02/11/2019
Did you know that Andrew Jackson was born in the Waxhaw area? Here's an interesting story about the death and burial of his father.
The Coffin in Waxhaw Creek
Andrew Jackson Sr. Burial
In February 1767, Andrew Jackson Sr., father was clearing land for a home site in the Waxhaw area when he became ill, possibly from a rupture caused by straining to lift logs, and he died that evening. He was only 29 years of age. At the time of his death, he and his wife, Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, had two sons, Hugh and Robert, and Elizabeth was expecting another child who would later become the seventh president of the United States.
Andrew Jackson Sr. had no immediate relatives in the area but Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson had sisters who included Margaret Hutchinson McCamie and Jane Hutchinson Crawford.
Neighbors were notified of the death and, as was the custom at that time, friends and relatives came to assist the widow and to sit up with the co**se through the night. In the somberness of the occasion, stories were told and alcohol was served.
The next morning the dead body was wrapped and tied to a type of sled pulled by horses, and the journey to the burial site at the Old Waxhaw church in Lancaster, S.C., began. There was ice and snow, and travel was difficult. There were no roads, only paths through the woods.
They stopped along the way at the McCamie house and then at the James Crawford house to warm themselves and fortify themselves with more whiskey.
After about 12 miles of travel in the ice and snow and plenty of alcohol for warmth, they arrived at the Old Waxhaw Church, where the Rev. William Richardson was prepared to perform the burial service. To their dismay, somehow the co**se had come loose and was gone. The pallbearers retraced their path and found the co**se on the bank of one of the creeks they crossed. The body was retrieved, and the burial of Andrew Jackson Sr. took place at the churchyard.
Note: some say it was the coffin, others say there was no coffin and just the body was wrapped and that's what fell into the creek.
