Chapter I: Foreword

There is little time in this busy world of ours for reading,--little, indeed, for thinking;--and there are already many books; but perhaps these few additional pages relating to Dolly Madison, who was loved and honored during so many years by our people, may be not altogether amiss. During eleven administrations she was the intimate friend of our presidents and their families. What a rare privilege was hers--to be at home in the families of Washington, of Jefferson, of Madison, of Monroe; to know intimately Hamilton and Burr and Clay and Webster; to live so close, during her long life, to the heart of our nation; to be swayed by each pulsation of our national life;--to be indeed a part and parcel of it all, loved, honored and revered!

It seems almost incredible that the simple country maiden, reared in strict seclusion, by conscientious Quaker parents, should have been transformed into the queen of social life, at whose shrine the wise men of their day did homage, and at whose feet the warriors laid the flag of victory.

She has left small record of her thoughts; none of her creed, excepting in her life,--and that was pure and good. The outward symbols of her faith were laid aside, but in her daily life we see the leading of the "Inner Light."

We have searched amongst the driftwood of the century for traces of her early life, and found many records, letters and references, published and unpublished, and from them all our story has been woven.

The Friends' records of North Carolina, of Virginia and of Philadelphia have given us very accurate and definite information relating to her family, and the old letters, the cherished treasures of many homes, have given a glimpse of Dolly herself in earlier and later days;--of her Quaker girlhood in Philadelphia and of her marriage in the old Pine street meeting-house. And then of days in Washington,--brilliant days, in the full glare of sunshine; and finally a picture when the days were far spent and the evening shadows falling.

For much of this material I am greatly indebted to many persons, and especially to the following I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for assistance so kindly given: George J. Scattergood, Philadelphia; Edward Stabler, Jr., Baltimore; Eliza Pleasants, Lincoln, Va.; Maud Wilder Goodwin, New York City; Priscilla B. Hackney, North Carolina; Rosewell Page, Richmond, Va.; Lavinia Taylor, Hanover County, Va.; Lucia B. Cutts, Boston, Mass.; L. D. Winston, Winston, Va.; Christine M. Washington, Charlestown, W. Va.; George S. Washington, Philadelphia; Eugenia W. M. Brown, Washington, D. C.; Julia E. Daggett, Washington, D. C.; Lucy T. Fitzhugh, Westminster, Md.; Margaret Crenshaw, Richmond, Va.; Charles G. Thomas, Baltimore, Md.; Mrs. Moorfield Story, Boston, Mass.; Julia S. White, North Carolina; Thomas Nelson Page, Washington, D. C.; Richard L. Bentley, Baltimore; Thomas F. Taylor, Hanover, Va.; Mary W. Slaughter, Winston, Va.; Liza Madison Sheppard, Virginia; Samuel M. Brosius, Washington, D. C.; Elizabeth McKean, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. William DuPont, Montpelier, Va., and Norman Penney, London, England.

ELLA KENT BARNARD.

_Baltimore, November 15, 1909._

CONTENTS

I. EARLY YEARS AND SCENES 17

II. MARRIAGE AND WIDOWHOOD 59

III. WASHINGTON AND THE WHITE HOUSE 88

IV. LATER YEARS 110

INDEX 126

ILLUSTRATIONS

DOROTHY PAYNE TODD, at 21 _Frontispiece_
From a Miniature on ivory, now in possession of
Mrs. Richard D. Cutts.

Heading--Drawn by Ella K. Barnard 17

FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, New Garden,
North Carolina 18
From an old drawing.

PATRICK HENRY 20
From a painting by Sully in the State Library,
Richmond, Va.

COLONEL WILLIAM BYRD 30
From a painting at Brandon.

SCOTCH TOWN, Hanover County, Virginia 34
From a photograph.

NEGROFOOT HOUSE 36
From a photograph.

THE DANDRIDGE HOME 50
From a photograph.

HANOVER COURT HOUSE 52
From a photograph.

Heading--Drawn by Ella K. Barnard 59

PINE STREET MEETING HOUSE 66
Drawn after a photograph

HAREWOOD, FROM THE GARDEN 80
From a photograph

THE PARLOR, HAREWOOD 82
Wherein James and Dolly Madison were married.
From a photograph.

JAMES MADISON AND DOLLY MADISON 86
From the portraits by Gilbert Stuart, owned by
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Heading--Drawn by Ella K. Barnard 88

COLONEL SAMUEL WASHINGTON 89
From a painting at Harewood.

MONTPELLIER, the Madison estate in Orange
County, Va 101
From a photograph.

THE OCTAGON HOUSE, Washington, D. C. 108
From a photograph.

MANTEL IN THE OCTAGON HOUSE 109
From a photograph.

DETAIL OF MADISON CHINA FROM THE
WHITE HOUSE 109
After drawing by Harry Fenn.

Heading--Drawn by Ella K. Barnard 110

DOLLY MADISON IN LATER YEARS 113
From a Water-Color by Mary Estelle Cutts, now
in possession of Miss Lucia B. Cutts.

MADISON HOUSE, Washington, D. C, North
View 114
From a photograph.

MADISON HOUSE, Washington, D. C., West
View 115
From a photograph.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, Washington, D. C. 123
From a photograph.

Tailpiece--Franklin Stove 125
Drawn by Ella K. Barnard.

Tailpiece--James Madison's Cloak-Clasp 128
Drawn by Ella K. Barnard

[Decoration]

_Dorothy Payne, Quakeress_