Peggy Eaton

Peggy Eaton
Born(1799-12-03)December 3, 1799
DiedNovember 8, 1879(1879-11-08) (aged 79)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeOak Hill Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouses
(m. 1816; died 1828)
(m. 1829; died 1856)
Antonio Gabriele Buchignani
(m. 1859; div. 1869)
Children3
Cigar box shows President Jackson introduced to Peggy (left) and two lovers fighting a duel over her (right).

Margaret Eaton (née O'Neill, formerly Timberlake, later Buchignani; December 3, 1799 – November 8, 1879), was the wife of John Henry Eaton, a United States senator from Tennessee and United States Secretary of War, and a confidant of Andrew Jackson. Their marriage was the cause of a national controversy known as the Petticoat affair. While better known in history as Peggy, Margaret stated in her autobiography, "I never was called Peggy in all my life...I was ordinarily called by my proper name of Margaret."[1]

  1. ^ Eaton, Margaret (1932). The Autobiography of Peggy Eaton. New York: Scribner's Sons. pp. 6–7, 32.