Dolley Madison
Dolley's Early Years and First Marriage
First president's wife to...
- be called First Lady
- attend an inauguration
- hold an inaugural ball
Some of Dolley's "firsts"...
Early Years
Dolley Payne was born on May 20, 1768, in Guilford County, North Carolina. Her Quaker parents, John Payne and Mary Coles, had moved their family there from Virginia, but would return in 1769. Back in Hanover County, Virginia, Dolley's planter father felt duty-bound as a Quaker to free his slaves. This he did and, in 1783, moved his family to Philadelphia and attempted to make a living as a laundry starch merchant.
First Marriage
In Philadelphia Dolley met Quaker lawyer John Todd and they married in 1790. Three years later there were two sons, John Payne (called Payne) born in February 1792, and William Temple born the summer of the following year. But 1793 ended tragically for the family when a yellow fever epidemic swept through Philadelphia and carried away Dolley's husband and baby on the same day. At 25 she was left a widow with a toddler to raise.
Meanwhile, Dolley's father failed at the starch business, and the Quakers expelled him for the offense of insolvency. He died financially and emotionally bankrupt in 1792—the same year Dolley's first son, Payne Todd, was born. Dolley's mother persevered and ran a boarding house in Philadelphia. During this period – and until 1800 – Philadelphia was the new nation's capital, and among Mrs. Payne's boarders was Congressman Aaron Burr. His colleague James Madison had noticed Mrs. Payne's pretty daughter Dolley, and during May 1794 asked Burr to arrange a meeting. Madison had distinguished himself in the founding of the new government, and the young widow must have been aware, for she wrote to her best girlfriend of the prospective meeting, "The 'great little Madison' has asked to be brought to see me this evening."
Marriage to "The Great Little Madison"
The "first date" led to a union between James and Dolley that would last 41 years. But during this first summer, it was long-time bachelor James who was smitten from the start while Dolley considered more practically that, "In this union I have everything that is sooth and greatful in prospect — and my little Payne will have a generous and tender protector."
After a courtship of just four months, the 26-year-old Dolley and the 43-year-old Madison were married at the bride's sister Lucy's home in present-day West Virginia on September 15, 1794. Like Lucy, whose husband was the president's nephew George Steptoe Washington, Dolley "married out" of the Quaker community and that meant expulsion. This never seemed to bother the lively Dolley who later noted that the "Society used to controle me entirely and debar me from so many advantages and pleasures." Following their wedding, James and Dolley honeymooned at the home of Madison's sister, Nelly Hite, at Belle Grove near Winchester, Virginia, before returning to Philadelphia where Madison resumed his leadership duties in Congress.
A Loving Union
If Dolley was a bit slower than Madison to "fall," her love for him soon ran just as deep, and throughout their marriage they were seldom apart. While their marriage would prove to be childless, when Madison married Dolley, he acquired a two-and-one-half-year-old stepson, and by all accounts he raised Payne as his own son.
When in 1797, Madison temporarily suspended public service and came home to Montpelier, it was with a family of four. The fourth member was Dolley's sister Anna, younger by 11 years, whom Dolley referred to as her "daughter-sister." At this time, Madison oversaw the addition of four rooms onto his parents' home—two over two. Since the original exterior wall was left intact, this resulted in a duplex, or row house. If the junior Madisons (Dolley and James) wished to visit with the senior Madisons (Nelly and James), they needed to step out their front door, cross the portico, and enter the original front door, about 40 feet away. Madison, as the eldest of seven siblings, was in line to inherit his father's estate, and by this time all of his brothers and sisters were married except the youngest, Fanny. By the close of December 1798, the "vortex of house building" was behind him and Madison was able to notify his friend and colleague James Monroe that "we are settled in our new domicil."
Once they were married, there are few letters between James and Dolley that might provide domestic details because they were almost never apart. More than 10 years were to pass before letters were necessary—when Dolley sought medical treatment in Philadelphia for a knee infection. Madison's letters contained such declarations as, "I cannot express my anxiety to be with you," and "I hope never again to be so long from you." She rejoined, "My beloved, our hearts understand each other," and expressed her determination to leave her doctor's care, saying, "I would risk everything to join you." Another exchange nearly 20 years later was just as emotional. Clearly, theirs was a happy, loving marriage.
