Lyncoya Jackson’s personal life
Lyncoya Jackson was born in 1812. He was an Indigenous American person born into a Muscogee family. The family resided in the tribal town near Tallasseehatchee Creek in present-day eastern Alabama. Troops led by John Coffee killed Lyncoya’s parents on November 3, 1813, at the Battle of Tallusahatchee.
Lyncoya survived the massacre and the burning of the settlement. He lay on the ground next to his dead mother’s body when they found him. He was one of two Creek children from the village who were taken in by militiamen from Nashville, Tennessee. A slave trader and former U.S. citizen raised Lyncoya in his household. Senator Andrew Jackson.
Lyncoya was the third of three Indian war orphans, transported to Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in 1813–14. Lyncoya was initially termed a “pet” for Jackson’s white male wards. Jackson later included Lyncoya in the catalog of wards. He considered it to be his son, inquiring about his health and educational progress in letters home to his wife Rachel.
Lyncoya received his education alongside Jackson’s white wards in the local school, and at one time, Jackson wanted Lyncoya to attend West Point, which he considered the most prestigious educational opportunity in the United States. Ultimately, they apprenticed Lyncoya to a saddler in Nashville. Lyncoya contracted a respiratory infection and returned home to the Hermitage in his sickness.
Despite nursing and healthcare provided by Rachel Jackson and the enslaved labor force of the Hermitage, Lyncoya died of tuberculosis at approximately 16 years old. They buried him in an unmarked grave somewhere near the Hermitage, within Davidson County. Jackson’s political allies framed Lyncoya’s survival and presence in Jackson’s household as a defense against charges that Jackson was a bloodthirsty Indian killer.
Lyncoya’s obituary, published during the bitter 1828 U.S. presidential contest between Jackson and John Quincy Adams, also served as a form of political messaging. 19th-century biographies of the seventh U.S. president presented Jackson as the hero of Lyncoya’s story, and people continue to use his life in the 21st century to defend against charges that racial animus was the motive for Jackson’s 25-year-long effort to ethnically cleanse the Old Southwest of Native Americans.
Lyncoya Jackson’s father, Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he gained fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Jackson has also been criticized for his racial policies, particularly his treatment of Native Americans. After leaving office, Jackson supported the presidencies of Martin Van Buren and James K.
Polk, as well as the annexation of Texas. Jackson’s legacy remains controversial, and opinions on his legacy are frequently polarized. Supporters characterize him as a defender of democracy and the Constitution. Scholarly rankings of presidents historically rated Jackson’s presidency as above average. Since the late 20th century, his reputation declined.
