This article is about the wife of James Madison. For the baked goods brand, see Dolly Madison. For the ship, see SS Dolly Madison.
Dolley Madison
1804 portrait by Gilbert Stuart
First Lady of the United States
In role March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
President
James Madison
Preceded by
Martha Randolph (acting)
Succeeded by
Elizabeth Monroe
Personal details
Born
Dolley Payne
(1768-05-20)May 20, 1768 Guilford County, North Carolina, British America
Died
July 12, 1849(1849-07-12) (aged 81) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place
Montpelier, Virginia, U.S. 38°13′07.5″N78°10′06.0″W / 38.218750°N 78.168333°W / 38.218750; -78.168333
Spouses
John Todd
(m. 1790; died 1793)
James Madison
(m. 1794; died 1836)
Children
John
William
Signature
Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of both political parties, essentially spearheading the concept of bipartisan cooperation. Previously, founders such as Thomas Jefferson would only meet with members of one party at a time, and politics could often be a violent affair resulting in physical altercations and even duels. Madison helped to create the idea that members of each party could amicably socialize, network, and negotiate with each other without violence.[1] By innovating political institutions as the wife of James Madison, Dolley Madison did much to define the role of the President's spouse, known only much later by the title first lady—a function she had sometimes performed earlier for the widowed Thomas Jefferson.[2]
Madison also helped to furnish the newly constructed White House. When the British set fire to it in 1814, she was credited with saving Gilbert Stuart's classic 1796 portrait of George Washington; she directed her personal slave Paul Jennings to save it.[3] In widowhood, she often lived in poverty aggravated by her son John Payne Todd's alcoholism and mismanagement of their Montpelier plantation. To relieve her debts, she sold off the plantation, its remaining enslaved people, and her late husband's papers.
Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Madison to rank among the six most highly regarded first ladies by the assessments of historians.
^"Unofficial Politician: Dolley Madison in Washington". New York Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
^Allgor, Catherine (2006). A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation. New York: Henry Holt & Co. p. 43. ISBN 0-8050-7327-2.
^"Summer 1814: Dolley Madison saves Washington's portrait, with some help (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817...
Club purchased the DolleyMadison House for $40,000. This house is located at the corner of H Street and Madison Place. Madison's brother-in-law, Richard...
House." A Dolly Madison Bakery appears in the 1932 movie Officer 13 and was named after DolleyMadison, the wife of President James Madison, although with...
served as the residence of United States president James Madison and first lady DolleyMadison. It is one of only five houses to serve as the presidential...
O'Hara in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–2013), First Lady DolleyMadison in the American Experience television special (2011), Monica Chatwin...
received stipend for her healths, and her son and his wife Dolley both wrote to her. Madison was an active Episcopalian and admirer of preacher James Waddel...
– January 16, 1852), was an American secretary. He was the first son of Dolley Payne and John Todd Jr. His father and younger brother died in the 1793...
childbirth. Politically attuned DolleyMadison often performed hostess duties for Jefferson. Her husband, James Madison, was then the Secretary of State...
study of the scriptures and devotion." According to popular belief, DolleyMadison was referred to as first lady in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered...
Dolley (1829–1909), American physician DolleyMadison (1768–1849), spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison William Dolley Tipton...
starring Ginger Rogers as DolleyMadison and David Niven as Aaron Burr. The supporting cast features Burgess Meredith as James Madison and Grandon Rhodes as...
House, DolleyMadison also assumed a public role as hostess, assisting the President in welcoming the general citizenry. "Dolley Payne Todd Madison". The...
The DolleyMadison silver dollar is a commemorative silver dollar issued by the United States Mint in 1999. The obverse depicts DolleyMadison, and the...
James Madison Museum located in Orange, Virginia is a museum dedicated to 4th president of the United States James Madison and his wife, DolleyMadison. Exhibits...
her husband's second term, she compared poorly to her predecessor, DolleyMadison, who had captivated Washington society, setting a standard by which...
Hemings was named for Jefferson's close friend, James Madison. According to Hemings, DolleyMadison requested the honor of his being named after her husband...
(2018). First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, DolleyMadison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. New York: NYU Press. Anthony...
House. After US government officials and President Madison fled the city, First Lady DolleyMadison received a letter from her husband, urging her to be...
monticello.org. Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Retrieved January 14, 2018. "DolleyMadison". Biography. April 23, 2021. Letter, April 10, 1788, James Monroe (Richmond...
"Biography of DolleyMadison". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved March 11, 2010 – via National Archives. "First Lady Biography: DolleyMadison". National First...
humiliating defeat for James Madison and America. On August 27, Madison returned to Washington to view the carnage of the city. Dolley returned the next day...
Wilmington, Delaware. In 1812, DolleyMadison served a magnificent creation of strawberry ice cream during President James Madison's inaugural banquet at the...
James and DolleyMadison: America's First Power Couple (Prometheus Books; 2014) 450 pages; detailed popular history Cost, Jay. James Madison: America's...