The New Master and Mistress of Montpelier
The year 1801 brought changes to Montpelier. On the home front, James Madison, Sr., died, and though "Mother Madison" (Nelly) would live nearly another three decades, James, Jr., and Dolley were now the master and mistress of Montpelier. The plantation was home, as well, to about 100 enslaved men, women, and children. But Montpelier's day-to-day oversight would be left to others. The year 1801 signaled a political sea change as well, and James and Dolley were to begin a 16-year adventure in the new Capital City, Washington, D.C. The Federalists were out and the Republicans were in power. Thomas Jefferson was elected president, and Madison, his closet political ally and co-founder of the Republican Party, would be his secretary of state.
The Washington Years
The Madisons did not arrive in Washington until May 1801 because Madison had to finalize his father's affairs. James was now 50, and Dolley 33, and Payne not even 10. Dolley's sister Anna would continue as part of the family until she married Congressman Richard Cutts in 1804. Initially, the Madisons lived in The White House (known simply as the "president's house" at this time) with the widower Jefferson, but by 1802 they had their own house on F Street two blocks away.
Dolley as the Nation's Hostess
Thomas Jefferson was very close to his oldest daughter Martha, but she nevertheless visited in Washington only twice during the eight years her father was president. So when Jefferson needed the aid of a hostess, he called on Dolley. The highlight of Jefferson's first term as president was the Louisiana Purchase. When the Lewis and Clark Expedition set out to explore that territory, Dolley rallied her lady friends to help outfit the men of the expedition, and they, in turn, returned with gifts of thanks.
During Jefferson's second term, an embargo in response to British interference with American vessels on the seas was initiated by the young nation. Madison, as secretary of state, formulated this policy with Jefferson as an experiment in commercial coercion. But it hurt Americans involved in commerce as well, and was thus generally unpopular. Madison inherited this conflict when he became president in 1809.
Dolley Madison, the first First Lady
Madison took the oath of office on March 4, 1809, in the unfinished Capitol, and for the first time a new president's wife was in attendance. The start of a tradition for the Federal City was the inaugural ball that took place that night. Madison had defeated Charles Pinckney to win the presidency. Pinckney's comment makes it clear that Dolley's political skills were sharp even before her husband's turn at the head office. "I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison," he noted, "I might have had a better chance had I faced Mr. Madison alone."
I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison. I might have had a better chance had I faced Mr. Madison alone.Charles Pickney
Dolley received little formal schooling growing up. But she was observant, adaptable, and a quick learner, "educated" in the social and political spheres of Philadelphia and Washington, and ready for the historical role she assumed in 1809. It can be said that Dolley Madison originated the role of First Lady. She was the first president's spouse to preside over the emerging society of Washington. Because she was working on a blank canvas, the ways of this first First Lady would forever influence the Federal City's style and culture. Of course Dolley had another advantage—a likeable personality that enabled her to just "be herself" and bring warmth and affability to any occasion. She was sociable and engaging by nature, and had the common touch. New Yorker Washington Irving described her thus, "A fine, portly dame who has a smile and a pleasant word for everybody." Said another guest, "Every visitor left her with the pleasing impression of being an especial favorite, or having been the object of peculiar attention." Dolley complemented her husband's personality—her animation made up for her husband's reserve in large groups.
A fine, portly dame who has a smile and a pleasant word for everybody.Washington Irving, New York
Dolley established a set of precedents by which we tend to evaluate our First Ladies to this day. She was first and foremost, her husband's chief supporter, confidant, and helpmate. A definite political asset, she was a partisan without being overbearing. She was an interested, informed citizen who knew her place was not in the cabinet room, nor was her place back home. Rather, she enthusiastically took on projects that would bring honor and fruit to her husband's administration. She realized the ways in which entertaining could aid a political agenda; she understood the power of nuanced relationship-building to ease political rivalry, and she practiced these skills well and often to her husband's admiration and appreciation. The Madisons were in every sense a political and social team.
She also knew that she needed to establish elegance in the White House without it smacking of royalty, and she managed to walk a line that was cultured, but never courtly, in developing an image for the new republic. She was a promoter of all things American. She worked on the White House interiors with Benjamin Latrobe, and made sure that essentially all the standing pieces of furniture came from American cabinetmakers. She was a style-setter, popularizing the empire dress, and making the turban her signature look (the same way Jackie Kennedy did the pillbox hat in the 1960s). Dolley's interests in fashion and American products came together when John Jacob Astor sent her a silver fox muff with the request that she "wear it from motives of Patriotism, and to give encouragement to the Manufacturers of our Country."
