Rachel Jackson, wife of President Andrew Jackson, never wanted to be First Lady and tried to dissuade her husband from his political ambitions. Yet she publicly supported his political advancement and was the first wife of a presidential candidate to take to the campaign trail. Privy to his political decisions, she offered valued counsel, and Jackson sometimes regretted not taking her advice. Denied a traditional education by her father, Rachel's innate business savvy made the Jacksons' Tennessee plantation and businesses profitable during her husband's continual absences. This biography chronicles the life of a First Lady who rebelled against 19th-century constraints on women, overcame personal tragedies to become an inspirational figure of persistence and strength, and found herself at the center of one of the vilest presidential smear campaigns in history.

Rachel Jackson, née Donelson (1767-1828) was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States. She was born near the Banister River, about ten miles from Chatham, Virginia. Her father was John Donelson (1718-1785)and her mother was Rachel Stockley Donelson (1730-1801).

Story about Rachel's pioneer girlhood and her amazing flatboat trip on the wilderness rivers to the Tennessee settlements, where she later became the bride of Andrew Jackson and the mistress of Hermitage.

Brief biographies and portraits of wives, sisters, daughters, nieces, and other relatives of Presidents who have served as White House hostesses, from Martha Washington to Hillary Clinton.