FALL 2016
Didn ’ t Dolley Madison invent cupcakes ? And wasn ’ t she the woman who brought ice cream to the White House ? Yeah , yeah , we know , she also happened to create the rules for American political society and coedited Madison ’ s Notes on the Constitutional Convention , but it ’ s the legend of Dolley as the country ’ s first iconic woman that most piques the popular imagination .
While some of the tales associated with Dolley ’ s legend are easy to dismiss — the cupcake connection is undoubtedly tied to the “ Dolly ” Madison-brand cupcakes of the mid-20th century — others are more difficult to pin down . Was she recognized as a great hostess during her lifetime or was it a role assigned to her by colonial revivalists ? What were her favorite foods ? And , most importantly for Montpelier , what was it like to attend a dinner party at her home ?
Montpelier ’ s curators are currently engaged in a project associated with The Rubenstein Initiative to display a full dinner service in the Montpelier dining room . Their research has led them in a relentless pursuit to reset Dolley ’ s table and understand more about her as an entertainer on a Virginia plantation of the Founding era .
The Cooks
Considering the importance of meal preparation for the Madisons and their many guests , there are surprisingly few documentary references to the enslaved cooks . No Montpelier cook is directly mentioned by name in James or Dolley Madison ’ s correspondence . James Madison wrote that he “ sustained a heavy loss ” in 1820 when typhus caused the death of “ a young fellow who was educated in Washington a Cook , and was becoming moreover a competent Gardener .”
Dolley described an 1842 sore throat epidemic during which her physician lost “ a woman Cook of great value to me .” After Dolley ’ s death in 1849 , her niece Annie Payne wrote to the enslaved Sarah Stewart at the Lafayette Square house , requesting that Katy ( presumably another enslaved domestic servant , Catherine Taylor ) “ bake me a Loaf of nice Bread or some French Rolls , and I will pay for the articles .” This suggests that Taylor may have served as Dolley ’ s cook in Washington , if not at Montpelier . In the early 20th century , two women identified themselves as having been cooks at Montpelier . Ailsey Payne stated that she was “ for thirty years cook in the Madison family ,” and a woman cited only as “ an old colored cook who was brought up in James Madison ’ s family ” was the source for Madison soup recipes published in a 1904 cookbook .
The Dining Room
Montpelier ’ s curators are currently engaged ... in a pursuit to reset Dolley ’ s table and understand more about her as an entertainer on a Virginia plantation of the Founding era .
The dining room in Virginia evolved from its inception in the 17th century as a multi-purpose living / dining / sleeping room known as the hall to its prominence as the main space for gracious entertainment in plantation houses in the late 18th and early 19th centuries .
In 1809 , as the newly-elected President and First Lady , James and Dolley started extensive renovations to their Virginia home . Two indoor kitchens were constructed , and the Madisons ’ new dining room , built during the previous campaign to enlarge the House in 1797 , was fitted with wallpaper and carpet , evidence of which was uncovered in the 2003-2008 restoration of the House .
The newly enhanced dining room would have been the height of fashion and a main public gathering space in the House . It stood in marked contrast to Montpelier ’ s original dining room , which by 1809 was Nelly Conway Madison ’ s ( Madison ’ s mother ’ s ) sitting room . While simple and even severe when compared with Dolley Madison ’ s dining room , it had been one of best rooms in the House when it was completed in the 1760s . The extensive paneled wainscot and overmantel signaled the expense and grandeur of the room , while a small , locked closet could both store and show off expensive silver and ceramic table wares .
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