Madison, Dolley Payne (1768-1849), a famous Washington hostess, was the wife of United States President James Madison. She is best known for her pleasant, open direction of White House social life. She relaxed the formal etiquette that had been practiced before her.
She and Madison married in 1794, when he was a congressman. While Madison served as secretary of state under President Thomas Jefferson, a widower, Mrs. Madison often helped Jefferson entertain guests. She also entertained frequently on her own. Mrs. Madison was noted for her charm and tact. At her home, people of strongly differing views could meet at ease.
Mrs. Madison was born on May 20, 1768, in Guilford County, North Carolina, the third child of Quaker parents. She spent her childhood in Scotchtown, Virginia. In 1783, the family moved to Philadelphia. Dolley and John Todd, Jr., a lawyer and a Quaker, were married in 1790. They had two sons. Todd and one of the sons died in 1793. When she married Madison in 1794, she was expelled from the Society of Friends because of her marriage to a non-Quaker. The couple had no children. After Madison’s two terms as president, the couple retired to Montpelier, his Virginia plantation. In 1837, after his death, she returned to Washington to live. There she resumed her social leadership, opening her home to large public receptions on New Year’s Day and Independence Day. She died on July 12, 1849.
