James and Dolley: A Love Story
- Debra Scala Giokas
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 22 hours ago
Who knew that Dolley Madison used to give her husband, James, piggyback rides?
This is one of the stories my husband and I learned during our tour of Montpelier, the Virginia estate at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the home of James and Dolley Madison. She was 5'8" to his 5', and he weighed about 100 pounds. Aaron Burr, then Vice President to Thomas Jefferson, introduced the couple to each other. James was known as the "Father of the Constitution" and was deeply influenced by French Enlightenment philosophy and the French Revolution. Many thought that James, who was 17 years her senior, would have been what is know today as a "confirmed bachelor." But Dolley won his heart.
When I speak about Dolley Madison, I always tell the audience that she would call the event a "squeeze." That's what Dolley called her parties that everyone in Washington DC wanted to attend. Before James Madison was elected President, Dolley's parties were so popular that she was named the "unofficial" First Lady to President Thomas Jefferson whose wife Martha had died 19 years before his presidency.
Why were Dolley's parties so popular? Well, she knew how to decorate and how to set a beautiful table with elegant silverware. She invited all kinds of people and played music, and always carried a book with her so she would have something other than politics to talk about with her guests. Dolley was a leader in fashion, especially French designs. She wore a turban on her head so her guests could find her. Dolley also knew how to feed her guests and served all kinds of special foods including ice cream. Thomas Jefferson gave her the recipe. Her favorite? Oyster ice cream. Yes, oyster!
So I was thrilled to see Dolley's actual tea set and tried to imagine what a dinner party would be like in their home.
I learned that she loved to play cards and that James enjoyed chess. The Madisons had many games in their drawing room which was decorated by busts and artwork. James' mother had lived with them on the right side of the house.
Although she was vivacious, Dolley's life was not easy. She was left a widow at 25 with a young son, John, to raise. Her husband, in-laws and newborn baby William Temple all died from yellow fever. She married James only a few months after the introduction by Burr.
Once James Madison was elected president, Dolley continued to host her parties, and when the papers wrote stories about them, everyone wanted to attend.
There is more to Dolley Madison than her parties. A target of the British armed forces, she did not evacuate until she grabbed an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, took silverware, and with the help of an enslaved servant, removed the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. It was sent to New York for safekeeping.
Dolley fled to safety, and the British burned the U.S. Capitol on August 24. Before they torched the White House, they feasted on an elegant dinner with several kinds of wine and toasted Lady Madison in her absence.
People lost their homes during the War of 1812, and James and Dolley returned to no home, too. The White House burned down. Homeless people, widows, and orphans filled the streets. The couple rented a house nearby and had lots of work to do.
After his presidency, the couple retired to Montpelier. They experienced financial hardships because of the cost of maintaining an enslaved force, draughts and poor crops, and many unexpected visitors. After her husband's death, Dolley left her son Payne in charge of the estate, and his gambling habits bankrupted Montpelier.
In 1837 she moved out and returned to the home the Madisons owned on Lafayette Square, across from the White House. She died on July 12, 1849 and was later moved from the Congressional Cemetery in 1857 to her home at Montpelier. She is buried in the Madison Family Cemetery at the historic estate.
From 2003-2008, the National Trust for Historic Preservation restored the mansion for 24 million dollars to its 1820 status, after the workers stripped away the 1901 duPont expansions.
To learn more about Montpelier, visit here.
