January 20, 2013

I must be living under a rock! I had no idea that President Obama was taking the oath of office today. The news has been reporting that he is planning a low-key ceremony, especially compared to last year's festivities. The public ceremony and parties are tomorrow. I wish our president success in his second term of office. For the sake of all of us and our future, I hope he can get control of spending and taxes so the economy and confidence of the American people will improve.

Dolley Madison

Tomorrow the news will be all about what Mrs. Obama wears during the day. There was a program on the Smithsonian channel last night about the inauguration gowns of the First Ladies. I learned a lot about several of the First Ladies, including Dolley Madison, whose gown is the oldest in the collection. She was 21 when married the first time. Her husband died of yellow fever about three years after their marriage. She had two sons with her first husband, one of which died at the age of three months on the same day as his father. She was 26 when she married James Madison in 1794. He had been a confirmed bachelor who was in his 40s. They had no children. Mr. Madison was secretary of state to President Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Madison played hostess during Jefferson's administration. According to the program, it was considered inappropriate during that time for a single man to entertain women without a female hostess. She became hostess-with-the-mostest during Jefferson's eight years in office. When her own husband was elected the fourth president, she hosted the first inaugural ball in 1809. Her legend was made lasting, however, by her act of patriotism in the hours preceding the burning of Washington by British troops during the War of 1812. She famously refused to leave the White House before being assured that the large portrait of George Washington was removed from the walls and taken safely away from the encroaching enemy. After the war, she was involved with the rebuilding of the White House and Washington. When President Madison left office, she moved with him to his family's plantation: Montpelier. Due to financial problems, she sold Montpelier and all its furnishing after President Madison died in 1836. She moved back to Washington and lived across the street from the White House until her death in 1849 at age 81. 

Today I'm creating a short magazine article for a friend. On a side note, Mr. B and I visited Montpelier about 10 years ago. Part of the mansion's first floor had been renovated and the national trust was acquiring furniture that had belonged to the Madisons or was specific to that period. The second floor was empty and very raw. William duPont purchased the estate in 1901, and his wife, Annie, doubled the size of the mansion. I remember seeing the newer part of the mansion. Several rooms were decorated by the duPont's daughter, Marion, in an art deco style. What a stark contrast to the furnishings in the original part of the mansion. Marion, who inherited the property from her parents, was married to actor Randolf Scott for a short time.