One of the most interesting First Ladies in American history was Dolley Madison, who was born this day on May 20, 1768. Dolley Payne was born in a log cabin in North Carolina to parents who were devout Quakers, and she was raised in that faith. The family owned slaves that they freed during the Revolutionary War, consistent with the Society of Friends’ strong support for the emancipation of enslaved persons. When Dolley was 15, the family moved to Philadelphia, and Dolley entered into an arranged marriage with John Todd, a Philadelphia lawyer. By John she gave birth to two sons, but the family was devasted by the yellow fever epidemic of 1793: Dolley’s husband and one of her sons died from the disease, leaving her a widow and single parent of her surviving son, Payne. She immediately became impoverished, and struggled to make ends meet. She met and married James Madison the following year, after she was introduced to him by none other than Aaron Burr.
After their marriage in September 1794, James and Dolley continued to live in Philadelphia, where James was deeply involved in national politics as a member of the House of Representatives (and one of the main political leaders of the drafting and passage of the U.S. Constitution in 1789). Madison stepped down from Congress in 1797, and the family moved to Virginia, where they lived only briefly until President Thomas Jefferson appointed Madison his Secretary of State in 1800, and they moved to Washington D.C. There, Dolley became a major figure in Washington social life, and served as Thomas Jefferson’s hostess for White House functions after Jefferson’s wife died. In that role, Dolley took the lead in establishing traditions that became standards for White House occupants to this day. She also was a strong advocate for “reaching across the aisle,” bringing together political leaders of both the opposing Federalist and Democrat parties. Her charm and grace helped Jefferson achieve political successes that otherwise would not have happened. She continued to carry out these diplomatic efforts during her husband’s two terms of office as President.
During Madison’s presidency, the United States went to war against Great Britain in the War of 1812. A popular story has it that when the British army attacked and burned Washington, Dolley rescued various items of historical significance from the White House, including an important painting of George Washington. Accounts differ on who actually carried the painting out of the White House for safekeeping, but evidence suggests it was removed by Dolley’s personal servant, Paul Jennings. Dolley escaped the fire, and crossed the Potomac River to Virginia.
After Madison’s presidency ended in 1817, he and Dolley resided at their plantation at Montpelier until Madison’s death in 1836. Thereafter, Dolley’s life was a series of setbacks, mostly caused by her son Payne’s misbehavior and alcoholism. Dolley went deeply into debt in order to care for her son, and resorted to selling off most of her possessions (including one slave). Her servant Paul Jennings later wrote that by the end of her life she was living in abject poverty. Yet she lived for another two decades, dying on July 12, 1849 in Washington at the age of 81.
Today, historians and commentators consistently rank Dolley Madison in the top 5 of all presidential First Ladies. And so today, we honor her memory on the 257th anniversary of her birth in 1768.