Eleanor Madison

Nelly Conway was born on January 9, 1731, in Port Conway, Virginia, the daughter of Francis Conway, Sr., a wealthy planter and tobacco merchant (the area's namesake) and Rebecca Catlett Conway.{{Cite web |title=The National Society of Madison Family Descendants: Genealogy |url=http://www.jamesmadisonfamily.com/Genealogy.asp |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=www.jamesmadisonfamily.com}}{{Cite web |date=October 4, 2016 |title=James Madison: Life Before the Presidency {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/president/madison/life-before-the-presidency |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=millercenter.org |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Côté |first=Richard N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zL6CSPr6E7kC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA139 |title=Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison |date=2005 |publisher=Corinthian Books |isbn=978-1-929175-09-3 |language=en}} She grew up on the Belle Grove plantation and estate.{{Cite web |title=1939 WPA Guide |url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/VAGuide/tour16.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829060505/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/VAGuide/tour16.html |archive-date=August 29, 2016 |access-date=June 28, 2008}}

She married James Madison Sr. on September 13, 1749, at the age of 18.{{Cite journal |last1=Reeves |first1=Matthew |last2=Pasch |first2=Christopher |date=April 1, 2022 |title=Reading Between the Intersecting Lines: Building Intersectionality for a Widowed Planter in Mid-18th Century Piedmont Virginia |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-022-09437-2 |journal=Archaeologies |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=132–160 |doi=10.1007/s11759-022-09437-2 |s2cid=255381361 |issn=1935-3987|url-access=subscription }} They had 12 children:{{Cite journal |last1=Grinnan |first1=A. G |year=1897 |title=Record of General Wm. Madison's Family |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=116–117 |doi=10.2307/1915370 |jstor=1915370}}{{Cite book |last=Hannings |first=Bud |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G46OgJcYeN0C&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA335 |title=The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers |date=September 3, 2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6385-5 |language=en}}

• James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836)
• Francis Taylor Madison (June 18, 1753 – April 5, 1800)
• Ambrose Madison (January 27, 1755 – October 3, 1793)
• Catlett Madison (February 10, 1758 – March 18, 1758)
• Eleanor Conway Madison (February 14, 1760 – December 24, 1802)
• William Taylor Madison (May 5, 1762 – July 20, 1843)
• Sarah Catlett Madison (August 17, 1764 – October 17, 1843)
• Unnamed son (1766–1766), died one day after birth
• Elizabeth Madison (February 6, 1768 – May 17, 1775)
• unnamed stillborn son (July 12, 1770)
• Reuben Madison (September 19, 1771 – June 5, 1775)
• Frances Taylor Madison (October 4, 1774 – October 4, 1823)

File:Eleanor conway hite and son james madison hite charles peale polk.jpg]]

As an adult, Madison took charge of the early education of her children, educating them in reading, writing, and arithmetic.{{Cite web |title=1751 to 1773 {{!}} James Madison Timeline {{!}} Articles and Essays {{!}} James Madison Papers, 1723–1859 {{!}} Digital Collections {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-madison-papers/articles-and-essays/james-madison-timeline-1751-to-1836/1751-to-1773/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{Cite web |last=Stagg |first=J. C. A. |title=James Madison (1751–1836) |url=https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/madison-james-1751-1836/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |language=en-US}}

As the Madison children grew up, she played the role of active caregiver, often traveling to the homes of her family members who were sick or in need of support. She was actively involved in the running of the Montpelier household and 2,650 acre estate, and her family owned over 100 enslaved persons and several indentured servants.{{cite web |title=Enslavement in the Shenandoah Valley |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/enslavement-in-the-shenandoah-valley.htm |accessdate=June 4, 2022 |publisher=National Park Service}}{{Cite web |title=Archaeology for All |url=http://www.montpelier.org/learn/unearthing-the-past |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=www.montpelier.org}}{{Cite web |title=Image 1 of Nelly Madison, November 28, 1807. Copy of Nelly Madison's Will. |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/mjm.27_0279_0283/?sp=1 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{Cite web |title=James Madison Papers: Series 7, Addenda, 1744–1845; 1979–1985 Addition; Part B, copies and abstracts; Photocopies; Indenture between Madison's parents, James and Nelly Madison, and Francis Cowherd, 1784 Aug. 19 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mss31021a011/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{cite web |title=The Enslaved Community |url=http://www.montpelier.org/explore/community/enslaved.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930190050/http://www.montpelier.org/explore/community/enslaved.php |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=November 20, 2016 |website=James Madison's Montpelier |publisher=Montpelier Foundation}}“Indenture, 22 September 1774,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-01-02-0035 . [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 1, 16 March 1751 – 16 December 1779, ed. William T. Hutchinson and William M. E. Rachal. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1962, pp. 123–125.]“Bill of Sale for Orange County Lands, 19 August 1784 (Abstract),” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-08-02-0057 . [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 8, 10 March 1784 – 28 March 1786, ed. Robert A. Rutland and William M. E. Rachal. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973, p. 100.]{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Elizabeth Dowling |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CK0sxj00-ysC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA261 |title=A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons |date=January 3, 2012 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-10893-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=O'Neill |first=Patrick L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqp8DvrLoaYC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA41 |title=Virginia's Presidential Homes |date=2010 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-8608-3 |language=en}}

During the American Revolution, while her husband served as chairman of the Orange County Committee of Safety and as a colonel in the Virginia militia, Nelly Madison supported a drive among the women of Virginia to raise funds and supplies for the Continental Army.Kukla, John. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_h5dAvrQaaAC&pg=PT118 Mr. Jefferson's Women], p. 118 (New York: Knopf Books, 2007). She corresponded with Martha Jefferson during this period.{{Cite book |last=Hendricks |first=Nancy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqeXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=America's First Ladies: A Historical Encyclopedia and Primary Document Collection of the Remarkable Women of the White House: A Historical Encyclopedia and Primary Document Collection of the Remarkable Women of the White House |date=October 13, 2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-883-2 |pages=23–24 |language=en}} Nationally, the Ladies Association raised $300,000 to buy linen shirts for Washington's army.

