The Parrot at Andrew Jackson's Funeral: Story and Facts

Home › Tennessee Legends › The Parrot at Andrew Jackson's Funeral

The Parrot at Andrew Jackson's Funeral is a story told about the Hermitage, Nashville, Davidson County. Vote believe it or no way, then see what 3 named sources say is documented.

LegendKind of story
3Named sources
Nashville AreaRegion
Oct 30Checked, 2026

The Story
Its Home
Looked For
FAQ

Collected 0 of 12Next legend

Local legend. Not confirmed. Just for fun.

No. 9 of 12

The Parrot at Andrew Jackson's Funeral

People say that at Andrew Jackson's funeral at the Hermitage in June 1845, a pet parrot caused a stir among the mourners and had to be carried out. In the tale, the bird was loud and used language no one expected at a solemn service. The story has been repeated for generations.

What The Sources Document

The Hermitage's own pages document the funeral itself: Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845, at the Hermitage and was laid to rest two days later in the tomb in the garden next to his wife Rachel, with about 10,000 people in and around the garden (Garden and Mansion Features page). The Tennessee Encyclopedia entry on Jackson says he died at the Hermitage in 1845 and was buried in the garden two days later; it does not describe the funeral. None of the Hermitage pages we read (the Tomb page, the Mansion page, the Garden and Mansion Features page and the Enslaved Community page) mention a parrot, and neither does the Tennessee Encyclopedia entry. So the parrot story is not documented by any source on our allowed list. We did see, in a search summary of a fact-checking site, that the tale is traced to a single later letter by a minister who was at the service, and that the Hermitage's collections office had said it knew of no other record. We have not confirmed that and do not use it as proof; treat it as unconfirmed.

Sources

A Note

None of the Hermitage pages or the Tennessee Encyclopedia we read mention a parrot. The Hermitage's official site interprets the enslaved community on its own page.

Its home: Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. Official page.

On this site: The Hermitage, Nashville Events.

Looked for and Not Found

Any mention of a parrot, or a bird named Poll, on the Hermitage pages we read.
Any mention of a parrot in the Tennessee Encyclopedia entry on Andrew Jackson.
A funeral description (who spoke, who presided) in the Tennessee Encyclopedia entry; it says only that he was buried two days after his death.
A readable copy of the single later letter people cite for the story (not opened by us).

More Legends

Plan The Trip

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my vote count anywhere?

Votes and your collected set stay in your own browser. We do not store or share them.

Where do these facts come from?

From the named sources listed on this page: Andrew Jackson's Tomb (The Hermitage, official site); Garden & Mansion Features (The Hermitage, official site); Jackson, Andrew (Tennessee Encyclopedia).

Sources

Read on October 30, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? tell us.

Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “The Parrot at Andrew Jackson’s Funeral”, itstennessee.com/legends/hermitage-parrot-jackson-funeral/ (updated 2026-11-01). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.

Print / Save As PDF