On the eve of a victory banquet in Nashville in honor of the newly
elected President, she died peacefully in the bosom of her home. Almost
her last words with her husband had been to exact a promise from him
that he would attend the banquet in spite of her illness, which was not
considered as being serious. She died on December 22, 1828, just
forty-nine years to the day since trustingly she turned her face
Westward on the “Good Ship Adventure.” With the same child-like
confidence, her great and good soul now passed beyond the veil and the
mystery to the eternal home of her Maker. Upon her tomb in the Hermitage
garden is inscribed an epitaph dictated by the stricken heart of Andrew
Jackson:
“_Here lies the remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, wife of President
Jackson, who died the 22nd of December, 1828, age 61 years. Her face
was fair, her person pleasing, her temper amiable, 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 virtuous
slander might wound, but could not dishonor. Even death when he bore
her from the arms of her husband could but transport her to the bosom
of her God._”
[Illustration: The Jackson tomb in the garden at the Hermitage]
[Illustration: Plan of the Hermitage garden]
Transcriber’s Notes
—Silently corrected a few typos.
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rachel Jackson, by Nellie Treanor Stokes
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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