Rachel Jackson was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States. Born Rachel Donelson on June 15, 1767, she married Andrew Jackson in 1794. Their marriage was controversial because Rachel had not been fully divorced from her first husband when she and Jackson wed. This caused public scandal during Jackson’s presidential campaign. Rachel died of a heart attack in December 1828, just weeks before Jackson took office. She never served as First Lady, but Jackson deeply mourned her death and blamed political attacks for her passing.