WHO WAS BURIED IN JAMES MADISON’S GRAVE? A study in contextual analysis C. Thomas Chapman The Montpelier Foundation 540-672-2728 x162 [email protected] WHO WAS BURIED IN JAMES MADISON’S GRAVE? A Study in Contextual Analysis _____________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts _____________ by Charles Thomas Chapman 2005 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to all those who have come before us, who have created our ideas, our thoughts, our lives, our words, and our stories, and to all those who will follow and recreate what we have done. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passesth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. -King James Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 The use of words is to express ideas. Perspicuity, therefore, requires not only that the ideas should be distinctly formed, but that they should be expressed by words distinctly and exclusively appropriate to them. But no language is so copious as to supply words and phrases for every complex idea, or so correct as not to include many equivocally denoting different ideas. Hence it must happen that however accurately objects may be discriminated in themselves, and however accurately the discrimination may be considered, the definition of them may be rendered inaccurate by the inaccuracy of the terms in which it is delivered. And this unavoidable inaccuracy may be greater or less, according to the complexity and novelty of the objects defined. When the Almighty himself condescends to address mankind in their own language, his meaning, luminous as it must be, is rendered dim and doubtful by the cloudy medium through which it is communicated. -James Madison, The Federalist No. 37 iii For my grandfather T. I. Chapman, in memory of the past; And to my wife Stacey and my children Preston, Kaley and Alicia, for the joy of the present and the future. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION 2 Who was buried in James Madison’s grave? 6 The Madison Family and Montpelier 10 The Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier 15 Archaeological Research 21 CHAPTER I. THE CEMETERY COMMUNITY CONCEPT: CONSTRUCTING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT 27 Archaeology of Death 27 The Cemetery Community Concept 31 Constructing the Historical Context 34 Storytelling as Method: Telling the (hi)story 43 Constructing the History of the Madison Family Cemetery 46 CHAPTER II. THE 18TH-CENTURY MADISON FAMILY CEMETERY 53 Constructing the Early History of the Madison Family Cemetery 56 The 18th-Century Family Cemetery: Necessity and Tradition 62 Ambrose Madison: The First Burial at Mount Pleasant? 65 The Extended Family Community and their Cemeteries 72 The Taylor Family Cemeteries 72 The Chew and Coleman Family Cemeteries 80 Madison Family Cemeteries 89 The Families of Frances and Elizabeth Madison 91 The First Burials in the Madison Family Cemetery 105 v CHAPTER III. GENEALOGICAL NARRATIVE: TELLING THE STORY OF THE MADISON FAMILY CEMETERY 114 Finding the Dead within the Documents of the Living 118 To Be or Not to Be - That is the Question of Who is Buried in the Cemetery 123 The Burials of James Madison, Sr. and Nelly Conway Madison 128 Not to Be - Those Who Were Not Buried in the Cemetery 133 The Family of Nelly Conway Madison Hite 133 The Family of Frances Taylor Madison Rose 134 The Family of Francis Madison 136 To Be - Those Who Were Buried in the Cemetery 144 The Family of Sarah Catlett Madison Macon 144 The Family of Ambrose Madison 163 The Family of William Madison 187 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUDING THE (HI)STORY: CONTEXTUALIZING COMMEMORATION 202 What is a Marked or an Unmarked Grave Anyway? 206 Wooden Grave Markers? 207 Vandalism and its Effects 210 Commemorating the Dead in the Landscape of the Living 213 Patterns of Death and Display Revealed in the Community of the Dead 218 The Beginnings of the Commemorative Story 224 The Three Earliest Gravestones 230 From Favored Son to Founding Father 236 EPILOGUE 247 APPENDIX 1. DESCENDANTS OF AMBROSE MADISON 250 APPENDIX 2. DESCENDANTS OF MARTHA TAYLOR CHEW 334 APPENDIX 3. DESCENDANTS OF ELINOR MADISON COLEMAN 336 BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 VITA 367 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The riders in a race do not stop when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is time to hear the kind voices of friends and say to oneself, “The work is done.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes This thesis is the culmination of many years of research that has been generously supported by many people too numerous to account for in this small section. And though the thesis is complete the work is not done. Countless stories contained within the Madison family cemetery at Montpelier still remain to be unearthed with future research. To attempt to acknowledge some of those who have made this work possible I must begin with the professionals who I hold in high esteem. Lynne Lewis, Senior Archaeologist, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Scott Parker, a past director of the Montpelier Archaeology Department, realized my potential, though I lacked experience, and gave me the opportunity to supervise the archaeological survey of the Madison family cemetery. If not for them this thesis would never have seen the light of day. An additional acknowledgement must go to Lynne who as a member of my thesis committee has been a constant support and a supremely helpful editor. Frederick Schmidt, a former research historian at Montpelier, provided the foundation upon which I have built the history of the cemetery. Erin Baxter went above and beyond her role as a member of the archaeology crew in her dedication to the cemetery project. Dr. Norman Barka, as my graduate advisor and as a member of my thesis committee, was an unfailing guide and an inspiration for a young archaeologist. Dr. Audrey Horning was kind enough to jump in and chair my thesis committee as I wrapped up my work. To her I owe an abundance of gratitude for helping me to bring this thesis to a close. And last, but certainly not least, Dr. Matthew Reeves, Director of the Montpelier Archaeology Department, is a friend and a mentor who has guided, pushed, cajoled, pleaded and praised, and in the end been my biggest supporter in the process of putting this thesis together. Without the love and support of my family and friends I never would have been able to complete this thesis. I am constantly humbled by the admiration and praise of my parents, Thomas and Linda Chapman. Who I have become and the education I have been fortunate to receive would not have been possible without the love and support of my grandparents, Omer and Theresa Fortier, Marie Chapman and the late T. I. Chapman. In the six years which it took to complete this thesis many friends have come and gone. During this time I was lucky enough to make one of these friends my wife. To my wife Stacey and my children Preston, Kaley and Alicia, thank you for putting up with the countless hours spent finishing this work. vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Madison Family Cemetery Gravestones 18 2. All Possible Madison Family Cemetery Burials - 18th-Century 59 3. Earliest Burials in Madison Family Cemetery 105 4. All Possible Madison Family Cemetery Burials - 1776 to 1938 120 5. Burials Unassociated with Family Groupings 126 6. Sarah Macon Family Burials in Madison Family Cemetery 145 7. Ambrose Madison Family Burials in Madison Family Cemetery 164 8. William Madison Family Burials in Madison Family Cemetery 190 9. Madison Family Cemetery Burials - 1732 to 1938 214 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1. President James Madison’s Burial 3 2. President Madison’s Obelisk in the Madison Family Cemetery 9 3. Map of Virginia Showing Location of Montpelier 11 4. Map of Madison Family Cemetery and Mount Pleasant Site 16 5. Map of Madison Family Cemetery 17 6. Dolley Madison’s Vandalized Gravestone 22 7. Dismantling of President Madison’s Obelisk Prior to Restoration 23 8. Madison Family Cemetery Trench Excavation – View to South 25 9. Reference Map of Orange County, Virginia, Landmarks 69 10. Genealogical Chart of Madison Family by James Madison, Jr. 110 11. Map of Madison Family Cemetery Showing Family Groupings 125 12. The Burials of James Madison, Sr.