Rachel Pearson Coley (1758 - 1834)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Rachel's lifetime.

In 1801, she was 43 years old when on March 4th, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the third President in Washington, D.C. He was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington D.C. and the 2nd to live in the White House.

In 1804, by the time she was 46 years old, on July 11th, Alexander Hamilton, former Secretary of the Treasury, and Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States, fought a duel. Alexander Hamilton was shot and died the next day. Burr was indicted for murder and was acquitted but his political career was ruined.

In 1819, at the age of 61 years old, Rachel was alive when on February 22nd, Spain ceded Florida to the United States. The United States agreed to give up any claims on Spanish Texas and pay Spain $5,000,000. Called the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, it lasted only 183 days - until Spain recognized the independence of Mexico.

In 1827, Rachel was 69 years old when on May 25th, Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru received a French patent for the invention of the first fountain pen with a replaceable ink cartridge. The fountain pen would make inkwells obsolete. Poenaru's patent used a barrel made from a large swan quill (part of the feather).

In 1834, in the year of Rachel Pearson Coley's passing, on March 28th, President Andrew Jackson was censured by the United States Congress, 26–20, due to his efforts to close The Second Bank of the United States - which eventually led to the Panic of 1837. The censure was expunged in 1837, after years of effort by Jackson supporters.