Out of the 44 men who have served as president of the United States of America, three of them have North Carolina roots. Andrew Jackson, James Polk and Andrew Johnson are all memorialized by a monument, Presidents North Carolina Gave The Nation, which sits in Union Square, on the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh.

It’s been almost 180 years since there’s been a President from The Good Old North State. Many facts about them may have been forgotten by the average American. Here are some highlights that may come in handy when recounting the history of North Carolina.

Andrew Jackson
March 15th 1767-June 8th 1845
Term: 7th President of the United States (1829 – 1837)

Andrew Jackson is the most disputed North Carolina president. His mother gave birth in the Waxhaw settlement along the North Carolina-South Carolina border. The area was a remote region settled by Scotch-Irish immigrants. Jackson’s father had died before he was born, so his mother took her three small boys and moved in with relatives. His place of birth was never exactly pinpointed.

Jackson considered himself a South Carolina native, but the Revolutionary War wiped out his entire immediate family, so he found himself orphaned and drifting around by the age of 15. His travels led him back to North Carolina, where he studied law. In 1787 he was admitted to the bar, and started serving as a public prosecutor in the new Mero District of North Carolina.

Jackson arrived in 1788, settling in a wilderness town. There he created a thriving law practice, participated in trade, and met his future wife, Rachel Robards. While Jackson was a North Carolinian for a few years, this land, located west of the mountains, became part of Tennessee in 1796. When Jackson ran for Presidency in 1828, he was no longer a North Carolina resident.

James K Polk
November 2nd, 1795- June 15th, 1849
Term: 11th President of the United States (1845-1849)

James Polk was born in Pineville, North Carolina, but his family moved to Tennessee when he was 11. Polk’s home in Pineville is now considered a state historic site and is run by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The reconstructed log home gives visitors a chance to experience what it was like growing up in rural North Carolina.

As a youth, Polk had many health problems and was homeschooled. However, after having surgery for urinary stones, his health improved and he was able to leave home and attend an academy in Tennessee. His studies there went so well that in 1816 he ended up transferring to the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. At that time the school had only 80 students, but Polk had connections as one of his relatives was a trustee.

Polk graduated from college with honors, then returned to Tennessee to practice law. There he married his wife, Sarah Childress, in 1824. Polk served as governor of Tennessee before becoming president in 1845. Polk won the election with only 49.5% of the popular vote, despite losing his state of residence and the state of his birth. Polk was the only successful presidential candidate to lose both, until Donald Trump lost New York in 2016.

Andrew Johnson
December 29th, 1808 – July 31st, 1875
Term: 17th President of the United States (1865-1869)

Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. His father died when he was 3-years-old, which left his family in poverty. His mother, Mary “Polly” McDonough Johnson, worked as a seamstress. She remarried and apprenticed Andrew and his brother William to a local tailor. The boys did not enjoy the apprenticeship and ran away. They returned home to their mother and stepfather, and the entire family moved to Greeneville, Tennessee.

In Tennessee, Johnson became a very successful tailor. He married Eliza McCardle in 1827. Eliza encouraged him to continue his self-education and helped counsel him on business matters. Johnson soon took a strong interest in politics and his tailor shop became a meeting place for political discussions.

Johnson became a governor, then a senator. But in 1860, After Abraham Lincoln’s election, Tennessee seceded from the Union. Andrew Johnson broke with his home state, becoming the only Southern senator to retain his Senate seat. This pro-Union stance won him the appointment of Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862. In 1864, Abraham Lincoln chose Johnson as vice president to help balance the ticket with his southern ties. On April 14th, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Three hours after Lincoln’s death, Andrew Johnson was sworn in as President of the United States.