DOLLEY MADISON Biography - Socialites, celebrities and People in the fashion industry

 
 

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DOLLEY MADISON

Name: Dorothea Dandridge Payne Todd Madison                                                       
Born: 20 May 1768                                                                                 
Died: 12 July 1849                                                                                 
                                                                                                   
Dorothea Dandridge Payne Todd "Dolley" Madison (May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849)                   
was the wife of the 4th President of the United States, James Madison, and was                     
First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She also occasionally acted                     
as what is now described as First Lady of the United States during the                             
administration of Thomas Jefferson, fulfilling the ceremonial functions more                       
usually associated with the President's wife, since Jefferson was a widower.                       
It is disputed as to whether her true name is Dorothea, Dorothy, or Dolley and                     
her name has been widely misspelled as "Dolly".                                                   
                                                                                                   
She was born in New Garden, a Quaker community located in the area now known as                   
Guilford County, North Carolina, on May 20, 1768. There is now a street in                         
Greensboro, NC named after her. Her father was John Payne, a not-too-successful                   
farmer and erstwhile starch manufacturer, and her mother was Mary Coles.                           
Other accounts suggest she was born in the village of Payne's Tavern in Person                     
County, North Carolina. Dolley Madison was born while her parents were in North                   
Carolina, visiting her maternal grandparents. She had four brothers and three                     
younger sisters. The Payne family lived in Hanover County, Virginia, where                         
they were planters.                                                                               
                                                                                                   
Dolley Madison was influenced by momentous events during her childhood,                           
including the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence,                     
and battle at Valley Forge. In July 1783, John Payne freed his slaves and                         
moved the family to Philadelphia to allow better educational opportunities for                     
the children and to be more closely associated with their Quaker roots. Dolley                     
spent her teenage years in Philadelphia, and attended Salem Academy in Winston-Salem,Philadelphia