When the Hermitage was transferred to the custody of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association “Uncle Alfred,” by legislative request, went with it.
Senate Joint Resolution, No. 14, adopted April 3, 1889, reads:
“Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That —— Jackson, colored, an old manservant of General Andrew Jackson, who now lives in a small cabin within one hundred yards of the tomb of General Jackson, that in transferring the Hermitage to the Confederate Home Association and the Ladies’ Association, by recent legislation, that we request the Trustees of the Confederate Home Association and the Ladies’ Association, not to disturb this old and good negro, but allow him to live in his cabin until he is called to meet his master on the other side of the river, and rest with him under the shade of the trees.
“Benj. J. Lea, Speaker of the Senate; W. L. Clapp, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Approved April 6, 1889. Robert L. Taylor, Governor.”
“Uncle” Alfred, who was born in 1803, died September 4, 1901. In fulfilment of his dearest wish he was buried near the tomb of his master, where he does, indeed, in the words of the dying Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson, “rest under the shade of the trees.”
Sword Presented to Andrew Jackson by Citizens of Philadelphia.—(Niles Register—Vol. 47—p. 402. Issue of February 7, 1835.)
Philadelphia, January 1st, 1835.
To gen. Andrew Jackson, president of the United States.
Sir: The undersigned citizens of Philadelphia, beg leave, on the anniversary of the glorious battle of New Orleans, to offer, by the attention of their friend, Col. A. L. Rumfort, the accompanying sword, from the manufacture of their fellow citizen, Mr. F. W. Widmann, as a testimonial of their love and gratitude towards the benefactor of their country.
The artist has endeavored, in the ornamental work, to depict that conflict, which resulted in the most decisive and glorious victory known to our American annals. Art may indeed be inadequate to do justice to such a subject, but its details will be indelibly engraved on the minds and memories of the present and of each succeeding generation of Americans, worthy of the name. In an equal degree must their grateful hearts be impressed with the image of the devoted patriot chief, who, battling for THE PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE’S RIGHTS, is ever invincible, by foreign or domestic foes, by force or fraud, unconquered and unconquerable.
With sentiments of the highest esteem, we remain your friends and fellow citizens.
(Here follow the names of between 60 and 70 gentlemen.)
Washington, January 8, 1835.
Sir: I receive, with emotions of the deepest gratitude, the sword you are pleased to present me as a testimonial of the regard which a portion of my friends, in Philadelphia, entertain of my services at New Orleans, this day twenty years ago. In memory of the troops that coöperated with me on that occasion, and to whose patriotism and courage more than to the skill of their commanding general, the country is indebted for the signal repulse of the enemy on the 8th of January, I accept it with a pleasure which I cannot express.
I pray to you, sir, to convey to the gentlemen who have united with you in the presentation of this sword, my sincere thanks for the honor due me personally, and the assurances that it shall be preserved as a memento, valuable as a specimen of manufacture, and useful to those who will come after us, as a proof that the public service of the soldier will always find in the approbation of a free people the fullest reward.
Allow me, sir, to tender to you personally my acknowledgments for the eloquent and complimentary terms you have employed in the execution of the trust assigned to you on this occasion. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ANDREW JACKSON.
Col. A. L. Rumfort.
The Artist, Ralph E. W. Earl, “Court Painter.”—Most of the portraits in the Hermitage collection are the work of Ralph Eleazar Whitesides Earl, who was born in New York City about 1788. He was a son of the eminent American artist, Ralph Earl, and his second wife, Anne Whitesides. Little is known of his early life, but information supplied the author in 1936 by Ralph E. W. Prime, Jr., of Yonkers and New York City, New York, indicates that he went abroad prior to the War of 1812, painted numerous portraits in England and France, and returned to the United States some time between the summer of 1815 and the early part of 1817. His long residence in the Hermitage household and his numerous portraits of General Jackson’s kinsmen and friends caused him to be dubbed “The Court Painter.” The correct spelling of the branch of the family to which he belongs is “Earl,” although historians frequently add a final “e” to his name.
The Garden.—It seems appropriate to add to that which has already been written about the garden an important letter written to the late Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley, charter member, former regent, and member of the board of directors, of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association, by Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, about a year before the latter’s death. The letter states:
“As you enter the garden gate, you find the fringe tree planted by Grand-pa. Passing down the walk, you find the crepe myrtle on either side. Along the border farther down, are lilac and syringa. At the far side of the middle plot, there is a smoke tree, and following the path down, you find lilac, crepe myrtle, mock orange, and along the back fence of the garden these same shrubs.
“As you enter the gate on the left-hand side, is the calicanthus or Sweet Betsy. There are the fig bushes, the flowering almond, and many other shrubs. Around the tomb are the magnolias.
“In the garden, the flowers were the June lily, lily-of-the-valley, single white and blue hyacinth, the red, the white and the pink peonies, blooming in succession as named.
“The center beds were filled with the old fashioned sweet-williams, petunias, periwinkles, blue-bells, pinks, and other garden flowers. There were iris and jonquils, and, as we called them, golden candle-sticks. There was the coral honeysuckle, which hung in great clusters, on the right side of the formal plot. Among the roses, there was the old-fashioned little yellow rose, the hundred leaf pink rose, the moss rose, and the large white cabbage rose. There was the Japanese magnolia planted near the center, the rare cucumber magnolia, the very rare tree peony. Like all old gardens, in the corners were violets and blue bottles. Box trees marked the corners of the walks. There were several evergreens around the tomb and a bunch of hickory trees planted by Grand-pa. Now this is all that I can remember. Signed—Rachel Jackson Lawrence.”