Dolley Madison
Hand colored portrait engraving of a middle-age Dolley Madison, drawn by J. Heravring after J. Wood. ca 1830-1880 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
Dolley Payne Madison (1768–1849) was the wife of James Madison, who served as President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. As First Lady, she is said to have rescued Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington when the British set fire to the White House in 1814. Popular and widely admired, she fell on hard times when her husband died, often having to sell his papers to make ends meet.
