The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-02-04
'Hs HERO OF NEW ORLEANS.
OLD HICKORY AS A FIGHTER.

Andrew jackson was born in the
Waxhsw settlements, N. c., In 1867.
His mothers name before marriage
was Hutchinson, and both she and
Jackson pere came from the north of
Ireland. They we're ~Scotch-Irish, ma
tives of Carrickfergus, Presbyterians,
aud weayers of linen. Andrews father
died three days before the coming
judge, general and statesman was born.
The poverty Of Andrews mother dur
ing his whole youth was of the sort
called utter. He had two brothers, six
and three years older than he, named
Hugh and Robert. They vent to work
as farm hands at an early age, and are
presumed to have finally farmed them
hood to old age, old age to the grave.
AT any rate, no one ever caught them
disturbing history.
Andrew jackson grew up sandy hair
ed, ~grey-eyed, slight in form, and tick-
ly as to health. He was intensely ner-
vous, honest, impulsive, i~nveterate.
He hated and he loved. He did both
as few people aver do. His vibrant
nature made 1t impossible to do too
much for u friend, too much to an ene-
my. No'one vas Indifferent to him.
He was q foe or close to Jackson's
heart. His courage was absolute, and
he always told the truth. II a mar
always tells the truth, he had better
be q good fighter. If he isn't he'll get
killed telling some particular truth
some day. Well, Jacksonwas as indom-
liable q tighter as ever stripped TO. q
contest. 1t was as we'll. He would 9TH
erwise have been ploughed under in
his first public year.
Old Hickory was 8 years old when
the cracked old bell rung out liberty to
the world in Philadelphia. Before
Washington got through with Corn
wallis al Yorktown seven years more
had elapsed, and jackson was 16. Tho
war of the Revolution made o weighty
impression on young Andrew, tho more,
perhaps, because he was held as q boy
prisoner by some ambitious Britons for
a season, and when they had time to
waste they were wont to cuff and kick
and buffet the young rebel about Just
to show him, as the Milesian policeman
did tho colored prisoner, that they had
authority over him. The account opeu
ed with England on this revolutionary
occasion the ardent Jackson succeeded
in squaring thirty-three years later
at the battle of New Orleans. Pack
enham would have shown wisdom had
he pleaded the statute Of limitations.
The same year that Jackson was
rocked In his North Carolina cradle
the cradle of John Quincy Adams was
being rocked up in New England. No
one could then foresee the combats of
these two red-faced human bits. About
midway between in Virginia was Baby
Rachel Donaldson in her cradle, at
forward TO marry jackson and be the
Indirect cause OF a great deal Of his.
tory, some OF it blood red, too.
1t is not the present purpose, nor is
there space, to write q history OF jack
son. His mother hoped to mako q
preacher of him, but her ambitions
slipped. jackson got a sort of an edu-
cation, and was alleged to be u lawyer.
He had a keen, apprehensive intelli-
gence and II natural conception of right
and justice unsurpassed. These last,
rather than h books he read, were
his chief lights and safeguards as an
advocate and a Judge. But jackson
couldn't spell a little bit. In a day
when bad spelling ran riot in the land
acksOn was far and away the worse
speller in Tennessee. Jerry Simpson
once exulted over tho invention and
introduction into human affairs of the
common stenographer of commerce..
You say what you please says
Simpson,, without lodging a word,
and you throw the responsibility of the
spelling on the st~enographer." But
there were 40 shorthand people when
tennessee was young, and jackson had
to boar tho brunt Of his own awful
photography. But he succeeded in
making himself understood as well as
any man of his own or any other day.
:. Oar hero killed "a young man named
Dickinson in a duel. All Of the condi
tions which surrounded this killing
!, served to make it II of the most cele
!, grated OF single combals. This fight
"a mAnV a1laUn and haIinpn
OF Jackson's marriage. Jackson's wife
however, was merely an excuse, a pre-
text. The duel was the plain fruit O.
=, 6 political plot to kill Jackson and get
: him out of the way. He was too pow
: erful, too popular, too much the idol o
the people. Many there we're who
, would have preferred him as an ange
, and OH this earth altogether and out o
' politics. So they set up a dark game
to XIII Jackson and put Dickinson for
Z ward to do it. The pretcXt was Mrs
, Jackson-as amiable, as virtuous anC
as loving a wife as ever walked dowr
any aisle to any altar to the music o.
any wedding march.
Rachel Robards was n beautiful bru
nette, wife of Lewis Richards, a Ken
+ tuckian. These two lived in Tennessee
with RachePs mother, Mrs. Donaldson
, When jackson went to Tennessee he
Doarueu aC Lne WIDOW DOnaldSOn'S
Richards was u drunken, shiftless, low
browed brute. He ill.treated his wife
and once deserted her. He choose tf
become jealous of Jackson when the
latter boarded al the widow Donald
:, sons. Robards tried with a sincerity
truly kentnckian to get jackson tt
= take u rifle and go and shoot it out with
, him. Jackson restrained himself and
declined to fight Robards, vastly tc
: that drunkard's contempt and disgust
Richards was the only man who couldn't
+ get a fight out of Jackson.
But jackson, as an outcome, left the
Donaldson boarding house, and Ro
D"rds left his wife. Richards went back
+ to Kentucky and sued for q divorce
Word came on happy wings to saw that
he had succeeded. The beautiful bru.
nette was free, and she and Jackson
were we'd.
But alas and alack 1t was all a mis-.
} take-a marital mirage. Richards did
finally get a divorce but not until sew.
B eral awful months after Jackson and
Mrs. ltobar were married. So the
young couple had to be married all over
again. This time it was a success and
they were very happy. The first mis-
take arose from the fault OF the mails
rather than their morals, and thcir
cOnsclences were clear.
1t does not appear that the public
generally discovered aught that was
tortuous or wrong in Jackson's mar
riage or the trail which led to it. It