Archive of fourteen (14) letters, primarily related to the family of American politician Andrew Jackson Donelson, Sr., (1799-1871) and his wife Emily Tennessee Donelson (1807-1836), including 1 letter written and signed by Emily Donelson. Note: Emily Donelson took over the duties of the First Lady to President Andrew Jackson following the death of his wife, Rachel in 1829. Andrew Jackson Donelson was the nephew and private secretary to President Andrew Jackson after he won the 1828 election. He was appointed by President James K. Polk to represent the United States during the annexation of Texas, and served as minister to Prussia from 1846 to 1849. 1st item: ALS. One page hand-written bifolium letter written by Andrew Jackson Donelson, Washington, D.C., to his second wife Elizabeth Anderson Martin Randolph Donelson (1815-1871), near The Hermitage, Nashville, TN, dated February 19, 1857. His short letter references his travels and his son Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr. (1826-1859) who is stationed at West Point "…very much to his gratification…" He urges his wife to make herself "…quiet and contented…" despite their infrequent correspondence due to his work. 2nd item: ALS. Two-page double-sided handwritten biofolium letter written by Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr., Fort Laramie, in present-day Wyoming, addressed to his father Andrew Jackson Donelson, Nashville, TN, dated August 19, 1850. The letter mostly discusses his daily life while stationed at the fort with the United States Army, in particular the flood of emigrants heading to California earlier that year, which he estimates "…amounted to at least 50000…" and "In addition…[a] large number of Mormons have gone by on their way to the Great Salt Lake to make their permanent home…" He does mention that the influx is slowing down to be replaced by Native Americans and white traders who he describes as "…either broken down gentlemen, abandoned characters, adventurers, or gamblers in search of a more dishonest way of making a fortune than gambling…" who then proceed to "…build a mud hut and begin to trade for the Indian's[sic] furs in all those little trinkets and trifles calculated to please the rudest and most uncultivated of mankind…then most of them marry among the Indians and raise families, and consider themselves in all respects freed from the ordinary restraints of society…" He also mentions the recent death of Major General Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850, writing "…He was a man I suppose of ordinary intellect, but one who filled an important part in the affairs of our country…" He ends the letter by urging him to write and by sending his familial regards. 3rd item: ALS. Two-page double-sided handwritten biofolium letter written by Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr., West Point, NY, addressed to his father Andrew Jackson Donelson, Washington, D.C., dated February 25, 1851. The letter discusses his recent travels and mentions that he visited his brother John Samuel Donelson (1832-1863), referred to in the letter as "Johnny," in New Haven, Connecticut. He also thanks his father "…for the present of a negro boy…" and suggests giving him $300 as recompense. Andrew, Jr. also writes of his career, stating that while he is happy with his current position at West Point he does not intend to stay for longer than a year and a half and that, regrettably, his ambition to join the Corp of Engineers does not seem possible due to "…Congre[s]s [laying] the Fortification bill on the table…" He ends the letter by discussing acquaintances and requests that his father remember him to various individuals, including a General Armstrong, likely Brigadier General Robert Armstrong (1792-1854) an officer in the United States Army, a candidate for the position of Governor of Tennessee, and a United States consul to Liverpool. Note: John Samuel Donelson was a Captain in the Confederate 154th Senior Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (1st Tennessee Volunteers) and died at the Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19-20, 1863. 4th-5th items: Two (2) Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr., West Point Military Academy, NY related paper ephemera items, including one (1) one page double-sided bifolium letter from Donelson, Jr. to his father, Donelson, Sr., New Orleans, LA, dated May 6, 1845. The letter, written while Donelson, Sr., was representing the U.S. during the annexation of Texas, refers to his involvement and to his meeting General Duff Green (1791-1875) with whom Donelson, Sr., became acquainted with in Texas. He also urges his father to "…tell me…whether the Texans will accept the annexation proposals; I see it stated in some of the papers that you dispatches to the government [they] are favourable–I have great hopes of the suce[s]s of the measure…" Donelson, Jr. also discusses the many issues that led to the impending Civil War, writing, "…I hear a great many rumors of war, and many accounts of anti-slavery, dissolution of the union, infidel; and other convention:–and the slavery question is about to cause a division in some of the churches–I am in hopes however that it will all come out right, although I fear some evil will be the consequence of all these commotions if the rumours[sic] about them are correct…". Also includes one (1) West Point Class and Conduct Report for Donelson, Jr., dated April 20, 1848. 