Emily Donelson

Emily Tennessee Donelson (June 1, 1807 – December 19, 1836) was the niece of US President Andrew Jackson. She served as White House hostess and unofficial First Lady of the United States from 1829 to 1836.

Early life and marriage

Emily Tennessee Donelson was born on her father's farm in Donelson, Tennessee. Her father John Donelson was the brother of Rachel Donelson Jackson, the wife of the future President. Unlike many girls of her day, Emily was afforded a formal education. She studied at Nashville Female Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and was considered an accomplished student.

On September 16, 1824, seventeen year old Emily married Andrew Jackson "A.J." Donelson. A.J. Donelson was Emily's first cousin and a ward of their mutual uncle and aunt, Andrew and Rachel Donelson Jackson.

White House hostess

It has been speculated that even before Rachel Donelson Jackson's death in 1828, Jackson had planned for Emily to accompany them to Washington to assist Rachel in the duties of White House hostess. The Jacksons had maintained a similar arrangement with Emily at The Hermitage, their plantation in Tennessee. The death of Rachel Donelson Jackson caused these plans to be abandoned and Andrew Jackson asked Emily to take over all the responsibilities of the White House hostess.

She arrived in Washington at the age of 21. Her husband A.J. Donelson served as President Jackson's private secretary. The first months of Jackson's administration marked a period of mourning for Rachel Donelson Jackson. The unofficial period of mourning ended when Emily hosted a New Year's party at the White House on January 1, 1830.

Petticoat affair and dismissal

In 1829, Washington society began to buzz with rumors and innuendo surrounding Peggy Eaton, the new wife of Secretary of War John Henry Eaton. The rumors alleged the couple's relationship had begun as an extramarital affair, and that Peggy's first husband had committed suicide when he learned of their relationship. The growing scandal, soon to be nicknamed the Petticoat Affair, began to split Jackson's Cabinet. The wives of several members of Jackson's cabinet, most notably Floride Calhoun, the wife of Vice-President John C. Calhoun refused to receive Peggy into Washington society and snubbed the couple.

President Jackson viewed the treatment of Peggy Eaton as unwarranted and unfair. He also drew comparisons to the treatment of his own late wife. Unbeknownst to the Jacksons, Rachel was still legally married to her first husband when she married Andrew Jackson. This fact was discovered by supporters of John Quincy Adams during the election of 1828. They mercilessly attacked Rachel as an adulterer and a bigamist. Jackson blamed her death in December 1828 on the stresses of the campaign. Jackson believed that Washington society was treating Peggy unfairly just as it had treated his late wife.

Jackson began to pressure his subordinates to accept the couple. Emily had sided with the group that wanted to snub the Eatons. When Jackson confronted Emily, she relented somewhat and included Peggy in White House functions, but Emily extended to her the basic courtesies and nothing more. The situation came to a head when the Eatons declined Jackson's invitation to a White House dinner in early 1830. When Jackson inquired why they had declined his invitation, Peggy cited Emily's cold treatment.

Emily and A.J. traveled with the President to the Hermitage for a vacation in the summer of 1830. By then the rift between the President and Emily had grown so great that Emily refused to stay at the Hermitage, instead choosing to stay at her mother's house. When Jackson returned to Washington, A.J. accompanied him but Emily did not.

When Jackson returned to the White House, he implored Emily to come back and resume her duties. However she refused to do so as long as Jackson continued to insist on Peggy Eaton's acceptance in the White House. Since he refused to relent, the two remained estranged for over a year.

Return as White House hostess

The Petticoat affair was defused when Jackson dismissed several members of his cabinet and John Henry Eaton was dispatched to Madrid as America's Minster to Spain. With the principal reason for their estrangement gone, Emily agreed to return to the White House. She arrived on September 5, 1831.

On November 26, 1834, Sarah Yorke Jackson, the President's daughter in law, arrived at the White House and began acting as co-hostess. In order to prevent ill feelings between the two women, Jackson referred to Sarah as the "mistress of the Hermitage" rather than White House hostess. Despite the awkward arrangement, the two women appear to have gotten along without major friction. It was the only time in American history when two women simultaneously acted as White House hostess.

Illness and death

Emily's health began to deteriorate in 1836 and she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In June 1836 she left the White House to recuperate in "Tulip Grove", her plantation adjacent to the Hermitage. Her health continued to decline and Jackson left Washington to be with her in December 1836. She died two days before he arrived, aged 29.