Talk:Dolley Madison

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1822[edit]

She was the First Lady in the 1822 2601:249:C000:5070:B064:893A:5067:D8F5 (talk) 14:40, 21 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Dolly Madison sick till age 4[edit]

Was reading Library of Congress (https://archive.org/details/richardsondeprie00lcroll) on my great grandmother Mary DePriest, found this letter from the Richardson - DePriest family, stating:" "I heard grand-ma De Priest (R) say that Dolly Madison's mother was an old friend and school- mate, and when Dolly was an infant her mother was very ill. She sent her baby to grand-ma De P., and she stayed with her until she was four years old. She called grand-ma Mama Pattie. This correlates with Dolly Madison letter written 1800, (cited above) Planetoid Mines (talk) 16:59, 26 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

in addition, the letter continues stating upon invading America, Cornwallis first stopped to make egg-nog at Governor Nelson mansion with his wife and Dolly Madison. Planetoid Mines (talk) 17:01, 26 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Planetoid Mines You seem to have misunderstood the letter. It states that Dolley's mother was ill, not that Dolley herself was ill until she was 4.

Also, the book is not the Library of Congress, it is simply held in the Library The title is "Richardson-De Priest family", written by Robert Douglas Roller, published in 1905 by Tribune Print of Charleston WV. You are quoting from Page 4, I have bolded the part about Dolly/Dolley's mother: "...say that Dolly Madison's mother was an old friend and schoolmate, and when Dolly was an infant her mother was very ill. She sent her baby to grand-ma De P.,..."

Also, you seem to have misunderstood the passage about the eggnog that appears on Page 5. Cornwallis made eggnog and served it to Grandma Richardson not to Dolly/Dolley Madison (bolding in quoted material is mine):

"When Cornwallis invaded Virginia, my grandfather, John Richardson, was with Governor Nelson and the Virginia militia. Gov. Nelson thought Cornwallis was in his house and he turned the battery on his own home; but he was mistaken. Cornwallis was in grand-pa Richardson's house, making tubs of egg-nogg, and he offered grand-ma a glass. She was so frightened that she drank it.'"

Shearonink (talk) 22:00, 26 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Why is she referred to throughout as "Madison?"[edit]

Dolley Madison is known by the surname of her second husband so it makes sense to use that name for the article, can it be written in a way that acknowledges her identity in her early life and during her first marriage? ViLyBa (talk) 01:57, 24 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I would certainly be open to suggestions, but for good or ill we are dealing with a situation where not only is she most well-known as "Madison," but also, the events that make her notable occurred while she used that name. Therefore, I am not sure general references under another name would make sense, but again, happy to hear any thoughts. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 02:00, 24 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Seems like a fairly spare account, given the eminence of her long life.

Here are a few links with more detail:

https://www.montpelier.org/learn/dolley-madison-becoming-americas-first-lady

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/unraveling-the-dolley-myths

https://featherschwartzfoster.blog/2018/12/28/the-funeral-of-dolley-madison-end-of-an-era/

Not sure if others would agree. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:645:4300:EE90:696F:4CE6:6CA9:F33A (talk) 05:47, 18 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]