6th item: ALS. Two-page double-sided handwritten bifolium letter from A.J. Donelson, Sr.'s first wife Emily Donelson (1807-1836) niece of Rachel Donelson Jackson, White House hostess and acting first lady of the United States, Washington, D.C., to her mother, Mary Donelson, Nashville, TN, September 20th, circa 1829-34. The letter discusses family matters. 7th-12th items: Five (5) additional handwritten letters written by Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr., addressed to his father Andrew Jackson Donelson, addressed to and from various locations, including one (1) from Paris, France, written to his father in Berlin, Prussia, while Donelson, Sr. was the US envoy to the short-lived revolutionary government of Germany in Frankfurt, dated January 24, 1849; two (2) from Fort Laramie, dated February 27 and April 3, 1850; one (1) from Fort Kearny, Oregon Route, dated November 3, 1850; and one (1) from West Point, New York, dated June 6, 1851. 13th-14th items: Two (2) handwritten letters from Meriwether Lewis Randolph (1810-1837), the first husband of Elizabeth Anderson Martin Randolph Donelson, including one (1) addressed from Clifton, TN, to Andrew Jackson Donelson, Jr., Washington, D.C., dated April 15, [1836], announcing the death of his mother-in-law, Catherine Donelson Martin (1799-1836); and one (1) from Little Rock, Arkansas, addressed to his brother-in-law, James Glasgow Martin (1823-1904), dated March 6, 1837, discussing his plantation and business affairs in Arkansas. Note: Meriwether Lewis Randolph was the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, friend of Andrew Jackson, and served as the last secretary of the Arkansas Territory. Biography: "Andrew Jackson Donelson, son of Samuel and Mary Donelson, was a soldier, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. After his father's death around 1804 and his mother's remarriage, Donelson was reared at the Hermitage, home of his aunt, Rachel Donelson Jackson, and his namesake Andrew Jackson. He graduated from West Point, second in his class, and served as General Jackson's aide-de-camp during the Seminole campaign. After this conflict, he resigned from the army and studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1823 Donelson returned to Nashville to practice law and within the year married his first cousin, Emily Tennessee Donelson. He inherited his father's property adjacent to the Hermitage, and the Donelsons had their home, Tulip Grove, constructed while they were in Washington with President Jackson during most of his two terms. Donelson served as the president's private secretary, and Emily acted as the official hostess of the White House. Emily died of tuberculosis in 1836, shortly after Tulip Grove was completed, leaving four small children. Donelson remarried five years later and had eight more children with his second wife, Elizabeth Martin Randolph. After Donelson's return to Nashville, he was appointed by President John Tyler to negotiate the annexation of Texas. His success in this undertaking led to his appointment as minister to Prussia from 1846 to 1849. In 1851 he became editor of the Washington Union but left this position as the Democratic Party moved toward sectionalism. Donelson ran for vice-president on the Millard Fillmore ticket with the support of the Know-Nothing Party in 1856. Their loss ended his national political career. In 1858 he sold Tulip Grove to Mark Cockrill and moved his family and his law practice to Memphis, where he remained active in local politics. He died in Memphis in 1871." (source: "Andrew Jackson Donelson" by Camille Wells, from the "Tennessee Encyclopedia," published by the Tennessee Historical Society, October 8, 2017, accessed October 31, 2022, https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/andrew-jackson-donelson/).

PROVENANCE: By descent from the estate of Stanley Horn, Nashville, Tennessee.

CONDITION: Letters in overall good, legible condition with general handling wear, toning, foxing spots, areas of dampstaining, possible tears, areas of loss, pencil inscriptions from previous owners to be expected from age and manner of use.