The Enslaved Community

President James Madison was one of 12 children and the third generation Madison to own Montpelier. However, the size of his family does not compare to the largest community of people who lived on the plantation. From 1723 to 1844, during the Madison family's ownership, hundreds of African and African-American slaves called Montpelier home. Five, six, and possibly seven generations of African Americans were born into slavery at Montpelier. The Madisons were not the only residents of Montpelier, but they were the masters of the land and its enslaved people.

Understanding daily life at Montpelier during the 18th and early 19th centuries must include an understanding of the contributions and sacrifices of the enslaved community who were an integral and intimate part of Montpelier life. Slave ownership was a way of life for the Virginia planter elite, of which the Madison family was a part, and it became an uneasy inheritance for James Madison. Despite his concerns, however, the institution remained well entrenched until the end of the Civil War.

While much is known of the Madisons who lived at Montpelier, very little is known of the enslaved community who supported the plantation, and made it thrive economically.

In 1723 when the president's grandfather Ambrose Madison patented the land in the Virginia Piedmont frontier, the first occupants of the land were slaves sent to clear the land for crops and construct the plantation's buildings. The slaves built the first Madison home called Mount Pleasant on land that would later be called Montpelier. Ambrose Madison, with his wife Frances and three children, did not move into their new property until the spring of 1732. When Ambrose died in August of that same year, his inventory listed 29 slaves—men, women, and children.

James Madison, Sr., inherited one of the largest plantations in Orange County, one that was totally dependent on slave labor. He expanded the plantation and diversified its economic base. Although tobacco was always the primary source of income, a wide range of crops, such as corn, rye, wheat, and hemp, were also grown.

At the time of Madison, Sr.'s death in 1801, his inventory listed 108 slaves. Although the number fluctuated, about 100 slaves lived at Montpelier during James Madison, Jr.'s ownership. Most were assigned to field labor or worked around the main house. Overseers received instructions from Mr. Madison and, in turn, supervised labor gangs of slaves. Slaves with special skills, such as blacksmiths, millers, teamsters (wagon drivers), and weavers, worked alone or in small groups completing their tasks.

Working Life

Some Madison slaves were skilled workers, trained in a variety of crafts including carpentry, smithing, and brick-making. Slaves oversaw the operation of a grist mill, a sawmill, a whisky and brandy distillery, and a blacksmith shop. When not needed at Montpelier, these craftsmen were often hired out to other local plantation owners. For example, Montpelier carpenters Peter and George were hired out several times between 1755 and 1763 for various other projects. When Madison built his new brick house—the current Montpelier mansion—Peter and George were among the artisans who helped build the new house.

Enslaved individuals also served in many domestic capacities, such as cooks, gardeners, butlers, and maids. In 1769, when Madison Jr., went away to the College of New Jersey in Princeton, he took a "personal servant" with him, a slave named Sawney. Sawney remained with the Madisons through his life, and in the 1820s is mentioned in letters and a journal as waiting on "Mother Madison." In the prime of his life, Sawney worked as overseer of a Montpelier quarter (larger plantations were often subdivided into two or more "quarters," each with its own overseer and labor force), called "Sawney's tract" or "Sawney's." Later in life, Sawney often sold Nelly and Dolley Madison produce, eggs, and chickens from his own small plot of land.

Even before James Madison, Jr., inherited the property after his father's death, he was involved in managing the plantation. In a letter to his father, Madison, Jr., provides instructions for his overseers concerning provisions for the slaves under his control. The letter provides a glimpse into how the enslaved were fed (original spelling retained):

"Mordecai Collins
To chuse out one of the Milch Cows for his own use, and let the rest be milked for the Negroes. To keep the Negros supplied with meal to be kept in a barrel apart for themselves: the barrel now there holding 13 pecks to be filled 3 time every two weeks. To receive from Sawney's 400 lb. of Pork for himself; one half the remained to be for the Negroes at B. [Black] Meadow, as was the case last year. "

— Excerpts, letter from Madison, Jr. to Madison, Sr. November 22, 1790

Domestic Life

Slaves worked from what they called "can see" to "can't see" (dawn until dusk) and in rain or snow, or hot and humid weather. Madison allowed his slaves to take Sunday and other holidays off. "Slave time" included social and religious gatherings. The slaves' right to time off was taken seriously at Montpelier. James Madison told one Sunday guest that "he could not have the servants to wait upon him, as they made it a holiday."

Most enslaved families had small gardens near their cabins where they grew vegetables, like sweet potatoes and cabbages. These added variety to the basic rations of cornmeal and salted pork. Some also kept chickens, which they were able to sell, along with eggs, to the Madisons and other local landowners for small sums of money. Typically, male slaves were allowed to fish, and hunt, and trap small game like squirrels, rabbits and raccoons, for the family cook pot. Women made clothes and quilts.