The Ladies of the White House; Or, in the Home of the Presidents: Being a Complete History of the Social and Domestic Lives of the Presidents from Washington to the Present Time—1789–1881Holloway, Laura C. (Laura Carter)
History
The Ladies of the White House; Or, in the Home of the Presidents: Being a Complete History of the Social and Domestic Lives of the Presidents from Washington to the Present Time—1789–1881
Holloway, Laura C. (Laura Carter)
Presidents -- United States -- Biography; Presidents' spouses -- United States -- Biography
The ladies of Abingdon, Virginia, met and entered into resolutions to
transmit to General Jackson a letter “assuring him of the sincere regard
they bore the character and person of his deceased lady, and the sorrow
they feel at his afflictive bereavement,” and also to wear mourning
badges on their dresses for thirty days. The following is a copy of the
letter of condolence to General Jackson:
“_January 5th, 1829._
“DEAR SIR: We have heard, with the deepest sorrow, of your late
afflictive bereavement in the death of your truly pious and amiable
wife; and we have met to mingle our tears with yours for the irreparable
loss you have sustained. To weep on such an occasion is not blamable; it
is but a becoming tribute to departed worth; yet, at the same time, we
should bow with submission to the will of Him who ‘gives and who takes
away at his pleasure.’ She has gone, we trust, to those mansions ‘where
the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest,’ where the
voice of malice cannot reach her or the tongue of calumny disturb her.
“On such an occasion, when religion is deprived of one of its brightest
ornaments, and society of one of its most valuable members, we consider
it our duty to offer to her memory the tribute of esteem which is due to
her worth; and to give you, Sir, our sincerest condolence for this late
afflictive dispensation. At the same time, we offer our fervent prayer
to the Almighty disposer of human events, that your administration of
the high office to which you have lately been elected may be as wise and
happy as your military career was brilliant and successful.
“SARAH P. PRESTON.”
This effusion expressive of womanly feeling does infinite credit to the
highly esteemed authoress. She was a daughter of General William
Campbell, who so gloriously commanded the Virginia militia, and
afterwards a gallant corps in the battle of Guilford Court House, who,
in the language of the historian, were “the first engaged and the last
to quit.”
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Knoxville, Tennessee, unanimously
adopted a preamble and resolutions in regard to the death of Mrs.
Jackson. Joseph C. Strong was Mayor, and William Swan, Recorder. Colonel
Jacobs offered the paper, and we annex the resolutions:
“Resolved, That while we deeply regret the death of Mrs. Jackson, we
cannot but express our gratitude to the Supreme Governor of the
universe, that she was not taken from time to eternity until the people
of the Union had given a clear and distinct manifestation of the high
estimation in which they held the reputation of herself and husband.
“Resolved, That in consequence of the death of Mrs. Jackson, the Mayor
be directed to request the Rev. Thomas H. Nelson to preach a sermon
suitable to the occasion, in the First Presbyterian Church, at eleven
o’clock A. M., on Thursday, the first day of January next.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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