her from the armes of her husband, could but transport her to the bosom of her God.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
6. Rachel and Andrew Jackson in their Greek Revival Tomb.
Architect David Morrison
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
7. War 1812 Star Marker
General Society of War of 1812 Veteran
The War of 1812
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
8. Jackson's Grave yard and Greek Revival Tomb
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
9. Uncle Alfred Jackson Grave
Died Sept 4 1901
Aged
98 Years
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A Faithful Servant of Andrew Jackson
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
10. Uncle Alfred Jackson Grave
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 8, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 1,346 times since then and 114 times this year. Last updated on March 13, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on February 8, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.