Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 38
1817 Bio of Andrew Jackson By “petticoat affair” John Eaton
Description:

1817 Bio of Andrew Jackson By “petticoat affair” John Eaton

With this brief note, John H. Eaton, an aide to and biographer of General Andrew Jackson, asks the editors of the Daily National Intelligencer to publish a notice about his forthcoming biography of the general. They published the notice in their issues of February 8, 11, 13, and 14, 1817.

[ANDREW JACKSON.] John H. Eaton, Autograph Note Signed with Initials, [February 1817]; published in Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, DC), February 8, 11, 13, 14, 1817. 1 p., 8" x 7.5". Some toning; glued to scrapbook page; some staining from glue.

Complete Transcript
Persons holding subscriptions to the life of General Jackson are desired to forward the number of subscribers to Jno H Eaton at Philadelphia where the work will be put to press in a few days
Editors are requested to insert this notice

Messrs Gales & Seaton
yr paper I believe issues three times a week
place the above notice in each one.
insert if immediately under your Editorial head
JHE

Historical Background
When fellow Jackson aide John Reid (1784-1816) died after finishing only four chapters of a biography of Jackson, Eaton finished the book. In 1817, M. Carey and Son of Philadelphia published it as The Life of Andrew Jackson, Major General in the Service of the United States: Comprising A History of the War in the South, from the Commencement of the Creek Campaign, to the Termination of Hostilities before New Orleans. The 425-page volume was published "for the benefit of the children of John Reid." Eaton revised and republished it as a campaign biography in 1824 with Samuel F. Bradford of Philadelphia as publisher and in 1828 with McCarty and Davis of Philadelphia as publishers.

Writer William Joseph Snelling (1804-1848) wrote of Eaton's biography in his own Jackson biography in 1831 that it was "hard to say which is more disgraced, the hero or the historian. The book contains scarcely a period of good English, but makes amends by abundance of fulsome adulation, by the omission of many disgraceful acts and the palliation of others." Despite Snelling's poor opinion of the work, the Daily National Intelligencer wrote favorably of Eaton when he died in 1854.

John Henry Eaton (1790-1856) was born in North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina from 1802 to 1804. He studied law, gained admission to the bar, and moved to Franklin, Tennessee, where he established a law practice. He became a major in the Tennessee militia and a close friend of Andrew Jackson. He served as an aide to Jackson in the Creek War and the War of 1812. He became a major proponent of Jackson's bid to become president. Eaton served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1815 and 1816, and the state legislature elected him as a U.S. Senator in 1818, a position he held until 1829. He was only 28 years old when he entered the Senate, contradicting the U.S. Constitution's requirement that Senators be at least 30 years of age, and Eaton is the youngest known person to serve in the Senate. Eaton married Myra Lewis (1788-1815) in 1813. He married the widow Peggy O'Neill Timberlake (1799-1879) in 1829, while he was serving in the U.S. Senate, soon after the death of her husband. She had three children from her first marriage, but Eaton had no children from either marriage. When Jackson won the Presidency in 1828, he appointed Eaton as Secretary of War. However, the wives of other cabinet members refused to socialize with the Eatons for ostensibly moral reasons because they married so soon after her first husband died. The real reasons were likely political, but the resulting "Petticoat Affair" led to Eaton's resignation in June 1831. Jackson subsequently appointed Eaton as Governor of the Florida Territory (1834-1836) and United States Minister to Spain (1836-1840), a position he continued to hold under President Martin Van Buren.

National Intelligencer (1800-1870) was a prominent newspaper published in Washington, DC. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson, then vice president and a candidate for the presidency, persuaded Samuel Harrison Smith, the publisher of a Philadelphia newspaper, to open a newspaper in Washington, the new capital. Smith began publishing the National Intelligencer, & Washington Advertiser three times a week on October 31, 1800. In 1809, Joseph Gales (1786-1860) became a partner and took over as sole proprietor a year later. From 1812, Gales and his brother-in-law William Winston Seaton (1785-1866) were the newspaper's publishers for nearly fifty years. From 1813 to 1867, it was published daily as the Daily National Intelligencer and was the dominant newspaper of the capital. Supporters of the administrations of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, Gales and Seaton were the official printers of Congress from 1819 to 1829. From the election of Andrew Jackson to the 1850s, the National Intelligencer was one of the nation's leading Whig newspapers, with conservative, unionist principles.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

November 2, 2022 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000