Holly Meyer

hmeyer@tennessean.com

President Andrew Jackson drew his last breath 170 years ago. He was 78.

The country's seventh commander in chief died of a combination of ailments on June 8, 1845. It was a Sunday, and by June 10 about 3,000 people had assembled at his Tennessee home, The Hermitage, to pay their respects.

On Sunday, visitors to The Hermitage had the chance to learn more about Jackson's final days and funeral through the museum's Sundays Live! series. The event was another opportunity for The Hermitage to delve into specifics about Jackson, said Marsha Mullin, chief curator.

"It was a huge deal in the country at the time. Jackson was very popular in his day," Mullin said.

The large turnout for Jackson's funeral was a detail that really stood out to Judy Holland as she researched the president's last moments. Holland, a historic interpreter at The Hermitage, said the thousands who showed up, especially during a time when travel took more effort, illustrated the respect Jackson garnered even with his controversial policies.

On Sunday, guests shaded themselves from the heat and listened to Holland, dressed in period costume, as she shared stories of Jackson's funeral with his tomb as a backdrop. It was a foul-mouthed pet parrot that stole the show.

"The day of the funeral, almost as if his best friend had departed, he squawked and squeaked and chirped and yes, said a few bad words," Holland said.

The parrot's funeral disruption amused Donna and Larry Roseberry, a pair of history buffs from Indiana. They were also struck by how many family members were with him when he passed, said Donna Roseberry, referring to a drawing hanging in the main exhibit hall.

"Those who knew him well loved him," Donna Roseberry said.

Support for the president has carried into the modern age, but so have his detractors.

On Saturday, a group of about 15 people — mostly Native Americans — demonstrated outside The Hermitage. Due to Jackson's support for the mass relocation of Native Americans, the group wants the president's likeness on the $20 bill replaced with that of an American Indian, said Albert Bender, of Antioch.

"It would only be justice, in fact poetic justice, for him to be replaced with the image of a person who is representative of people he tried to viciously exterminate," Bender said.

Reach Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.