Ward, in response to this appeal, paid $278.22 on account, and then instituted a quibble on the ground that he should be permitted to pay the balance in negroes rather than in cash. Jackson vigorously refuted this suggestion, saying: “I can not believe that you are seriously impressed with the belief that you are now authorized to discharge a part of the debt in negroes. Had negroes been offered before Mr. Hutchings descended the river with negroes for sale they would have been received, notwithstanding the lapse of time. Of his departure you were informed by me, with the express design that you might discharge part of the debt in negroes if you thought proper, which if you had I would have been in cash for them before this. As you did not have negroes then, and the time elapsed, I did (and with propriety) conclude that you had provided other means to meet your engagement; and negroes would not have been named after we had sent on to market and the time so far elapsed.” Jackson also refused Ward’s proffer of real estate in settlement of the balance due, pointing out that if his own creditors would accept real estate in payment of their claims he could dispose of all his debts “in four hours.” He then went on to say that he must have cash the following week and that if he did not receive it he would be obliged to offer Ward’s bond for sale (an extreme step to take in those days). “But,” said Jackson, “my engagements I must meet. This was the object of the sale of my possessions, and from that sale I must realize that object.”
Poor General Jackson! It is hard to imagine a worse plight than to sacrifice a dearly beloved house and home in order to get money to pay one’s debts—and then not get the money without a year’s unpleasant squabbling.
The Hunter’s Hill place was repurchased by Jackson, perhaps for sentimental reasons, during the more prosperous later days when he was President; but it was on the market again in 1840 when financial embarassment again made it necessary for the General to dispose of some of his property. The price at which it was then offered was $15,000, which he considered a very low price for it; “but,” he said, “a little imprudence (on the part of Andrew, junior,) has caused this necessity, and I would always rather sacrifice property than the credit of my adopted son or myself.” Fifteen thousand dollars may have been a bargain price, as the General said; but he was able to find no buyer at that figure and late in 1840 he sold it to Mrs. Elizabeth E. Donelson, widow of his wife’s brother John, for $12,000; and it is still in the hands of descendants of this branch of the family.
In 1804, after paying off his debts, practically all of Jackson’s remaining assets were embraced in his reduced land holdings, including the tract of 420 acres adjoining Hunter’s Hill which he bought from Nathaniel Harp when forced to sell his home place. It was to this plantation, the future Hermitage estate, that he repaired when forced to give up Hunter’s Hill.
Just when the removal was made is not accurately revealed by the records. In a letter written in 1844 he stated that he bought the Hermitage land “on the 5th of July, 1804.” His last recorded letter from Hunter’s Hill is dated August 25, 1804, and the first one from the Hermitage April 7, 1805. It seems probable, however, that the removal to the Hermitage plantation had been in contemplation even before adversity forced it; for in the Jackson papers is a receipt dated March 2, 1803, for 500 apple trees and 500 peach trees “for the Hermitage orchard;” and in a letter written to Rachel on March 22, 1803, while he was attending court in East Tennessee he inquires solicitously about the planting and care of these young trees. Apparently thus early he was getting the Hermitage tract ready for occupancy; although the county records show that the land was not transferred to him until July, 1804.
The sale of the Hunter’s Hill property necessarily forced the removal of the store, and led to the establishment of a much more pretentious business enterprise at Clover Bottom. Here he set up not only a store but a tavern and boatyard as well, and he encouraged the establishment of a race track and stables in which he took an interest. This made Clover Bottom a center of interest for the whole countryside and a favorite place for the assembling of the people. Clover Bottom is located on the Nashville-Lebanon Road, where it crosses Stone’s River, just above that stream’s confluence with the Cumberland, and it was therefore an unexcelled location for a man who operated a boatyard as well as a store and who also had blooded horses and liked to see them run.
Soon after the establishment of the store at Hunter’s Hill the mercantile business had grown to such proportions that Jackson could not handle it by himself, and he had taken in a partner named Thomas Watson. This partnership did not work out satisfactorily, however, and was dissolved, after which he took in John Hutchings, whose father had married Mrs. Jackson’s sister. The firm of Jackson and Hutchings thrived and even showed itself an early disciple of the chain-store idea by establishing branch stores at Gallatin and Lebanon. When the business was moved to Clover Bottom, John Coffee, who was a brother-in-law of Mrs. Jackson’s was also taken into the partnership.
By dint of hard work and close application, Jackson at length managed to clear himself of his financial troubles; but it was a long, hard pull, and for several years he felt the pinch of reduced circumstances. In fact, so difficult was his situation that in 1810 the whole course of his life was near to being changed, and a slight turn of the balance in the other direction then would have found him selling out in Tennessee and removing elsewhere to begin life over again in a new field. At this time the Hermitage plantation was definitely on the market, and Jackson was actively seeking some appointment that would take him elsewhere.
It will be recalled that Jackson fought his duel with Charles Dickinson in 1806, and the death of Dickinson in this tragic affair shocked the sensibilities of even the hardy pioneer citizens of Nashville who were accustomed to duelling. A few days after the duel Jackson’s old friend and former law partner, John Overton, wrote him the following comforting, friendly letter:
Dear Genl:
Until yesterday evening, I must confess, my mind was not at ease. I was then relieved. To-day I have seen my brother who tells me of a little circumstance I did not know, that you were a little touched, but not to do any great damage. Pope in his Essay on Man says: “Whatever is, is right.” To this small inconvenience we must submit, which is not much more than the stumping of a toe, or the like.
It too frequently happens that the honest, unsuspecting part of society will be infested with reptiles, the heads of which must be sought after and bruised so as to be secure from their poison. God has so ordained it. You have been the instrument of doing so. Fear nothing. As soon as possible I will see you. Our mutual friend, Wm. P. Anderson, will come to see you, who makes my best wishes for you.
Apropos, aside, there is a few long faces in town, though but few, for it seems that this new-fangled Ajax had even went so far as to bet in town, before he went over, that he would kill Genl. Jackson. Yr friend, Jno. Overton Gen’l Jackson. Nashville, June 1806.