The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1860-03-21
Parton's Life of Jackson.

eronce, principally, TO the Historians er.
ror i'll assigning North, instead of .Soulh
Carolina, as General Jsckson's birth
place:
The early Iife-lhe boy life of JACK
SON is lacking in material. Nobody knows
anything. One iuan, or woman, remem
bers that he was called ANDY, and the
tradition shows tina, he was wlldish
colt enough. But the details are wretch
ediy mea! IRE. 1t is even left 10 u very 70.
cent period to discover report that Old
Hickory once kept an old field school in
South Carolina. As respects the evidence,
alter all MIR. Phrton's cleaning, it is hard
ly worth copper, in single instance,
where 1t regtids Jackspn's childhood and
youth. WHIT was imposing in these items
WAS long since gathered, and put on re
cord, by Euon, aud CJbbett, and R,n.
dali. The strangest thing Of all is, that
the excellent folk q! the Carolina borders,
who can remember hardly half dozen
incidents in the bovhood of one whose
boyhood WAS yet SO remarkable as to i'm
press every body-:hat il, TO remember it
States-aTc ye, very pCs:tjve IN knowing
better than Jackson himself, as TO the
spot why're lie was first SwadlleG into
clothing. Tho amlabe old hero, during
his whole life, was sure that he WAS born
IN South Carolina; and nobody ventured
to contradict him. lie perpetuaiy atErms
It. Not only does he declare this in one
Of the greatest Of his public documents,
'ihe froclamatlon perSus Modification. bu,
he writes it in scores OF Instances. 70
the Union party Of South Carolina, dated
June IA, 1881, he speaks of the gralIf
cation lie should feel in re visiting the
State of which feel pride in calling
myself il citizen by birth :" and this, at !,
moment, when we might suppose him
eager le repudate his birthplace. y,
Aud l. sc happens that none Of the
ole laGies who saw him in hl, swadd ING
clothes, when they themselves were but
seven years old Remembering the whole
thing perfectly when they were seventy
seven-say, at this time, siu.lo word to
the amiab.e Pashaw. to satisfy him that
lie knows nothing Of the matter himself
Apd, no doubt, he did not No mau can
properly give testimony to the hour, place
aud circumstances Of his own birlh But
he is apt to hear Of 1t from better authori
ty than any neighbors or reminiscents
cap possibly be. Andrew Jacksun's mo. IN
er hYed al her son was full !edged-a
young fellow able Ia carry weapons and
fight the battles of HE country and all
that lie hears from mothers, neighbors,
friends and relatives, satisfy him, to the
last hours of his life, that he was born
near the borders, but in South, aud not
IN North Carolina And at sixty years OF
age he processes to lie reasonably proud
OF his birthplace was partly disposed to
be hostile 10, aud rather ashamed Of hun.
How these amable rn,ei,lgents. who
discover his error on this subject, OH the
testimony OF old ladies who remember SO
we'll 1T seventy seven what they saw at
seven, iorebore 10 set him ight willie he
still lived, Is II problem not easily solved.
But we hear not syllable OF these :e-
mIniscents until the party most concerned
himself, and all witnesses, are in their
graves until they are safely under
ground every body believed that Andrea
Jackson was II South Caroiinian by birth.
1t Is only after he is dead, having achieved
wonderful distinctions, that our amiab.e
cousins of North Carolina wake up and
rake up the testimony which pro, es (o,
does not pro'e) otherwise. And such
testimony. Suckey remembers what Sally
said, and Sally, at seventy,seven, remem.
bers perfectly her experiences at seven
IA the case of an obscure boy, an obscure
family, in an obscure Dwelling, Of an ob
scure precinct; and, remembering this
one fact, Of his time and place If birth,
the dear old lady remembers nothing
more. Not AN aceIdeht-not an incident.
We rathei think that, in this particular.
MF. Parton, who may, for aught we
Know, be a relative Of Mrs. PattInglon,
has shown himself credulousIy long OF
ears. The testimony upon which I've Ie
cIdes this even is such as could not de-
termine the dimensions Of red cows tail
before a jury of tsors. We note, by the
way, that even with legal assistance, he
fails 10 find that the Jackson family paid
any taxes in North Carolina. HIS inier
ence is tina: they were lamenlabIy poor.
80 i1'o hDt bCI' uS ltlhl no lDullIGl III
the taxbooks Of South CarcIima. Sup
pose now some o: our excellent legal
ialends OF Lancaster District were TO ad
dress themselves to the labor of supply
ing the deficient records ? There, in the
may of Lancaster, you see laid down, on
the main road 10 the Court House, and
within stones throw Of Waxhaw Creek,
"Jackson's Birthplace" Aud such was
no; only the belief Of all, down to The
period of Jacksons emiuence, but there it
stood, on the substantial records of
Stata. And, in those days, there were
not only thousand witnesses, but they
we're then uhdispuled. And the brave old
bully, Andy Jackson, believed it fully, AS
did all the neighborhood.
But. as Nj. Parton says--a(te5 expen.
Gibg score Of pages on tine sutject-it
Is of no sort Of consequence. 1t is not of
much momerl where a man is born, if he
can make . good record Of the way he