Financial pressures continued for Dolley.
In December 1844 Dolley was forced to sell Montpelier, a blow that would have crushed a weaker person. She insisted that the slaves stay with Montpelier and not be sold. During this difficult time Paul Jennings, James Madison’s former slave, gave her his savings. He had loved Dolley for all his life, and in turn she loved Paul as a son. He was more responsible to her than was Payne, and after her death Paul was, in a sense, the keeper of her memory.
On July 15, 1845, Dolley became a member of the Episcopal Church of Washington. She had not joined any congregation since 1794, when the Pine Street Meeting House expelled her for her marriage to James Madison.
On February 19, 1848, Lucy, Dolley’s sister in Lexington, Kentucky, died. Dolley was now the last of the Payne women.
Throughout her life, French John remained her right-hand man. When she had no money, he worked for free, finding ways to make a little money elsewhere, exhibiting that celebrated frugality of the French.
Like Paul and Sukey, he loved Dolley without reservation, as did the Seruriers, who remained friends.
Dolley inspired love as she inspired people to work for the good of all. At seventy-eight and seventy-nine, she was out raising money for the Washington Monument, and on July 4, 1848, she stood upright and jolly as the cornerstone was laid. She could raise money for projects for the public good but could never quite bring herself to raise money for herself. She never considered herself that important, perhaps, and her needs (except for clothing) remained modest.
She never reproached her son. Whatever anguish she felt, she kept it to herself.
Clay continued to visit her no matter where she lived. He utterly adored Dolley. Even Webster made a point to call on her, and Calhoun, never a social man, admired her and made no secret of it.
Her cousin, Ned Coles, freed his slaves as he had promised and moved to the Illinois Territory, where he became governor.
As with any far-flung network of relatives—the Cutts, Payne, Coles, Winston, Madison, and other families—some flourished, some failed. She loved them all and criticized no one. She never believed she had the right to judge. That was up to God.
She spoke rarely of her Inner Light, especially as she aged, but her peace and radiance bathed everyone who ever saw her or spoke to her. She bore witness. She had no need to preach. She lived what she believed, and in that respect she was like her indomitable mother.
Even as a young woman she realized that slavery would tear this country apart. The older she became, the more she despised our “peculiar institution.”
She died before the War Between the States, on July 12, 1849, at the age of eighty-one.
No First Lady has ever been so tested as Dolley Madison. As there were few women in public life (women did not vote until 1920, a shocking fact when reflected upon), she became the example, the shining inspiration, to generations of women. She fulfilled our longing for an American heroine, and despite the twists and turns of our nation’s life, her image has never lost its luster.
She is buried next to her husband in the small graveyard at Montpelier, where this author often brings to her grave the cut flowers that Dolley so loved.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Since the British burned a huge number of our records in 1814, the research for this novel was a combination of detective work, years of reading, and visits to the various sites. My researcher, Claudia Garthwaite, and I were suspicious of many published memoirs because who would admit to being a coward when the Redcoats marched into Washington? Not only did Claudia and Gordon Reistrup, my saintly assistant, help me read, we all learned to read between the lines.
I am especially grateful to Carol Carruthers Sims-Jones, Jane Porter Fogleman, and Martha Foss for allowing me to study their family archives. As Carol Sims-Jones is a direct descendant of Jean Pierre Sioussat (French John), this generosity proved invaluable.
Colonel Joseph Mitchell was on standby, and any time I had a military question, he stepped in as he had done for so many writers over the years. His death in February 1993 is a loss for anyone who is a student of military history. Joe was a combat officer in World War II. One of the reasons I can pursue my career in freedom is because of men like Joe.
Sally Dohner and Dr. Trudy Wade were especially helpful during my trips to North Carolina because the majority of Anna Cutts’s papers are in that state. Patrick Flynn of the Massachusetts Historical Society shared his knowledge of Elbridge Gerry.
The staff at Montpelier was ever ready to assist me, and I encourage you to visit the home of the Madisons.
The Library of Congress, that treasury of record and literature for America, once more was wonderful as was the University of Virginia Library. The Virginia Historical Society also fielded my inquiries. I am fortunate to live in a state where history is regarded as a part of our living present.
Hoping to bring more of Virginia’s rich and varied past to light, and in this case an often overlooked historical aspect, Governor L. Douglas Wilder proposed a slave museum. At the Second African/African-American Summit in Libreville, Gabon, early in 1993, Governor Wilder, as the keynote speaker, unveiled his plans for this new institution. The Jamestown Slave Museum will be a freestanding facility located near the historical Jamestown site. The initial planning group met for the first time in August 1993.
I am also extremely lucky that Senator John Warner fought in Congress to alter the tax laws that caused staggering financial hardships for those of us writing historical novels; the laws caused hardships for other categories of artists, too. I have always known that the handsome senator was a bold rider, but his courage in this issue was both refreshing and applauded.
I’d like to thank Juts and Liska for accompanying me on eight years of field trips. We felt a bit like Saint Paul describing his journeys: first we were set upon by thieves and then a great storm came up, etc., etc. Both dogs happily shared in the hardships as long as I gave them a Frosty for their efforts.
The cats proved helpful, too. The teethmarks in the original manuscript bear testimony to their careful proofreading.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Montpelier, in the process of reconstruction, needs money. Any contribution from you would be manna from heaven. During these times of economic duress—euphemistically called a recession—national landmarks are not high on the list to receive funds, regardless of their importance to the cultural and political life of our country. Please send whatever you can to Friends of Montpelier, Box 67, Montpelier Station, VA 22957.
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Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of Rubyfruit Jungle, In Her Day, Six of One, Southern Discomfort, Sudden Death, Bingo, High Hearts, Venus Envy, Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War, Riding Shotgun, Loose Lips, Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual, and an autobiography, Rita Will. She is the co-author with Sneaky Pie Brown of the Mrs. Murphy mystery series and Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers. Rita Mae Brown is also an Emmy-winning screenwriter and a poet. She lives on a farm near Afton, Virginia.
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