United States First Lady. Sarah Yorke Jackson received a place in American history, when she assumed the duties of First Lady, after the death of Emily Donelson. Rachel Jackson, as the wife of the 7th President of the United States Andrew Jackson, should have served as the nation's First Lady, except she died between her husband's election and his March 4, 1829 inauguration. Emily Donelson, Rachel Jackson's niece, assumed the duties of First Lady. After a disagreement with President Jackson as the result of the "Peggy Eaton Affair," Emily Donelson abandoned her First Lady duties returning to Tennessee for a time, and during this time Sarah Yorke Jackson managed the full duties of First Lady. Being co-hostesses with Donelson at times, she had gained the experience of being at social events in the White House. She was not only responsible for the formal social events, but also housekeeping duties, which included supervising her family's Tennessee slaves in the White House. There was never any known rivalry between the two ladies and they even co-hosted a children's Christmas party at the end of 1835. Returning from Tennessee, Emily Donelson was unable fulfill the duties of First Lady as her health was declining after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, and in August of 1836, she returned to Tennessee, dying within four months. The duties of First Lady fell in Sarah Jackson's capable hands until March 4, 1837, when Sarah Angelica Van Buren, the daughter-in-law of President Martin Van Buren stepped-up to the position. Her husband filled the vacancy of the President's secretary at that point. After President Jackson's eight-year term, she was particularly helpful to her father-in-law by assuming the responsibility of packing and shipping everything he had accumulated in his years at the White House. Born the middle of three daughters of a wealthy sea captain and merchant, her father died in 1815. In 1820 while on a trip to New Orleans, her mother died, leaving her and her two sisters as orphans and in the care of two aunts. In Philadelphia on November 24, 1831, she married Andrew Jackson, Jr., the adopted son of President Jackson. The President and his wife Rachel did not have any biological children, but "adopted" in 1817 her great-nephew, Andrew Jackson Hutchings, who was one of twin boys. His name was changed to Andrew Jackson, Jr. Although President Jackson was unable to attend the wedding, the newlyweds were greeted with a fine reception at the White House after their honey-moon. She was asked to wear her wedding gown. She and her husband left the White House in the Spring of 1832 to make their home at the Jackson's 1,000+-acre cotton plantation in Tennessee, "The Hermitage." By this time, she was pregnant with her first child. She became to be known as the "mistress of The Hermitage." In 1834 there was a serious fire in the main house at the plantation and at the request of President Jackson, she and her husband went to Washington D.C. to live at the White House while "The Hermitage" was being rebuilt. Except for trips to "The Hermitage" to oversee the rebuilding, she remained at the White House until Jackson's term expired in 1837. By this time, she had become the mother of five children with two sons, Thomas and Robert, dying as infants. She became President Jackson's care giver during his increasingly infirm and disabled retirement. In 1845 Andrew Jackson died, and her husband inherited "The Hermitage." The debts inherited from President Jackson's estate along with the poor manage of finances by her husband forced her husband to sell much of the surrounding land of the plantation. With this money, they wanted to start over and moved to newly purchased properties near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in February of 1859, which became a failure after the damage from a storm. By the fall of 1860, they returned to Tennessee, renting "The Hermitage" for the next nearly 30 years. With the American Civil War starting the next April, they lived there throughout the war. Her husband served at the rank of Colonel in the Confederate Army. Her son Samuel was killed during the Battle of Chickamauga during September of 1863. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. At age 57, her husband was in a hunting accident on April 10, 1865 and died from tetanus a week later. Her son Andrew III had been captured during the war and was imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor until days after his father's funeral. Her older sister Marion came to live with her, dying in 1877. During the 20th century, the State of Tennessee acquired "The Hermitage" including all the surrounding land that was sold. According to her obituary her son Andrew Jackson III and her oldest child, a daughter named Rachel, survived her.