In the early 19th century Washington was a swamp, and Jefferson initiated the tradition of closing down government business for the late summer or "sickly season" to avoid malarial diseases. Madison, in his turn too, left for Montpelier every late summer and conducted the nation's affairs from his home in the Virginia Piedmont. Dolley continued to entertain at Montpelier where her legendary hospitality was as much in evidence as in Washington. One visitor spoke of her "power of at once putting every one at ease." For a 4th of July feast in 1816, Dolley described "ninety persons to dine with us at one table, fixed on the lawn, under a large arbor." The number did not faze her: "I am less worried here with a hundred visitors than with twenty-five in Washington." When the company ebbed, Dolley gardened and oversaw the canning and preserving of produce.
First Lady in a Time of War
Once it was clear that the embargo of British goods was not leading to change, Madison felt that war with Great Britain was the only course remaining. History calls it the War of 1812, but the low point came in 1814 when Secretary of State James Monroe sent an urgent message to the White House just after midnight on August 24, that, "The enemy are in full march on Washington." Madison joined the troops as the city's residents evacuated, but Dolley remained, packing state papers, silverware, and other valuables. At the last minute, she realized she could not leave the full-length Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington for the British to defile so she had her servants add it to the cart and they were off. The soldiers burned the White House and other public buildings, but were prevented by a sudden and horrific rain storm from a total destruction of the city.
Dolley demonstrated her appreciation for the power of symbols when she saved the portrait of General Washington from the flames. It was not only Dolley's actions during that fateful day, but afterward as well, that showed her courage. She insisted on heading right back to the city once the smoke cleared, a model of calm for a nervous and bewildered populace.
By the following year, the Madisons were living in one of a series of townhouses called the Seven Buildings, and from there they viewed the reconstruction of the White House.
Retirement at Montpelier
In 1817 James and Dolley retired to their beloved Piedmont home. During their Washington years, the Montpelier mansion was enlarged and remodeled. Two large wings now flanked the main body with kitchens on the cellar level. The rooms and kitchen on the south side were for the use of Mother Madison who continued to run a largely separate household until her death at 97 in 1829. Openings were made in the brick wall that had earlier separated the living quarters of the two generations, now allowing full access throughout the house. Enhancements, such as the addition of a handsome center door, harmonized the former duplex into a pleasing whole.
The Madisons would have 19 more years together before James's death. One insider reported that, "Mr. M. is the picture of happiness, they look like Adam and Eve in Paradise." But Dolley's cousin, Edward Coles, noted a "serpent in the Garden of Eden"—Payne Todd, Dolley's son. A gambler and an alcoholic, Payne never married nor had a career, but he did bring endless grief to his family and to himself. Always his mother's blind spot, she and Madison bailed him out of trouble time and again.
Dolley's renowned hospitality was offered to a stream of company. As the years went by, the visitors included not only invited guests but those on a quest to meet the "Sage of Montpelier." Madison, too, was aware of his legacy and had unfinished business. He used his retirement to organize his papers for publication, especially his notes from the Constitutional Convention. In this effort, Dolley was his helpmate, even serving as his hands when painful rheumatism kept him from writing. Madison always said he would not share these notes until the last of the delegates to the convention had died. As it turned out he himself was the last to pass away.
The end came on June 28, 1836, when, according to the eyewitness account of slave Paul Jennings, Madison "ceased breathing as quietly as the snuff of a candle goes out." Thus the 41-year marriage between James and Dolley drew to a close. Theirs had been a supremely successful relationship on both a personal and a public level.
Return to Washington
After her husband died, Dolley found life at Montpelier a challenge. Financial hardship and loneliness led to Dolley's return to Washington, eventually selling Montpelier. It had fallen to her to publish Madison's papers, and they did not bring the money he had hoped would carry her through to the end of her life. Her many friends in Washington came to the rescue. Socially in demand, the invitations kept coming. Politically, she was a living symbol of the generation of the Founders and had an honorary seat in Congress. When she died in 1849, she was given the largest state funeral to date. Her remains originally went to the Congressional Cemetery, but were later transported to Montpelier and now rest next to her husband's in the Madison Family Cemetery.
Sometimes referred to today as the first First Lady, the title actually came from her eulogy and delivered by then-President Zachary Taylor, who referred to her as "the first lady of the land for half a century." Her final legacy was to inspire the term by which the presidents' wives have been known ever since.