I've recently been reading a biography of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States and the founder of the modern Democratic Party. While many historians place Jackson in their list of the top 10 presidents, I personally believe that he was a horrible president with an ugly legacy. However, what did our ancestors of the time think of their president?

In 1834, after years of political maneuvering between Jackson and the Whigs, led by Henry Clay, Jackson managed to kill the 2nd Bank of the United States by withdrawing all U.S. government deposits and then vetoing the renewal of the bank's national charter. These acts, which many cheered as a blow against the evil eastern bankers, had a  predictably calamitous effect on the United States economy. which led to a full blown panic and economic collapse only a few years later.

During its fight for survival, as the federal government withdrew funds, the 2nd Bank of the United States tightened credit. This was partly done as a tactic of the bank, to cause hardship which they hoped would be blamed on the president and his party. As Jackson moved federal deposits to undisciplined, barely regulated state banks, tightened credit was replaced by rampant inflation and speculative bubbles, followed by a tremendous crash and 25% unemployment. 

So what effect did this have on our ancestors and what did they think of Jackson? In 1834, my 3x great-grandfather, Clement Simpson, was a 59 year old farmer in Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio at the time, with his wife, Minty, and 6 of their children, including my 2nd great grandfather, 8 year old Nelson Simpson.

During the fight between Jackson and Clay, the many residents of Harrison Township left no doubt to who they supported.  They drafted and signed a petition, which they sent to the U.S. Senate, complaining that they face ruin over the collapse of beef, pork and flour prices. They declare that they are free, independent American citizens and as republicans and Whigs determined to "use all lawful means to save ourselves from the iron grasp of our mis-rulers..."

They complained that Jackson was guilty of a "falsification of faith" and "an unwarrantable usurpation of executive power".

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This was a boilerplate testimonial signed by many farmers all over the country, many of whom lost their farms as credit disappeared. 

After the departure of the British warships, Michael shouldered his musket and walked home with his Uncle Hendrick. Michael owned 25 acres of land, inherited the previous year from his paternal grandfather and namesake, which adjoined his uncle’s farm, which adjoined the farm of Michael’s father, Jacobus, which adjoined the land of his double-first cousin, ​

In early June, men from the regiment, led by some officers, ransacked Johnson Hall, the home of Sir John Johnson, the British superintendent of Indian Affairs, who inherited the post from his father, Sir William Johnson. During the attack they “broke open the Tomb of Sir William Johnson, took out and burnt the Body, and threw the ashes in the air.” This proved an embarrassment and risked inflaming the passions of the local Native Americans who had a close attachment to the Johnsons and it may have resulted in some courts-martial because soon after, on July 19th, Cornelius was promoted to 2nd lieutenant.

On October 12th, the regiment was sent to Fort Ticonderoga, which was being threatened by a British army from Canada. When they arrived on November 1st, the delaying tactics of American general, Benedict Arnold, had succeed and the British were withdrawing with the onset of winter. During the long, dark winter months garrisoning the redoubts, Cornelius was promoted to 1st lieutenant, on November 29th. ​

The battalion left Albany March 7th, 1777, and was honorably discharged at Morristown, New Jersey, on the 23rd of the same month. ​

​Then, on the afternoon of November 12th, the Tenures and their neighbors may have seen George Washington and 2,500 soldiers marching past, having slipped out of New York, marching north to Peekskill and now circling south towards New Jersey. Days later, the British completely overwhelmed the last American resistance in Manhattan, capturing more than 5,000 Patriots.

Over the next several months, as the British and American armies skirmished against each other in New Jersey, Michael and Leah faced a grave situation. British and Hessian forces were wintering in New York and horrible stories began to leak out. Barely controlled, soldiers raped and murdered with impunity, often loyalist and patriot alike. Moreover, just across the Hudson, loyalists launched terrifying raids against their patriot neighbors.

In response, the New York militia reorganized and Captain Hendrick Tenure divided his men, including Michael, into groups of four. Each week, rain or snow, one of the four in each group would take station along the banks of the Hudson River to warn against any British or loyalist movement on the river. As the brutality of loyalist raids across the Hudson grew, the watchers must truly felt the peril of their stations.

Meanwhile, the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, along with Lieutenant Cornelius Hennion reformed. After reenlisting, Hennion had 20 days leave, which he may have used to return to Saddle River and visit with his family and see his first grandchild, 6 month-old Cornelius Tenure, for the first time. 

After his leave, Cornelius re-joined his battalion with Washington’s army at Morristown, encamped in a fortified and defensible position where they could watch and respond to any movements by General Howe and the British army.

Washington responded to Howe’s occupation of Philadelphia by attacking the British garrison at Germantown, just north of the city. Captain Cornelius Hennion, under the command of Lord Stirling was in reserve during the attack but was brought forward to assail Clivedon, a mansion belonging to Benjamin Chew, the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. ​

The attacking Americans suffered heavy casualties during their assaults against the manor. Those who manage to enter the mansion were shot or bayoneted and driven back. Cornelius was one of those badly wounded during the assault, a shot hitting him in the elbow. They never succeeded in taking the mansion. 

In the greater battle, the British rallied and Howe brought up more troops, causing Washington to withdraw.  ​

Cornelius remained on half-pay in Saddle River while he recovered from his wound, although he never did recover the use of his elbow. The rest of the war was a tense affair for the family as the American and British armies sat a few miles apart, with Rockland and Bergen County between them. Patriots and Tories continued to murder and rob each other and on the night of March 23, 1780, a British and Hessian patrol attacked and burned the Bergen County Courthouse, only a dozen miles south of Hennion farm. 

George Washington was often in the area, even headquartering for a few days in the home of Colonel Ann Hawkes Hay. Benedict Arnold escaped up the river right past where Michael Tenure might have kept watch and the British spymaster, John André, was captured just across the river from the Tenures, outside Tarrytown. ​

1. ​Riker, J. (1904). Revised history of Harlem (city of New York): Its origin and early annals, prefaced by home scenes in the fatherlands; or, notices of its founders before emigration. Also, sketches of numerous families and the recovered history of the land-titles ... New York: New Harlem publishing company.

2.GREEN, F. B. (1886). HISTORY OF ROCKLAND COUNTY. HANSEBOOKS, pg. 10 Retrieved from www.archive.org

3. 1. ​Riker, J. (1904). Revised history of Harlem (city of New York): Its origin and early annals, prefaced by home scenes in the fatherlands; or, notices of its founders before emigration. Also, sketches of numerous families and the recovered history of the land-titles, pg. 68. New York: New Harlem publishing company.