The news & observer., 1895-08-25

son, who was taken sick at the house Of
her brother in-law, George McCamie,
&c, as above. He stated, Gn 1859 that
Mrs Leslie died about fifty years ago,
and Mrs, Lathen died thirty-hye years
ago. Il am now seventy years Of age,
and reside now where / have ever since
my birth, in Lancaster District,
South Carolina, near Craigsvile,
postofice, and about two miles from the
old Waxhaw church
Mr.. Samuel McWhorter, Jane Wilson
and others testify to the same effect.
James D. Craig, formerly Of WaXhaw,
but then of Mississippi said that he re
membered hearing old James Faulkner
say, "that once while sleeping with An
drew Jackson, at the McCamie House |
Andrew told him that he was born in
that house" Mr. Craig also said that
he had heard Mrs. Couser, a very old
lady, long a near neighb0r of McKamy,
say that she remembered perfectly the
night of Andrew JacksOn's birth, as she
was sent for to assist, and reached the
McKamy house before the infant was
dressed. Mr.. Craig had also heard
Charles Findly, deceased, say that be
assisted in hauling the corpse Of An
drew Jackson from his house on Twelve
Mile Greek to the WaxhaW church yard,
and in interring it there; that he brought
Mrs Jackson and her boys, with the
corpse, and after the funeral, conveyed
them to the residence Of George Nc
Kamy, where, soon after, Andrew was
born"
Mr.. Parton says This testimony
leaves no reasonable doubt that the
birth took place at the house of Nc
Kamy. Nor is there the least difficulty
in finding the precise spot where that
house stood. The spot is IS well known
to the people of the neighborhoOd as the
City Hall is to the inhabitants of New
York
Mr.. Parton then produces the
testimony Of Thomas CuretOn, who
bought the place and lived upon it
number Of years, beginning with 1896.
He also produces the testimonials of
descendant Of Thomas Cur5tOn, who
owned the place in 1853 He gives q
statement Of the transfer Of the Mecca
ME property from hand to hand for
century. He resided at the time in Ian
caster District, South Carolina, within
half a m le of the McCamie place, which.
he states, lies in Union county, North
Carolina, formerly a part Of Mecklen-
burg.
only the stones of which the chimney
was built renal in a natural arhor
formed by Catawba grape vines. Mrs.
Jackson remained at this place a few
weeks after the birth of Andrew, and
then went, with Robert and Andrew, the
infant, to reside with her other sister,
Mrs. Crawford, only two miles distant,
but in South Carolina
Mrs. Jackson, it is SAID, proposed to
have Andrew educated for a Presbyte-
rian Clergyman, and to this end, accord
ing to Mr.. Eaton, in his biography of
him, he was sent to a classical school at
the WaxhaW Church, and commenced
the study of the languages. He also
attended another classical school in the
neighborhood But Parton, and with
apparently good reason, gives Andrew
credit for very slight tincture of classic
lore. Parton says that Jackson Learned
to read, to write, and cast up accounts,
and little more, " and that the occasional
Latin phrases in bis letters ''are so quoted
as to show ignorance, rather than know
ledge. He was never a well-informed
mau He never was addicted to books
lie never learned to write the English
language correctly, though he often
wrote it eloquentIy and couvincinely. He
never learned to spell correctly, though
be was better speller than Frederick
the II, Marlborough. Napoleon, or
Washington. Few men of his day, and
no women, were correct spoilers. To
deed, we may say tina all Che most illus
tTjous men have been bad spoilers, eX-
cept these who could not spell ar all
The scrupulous eXactuesS in that respect,
which is not so common, was scarcely
know three generations ago Even in
the manuscripts Of Jefferson, Burke,
Pope and Addison. there are errors of
spelling, aud capital letters, which it is
difficult to attribute to careless penman-
ship. Jackson's bad spelling, Of course,
has been much exaggerated but he ire
quently mispelled what boys called
"hard words" and sometimes spelled
the same word in two or three diff
ferent ways in the same letter
His mistakes, however. during
the last forty years of his life, did not
average more than five to a page. His
style, when he wrote at leisure, and for
purposes merely formal, was that of
person unaccustomed to composition.
Awkward Tepetitions occur, and mis-
takes in grammar, as well as spelling
But when his feelings were excited, he
could pour food of vehment eloquence
upon paper, and with such rapidity that
his manuscript would be wet two or
three pages behind"
After stating that all Jackson's public |
papers required correction, Parton |
goes on to remark 'It is nevertheless |
a fact, as before remarked, that he was
more truly the author of his public |
writings than almost any others |
of our public men have been of |
the documents which bear their names. |
His secretaries wrote with his fiery mind, |
though with their own practical hands, |
and wrote with more nerve and warmth |
when writing for him, than they ever
could for themselves
This thought of Parton is not unlike |
what Emerson says of Napoleon, and |
what he recites from Dumont's life of |
Mirabeau Quoting Swedenborg's theory
that every organ is made up of homo
geneOus particles; or, as it is sometimes |
expressed, every whole is made of SINH
lars; that is the lungs are composed of |
infinitely small lungs, the liver of inf
nitely small livers, the kidney Of little
kidneVS NC 'EFOllOWinU this ANALOGY - |