Presidential Biographies | Jackson Administrations - Family Life

Family Life

Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel Donelson Jackson, never had children of their own, but throughout most of their marriage the Jackson estate was populated by many children. Jackson served as guardian for several children whose fathers had died, and in 1810 Rachel and Andrew were allowed to legally adopt her orphaned nephew, whom they christened Andrew Jackson, Jr. While Jackson could be rough and impatient with adults, he was said to be surprisingly tender and indulgent with children. The circumstances of Jackson's marriage to Rachel Jackson proved to be politically damaging when he became a candidate for president. He first met her in 1788 while a boarder in her mother's house in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, Rachel Robards was separated from her husband, a Kentuckian named John Robards. Robards quickly grew resentful of Jackson's presence in the Donelson home, and with good reason—Jackson and Rachel Robards...