Madison was an avid reader and highly informed in public affairs and current events, and was described by Mary Cutts as a "lady of excellent education, strong mind, and good judgement." During her son's presidency (1809 to 1817), Nelly received stipend for her healths, and her son and his wife Dolley both wrote to her.{{Cite web |title=To his mother Nelly Conway Madison re: money for her and Dolley's health {{!}} Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |url=https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc02793012 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=www.gilderlehrman.org}}{{Cite web |title=Image 1 of James Madison to Nelly Conway Madison, August 8, 1814. |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/mjm.16_0551_0552/?sp=1 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{Cite web |title=Founders Online: Assignment of Articles to Nelly Madison, [27 April] 1801 |url=http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-01-02-0170 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=founders.archives.gov |language=en}} Madison was an active Episcopalian and admirer of preacher James Waddel.{{Cite book |last=Hampton |first=William Judson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7UqAAAAMAAJ&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA32 |title=Our Presidents and Their Mothers |date=1922 |publisher=Cornhill Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-7222-8599-2 |language=en}}

Following the death of her husband in 1801, Madison continued to reside in her own wing of Montpelier and maintained a close relationship with her son James and daughter-in-law Dolley.{{Cite book |last1=Shulman |first1=Holly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOK3Q_5WynsC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA74 |title=Dolley Madison: Her Life, Letters, and Legacy |last2=Mattern |first2=David |date=December 15, 2002 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-0-8239-5749-1 |language=en}} She would often receive visitors in her semi-private wing on the south end of the residence and had her own household.{{Cite book |last=Ketcham |first=Ralph |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zwdfc |title=The Madisons at Montpelier: Reflections on the Founding Couple |date=2009 |publisher=University of Virginia Press|jstor=j.ctt7zwdfc }}{{Cite journal |last=Hope Heacock |first=Christine |title=Merrymaking at the Madisons: Feasting, Alcohol, and Political Strategy |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6043&context=etd |journal=College of William & Mary, Arts and Sciences}}

Madison died on February 11, 1829, at the age of 98, and is buried at Montpelier.{{Cite book |last=Broadwater |first=Jeff |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9780807869918_broadwater |title=James Madison: A Son of Virginia and a Founder of the Nation |date=2012 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-3530-2 |doi=10.5149/9780807869918_broadwater|jstor=10.5149/9780807869918_broadwater }}

Historians have regarded Madison as one of the strongest female influences in the life of President James Madison, and she has been credited for her efforts to preserve and enhance the Montpelier estate through various renovations.

Her descendants include Confederate Brigadier General James Edwin Slaughter (her great-grandson).{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LWYZAQAAIAAJ&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA304 |title=Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution |date=1897 |publisher=Daughters of the American Revolution |language=en}}

Montpelier, the Madison family's estate, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Archeologists have restored her traditional sitting room in the house.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=May 29, 2020 |title=Nelly Madison's Sitting Room |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/61858301f2134ed6b2f751bc87881324 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |language=en}}

Her will is in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress, and one of her portraits is on display in the National Portrait Gallery.{{Cite web |title=Nelly Madison, November 28, 1807. Copy of Nelly Madison's Will. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mjm022935/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}{{Cite web |title=Nelly Conway Madison |url=https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_18.10.2 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=npg.si.edu |language=en}} The two portraits of Madison by Charles Peale Polk have been regarded as "masterpieces."{{Cite book |last=Wertkin |first=Gerard C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fxMzYkMwqoC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA443 |title=Encyclopedia of American Folk Art |date=August 2, 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-95615-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Crown |first1=Carol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eyy5F58fypMC&dq=Nelly+Conway+Madison&pg=PA384 |title=The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 23: Folk Art |last2=Rivers |first2=Cheryl |last3=Wilson |first3=Charles Reagan |date=June 3, 2013 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1-4696-0799-3 |language=en}}

Author William Judson Hampton wrote that her son James inherited his mother's "deep studious nature" and that she influenced his religious convictions and interest in religious liberty.

{{Reflist}}

• Hampton, William Judson (1922). Our Presidents and Their Mothers; Chapter 4: Nelly Conway Madison. Cornhill Publishing Company. {{ISBN|978-0-7222-8599-2}}
• Wead, Doug (2005). The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders. Simon and Schuster. {{ISBN|978-1-4165-1307-0}}

{{James Madison}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, Nelly Conway}}

Category:1731 births

Category:1829 deaths

Category:American slave owners

Category:Madison family

Category:Mothers of presidents of the United States

Category:People from colonial Virginia

Category:People from Orange County, Virginia