Region: Middle Tennessee
1830 Elizabeth Hays Donelson
Lebanon Female Academy (Green and Pink Group)
Lebanon, Wilson Co.
The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, Nashville
153⁄4"V x 163⁄4"H
© TSS 158
fibers: silk
ground: linen
fibers: silk
ground: linen
Biography:
Elizabeth Hays Donelson (1819-1877), called Eliza, was the youngest child of William Donelson, Sr. and Charity Dickinson. Her grandparents were Col. John Donelson and Rachel Stockly, early settlers of Davidson Co., and her aunt was Rachel Donelson Jackson, wife of Gen. Andrew Jackson. Eliza lost both of her parents by the time she was six. The court appointed Robert Minns Burton, who was married to Eliza’s sister Martha, as her guardian. By 1830 Eliza had moved to Wilson Co. to live with the Burtons, where she attended the Lebanon Female Academy. Eliza married Robert Augustus Burton in 1837. The couple moved to Davidson Co. where Eliza had seven children.
Description:
Eliza’s sampler shows signs of careful repairs in the upper border--evidence that her needlework was valued by her heirs.