Emily Wright Harold (, 1820–May 8, 1872) was a 19th-century American wife and mother who lived most of her life in Greeneville, Tennessee. In 1872, Harold was accused (in an anonymous letter) of engaging in an extramarital affair with her neighbor and former U.S. President Andrew Johnson. She subsequently committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Johnson was a candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that year and reports of the alleged sexual relationship, Mrs. Harold's suicide, and an ensuing libel trial, made national headlines.
Background
Andrew Johnson's personal life is generally poorly attested in the historical record. The tragic case of Mrs. Harold is no exception; she appears not at all in Robert W. Winston's 1928 biography of Johnson, and warrants but a scant paragraph (in which her name is misspelled) in Hans L. Trefousse's 1989 bio; when that book was published American Heritage magazine noted that "Trefousse resists the temptation to moralize. He puts no credence in the rumors of Johnson's alcoholism...and dismisses stories about Johnson's relationships with women other than his wife, Eliza. Instead, Trefousse lets the facts paint their own unflattering portrait of one of history's least respected Presidents." In her 2011 survey of Johnson's life, Annette Gordon-Reed did not delve into the Harold story but did observe, "Throughout a good part of their near-five-decade marriage, Eliza was not a real presence in her husband's public life. There were rumors of infidelity on Andrew's part, which he denied, but they did not live together much as husband and wife." An illuminating primary source about the state of their marriage may be a letter written by a Confederate soldier charged with removing the Johnson family from occupied Tennessee; he wrote of Eliza, "She is very anxious to remain here with her children and is not at all desirous to go the bosom of 'Andy.'" In a 2001 article about Johnson's troubled son Robert Johnson, historian Paul Bergeron observed that the Johnson family was seemingly "marked by tension and possible antipathy between the parents."
Early life and family
Emily Wright was born about May 29, 1820 in Tennessee. According to FamilySearch.org, her parents may have been John and Martha (Powell) Wright. According to newspaper reports at the time of her death, her mother was known as Mrs. Heiskell and lived in Rhea County.
Emily Wright married "Jas. W. Harrold" on November 2, 1837, in Greene County, Tennessee, when she was about 17 years old; James W. Harold was about five years her senior and had been born in Virginia. James W. Harold worked as a tailor in Greeneville in 1850, 1860, and 1870. They had four children who survived infancy:
John W. Harold (born approximately 1838, when Emily was about 18), later studied law and served in the United States Army during the American Civil War. Mary E. Harold (born approximately 1846, when Emily was 26) Charles Harold (born 1856, when Emily was about 36) Jessie Harold (born 1863, when Emily was about 43)
James W. Harold was appointed postmaster of Greeneville beginning April 1, 1869. His annual salary for this work in 1871 was $690.
Mrs. Harold had been a member of the First Presbyterian Church (Greeneville, Tennessee) for more than 30 years and after her death was described by prominent citizens of Greeneville as "an earnest and consistent Christian, a chaste and faithful wife, a kind and dutiful mother, a charitable neighbor, and a true and noble woman, respected and esteemed by all in the community." She was said to have had the "entire confidence and deep love" of her husband.
Scandal
After 50 years of unremarkable provincial life in East Tennessee, Mrs. James W. Harold became nationally infamous in 1872 for accusations that she was involved in an extramarital affair with former U.S. President Andrew Johnson. Johnson had nominally retired from politics following the end of his term of office, and had returned to Greeneville, Tennessee (the place where he had begun his career, where he owned a home and other real estate, and where his wife Eliza McCardle Johnson and daughter Martha Johnson Patterson usually lived). By 1872 Johnson was said to be bored with small-town life and was attempting to re-enter politics, despite a failed United States Senate bid in 1869.