Emily Donelson

RACHEL JACKSON .

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

Born in Virginia in 1767, Rachel Donelson journeyed to the Tennessee wilderness with her parents when only 12. At 17, she married. But her husband’s unreasoning jealousy made it impossible for her to live with him. They separated in 1790, and she was told that he was filing a petition for divorce.

Andrew Jackson married Rachel in 1791, but after two happy years they learned that a divorce had never been obtained. Her first husband brought suit on grounds of adultery. After a divorce was granted, the Jacksons quietly remarried in 1794. Although it had been an honest mistake, whispers of adultery and bigamy followed Rachel. Jackson was ready to avenge any slight to her. Scandal aside, her unpretentious kindness won the respect of all who knew her. The Jacksons never had children of their own, but in 1809 they adopted a nephew and named him Andrew Jackson, Jr. They also reared other nephews.

After losing his beloved wife, Jackson asked Emily Donelson, Rachel’s favorite niece, to serve as his White House hostess. Though only 21, Emily skillfully cared for her uncle, her husband, her 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., the president’s adopted nephew, presided as hostess of the Executive Mansion in Emily Donelson’s stead.

Angelica Van Buren

HANNAH VAN BUREN .

Cousins in a close-knit Dutch community, Hannah Hoes and Martin Van Buren grew up together in Kinderhook, New York. They were wed in 1807. Apparently their marriage was a happy one, though little is known of Hannah as a person.

Van Buren omitted even Hannah’s name from his autobiography - a gentleman of that day would not shame a lady by public references. A niece remembered "her loving, gentle disposition" and "her modest, even timid manner." Church records preserve some details of her life; she seems to have considered church affiliation a matter of importance.

She bore a son in Kinderhook, three others in Hudson, where Van Buren served as county surrogate. A fourth son died in infancy. In 1816 the family moved to the state capital in Albany. Contemporary letters indicate that Hannah was busy, sociable, and happy. She gave birth to a fifth boy in January 1817. But by the following winter her health was obviously failing, apparently from tuberculosis. Not yet 36, she died on February 5, 1819. The Albany Argus called her "an ornament of the Christian faith."

Martin Van Buren never remarried. He entered the White House in 1837 as a widower with four bachelor sons. Accustomed to living in elegant style, he immediately began to refurbish a mansion shabby from public use under Andrew Jackson. Dolley Madison lived nearby, and when her young relative-by-marriage Angelica Singleton came from South Carolina for a visit, the two went to the White House to pay a call.

Angelica's aristocratic manners, excellent education, and handsome face won the heart of the president's eldest son, Abraham Van Buren. They were married in November 1838, and a honeymoon abroad the next spring polished her social experience. Thereafter, while Abraham served as the president's private secretary, Angelica presided as lady of the house. The only flaw in her pleasure in this role was the loss of a baby daughter. Born at the White House, the girl lived only a few hours.

In later years, though they spent much time in South Carolina and in Europe, Angelica and her husband made their home in New York City; she died there in 1878.