From Dolley Payne Madison to John Payne Todd, 9 April 1823.  Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

Mrs. Madison adored her only surviving child from her first marriage, John Payne Todd. In the spring of 1823 Payne sent James Madison a book written by Bartolome de Las Casas (1484-1564). Mrs. Madison responded with a short note that included local gossip and some advice on how Payne might receive cash to pay his gambling debts.

From Dolley Payne Madison to Anna Cutts, 25 January 1830.  Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

In this letter to her sister Anna, DPM talks about the three months DPM and JM have just spent in Richmond, where JM had been an elected delegate to the state constitutional convention charged with revising the state constitution. This letter is not only full of gossip, but talks about how dismal DPM sees the state of affairs in the nation's capital, engaged as it was with the Peggy Eaton affair.

From Dolley Payne Madison to Francis Lear, 14 February 1832.  Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

DPM discusses JM's illness.

From Dolley Payne Madison to Ann Maury, 31 March 1835.

Ann Maury (1803-1876) was the daughter of a Virginian, James Maury, the United States consul in Liverpool. Ann Maury and Dolley Madison frequently corresponded during the 1830s. In this letter Mrs. Madison notes both her husband's frailty and the visit from the renowned English writer, Harriet Martineau.

From the American Colonization Society to Dolley Payne Madison, 24 July 1836.  Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

After James Madison died, Mrs. Madison received numerous expressions of condolence. One of these was from James Laurie and the American Colonization Society, which had been founded in 1817 to promote the resettlement of African Americans on the west coast of Africa. Mr. Madison had accepted the position as president of the society in 1833, and bequeathed it $2,000 in his will.

From the Citizens of the Town of Madison, July 1836.  Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

This letter of condolence is from the citizens of the neighboring town of Madison, Virginia. After James Madison died, the citizens of Madison wore the black armbands of mourning as an expression of their esteem for the late president.