Susan Dabney O'brien (1802 - 1853)

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

In 1802, in the year that Susan Dabney O'brien was born, on May 22, 1802, the first First Lady of the United States, Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington died of a severe fever at age 70. Martha was buried next to her husband George Washington, at Mt. Vernon.

In 1815, by the time she was just 13 years old, on January 18th, the Battle of New Orleans ended. General Andrew Jackson defeated a much larger invading British force in the last major battle of the War of 1812. This was after the Treaty of Ghent - signed the previous December - ended the war. But the news didn't reach the U.S. until February and the Treaty was ratified by Congress the same month. So the battle had no impact on the war.

In 1836, she was 34 years old when on June 15th, Arkansas was the 25th state admitted into the United States of America - and the 13th slave state in the Union. Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, the area became the Territory of Arkansas in 1819 and the Territory immediately began the process of expelling native Americans to west of the Mississippi.

In 1848, she was 46 years old when on January 24th, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in California. On August 19th, the New York Herald published news of the Gold Rush in California - alerting the east coast. The Gold Rush brought over 300,000 people to northern California from the rest of the US and overseas.

In 1853, in the year of Susan Dabney O'brien's passing, on March 4th, Franklin Pierce became the 14th President of the United States. His son had been killed in a train accident that also involved Pierce and his wife on January 6 - the only of 3 sons to survive until then. Due to the resultant depression and his unpopular policies, he was not re-nominated for President and served only one term.