Early Life and Marriage
Emily Tennessee Donelson was born on her father's farm in Donelson, Tennessee. Her father, John Donelson, was the brother of Rachel Donelson Jackson, the wife of the future President. Unlike many girls of her day, Emily was afforded a formal education. She studied at Nashville Female Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and was considered an accomplished student.
On September 16, 1824, seventeen-year-old Emily married A. J. Donelson. Donelson was Emily's first cousin and a ward of their mutual uncle and aunt, Andrew and Rachel Donelson Jackson.
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