Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Jackson, Andrew (1767-1845) to unknown

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03317 Author/Creator: Jackson, Andrew (1767-1845) Place Written: Hermitage, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 January 1838 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24.7 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Encloses a letter (not included) from "an old woman, who with the rest of his negroes, was liberated by Mr. Alexander Donelson." Notes that the entire family, with the exception of the woman and her husband, left for Liberia. Her son and daughter, John and Celia, have lost their children since their arrival at Liberia, and the woman has not heard from any of her other relatives. Requests the recipient to give the enclosed letter to the Secretary of the Colonization Society in Washington, D.C. for delivery to the old woman's family.

Previous documentation and research concluded this may have been written to William B. Lewis. There is a letter from Jackson to Lewis 23 January 1838 (Morgan Library) with nearly the same content; this may be a misdated copy of that letter, or a similar letter to another major.

Hermitage 25th of January 1838
Dear Major,
The enclosed letter is from an old woman, who with the rest of his negroes, was liberated by Mr Alexander Donelson all the family but herself and husband, have left for Liberia - Her son & daughter, John and Celia, have reached there and since their arrival have lost their three children the balance of the negroes fifteen or twenty in number, not heard from since they left, the old woman is anxious to send them a letter will you have the goodness to hand the enclosed to the Secretary of the Colonization Society in Washington with a request that he take charge of it, and have it sent to them.
My Hous hold unites with me in kind regards
Yours
Andrew Jackson

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
Lewis, William Berkeley, 1784-1866
Donelson, Alexander, fl. 1838

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources