Main Menu
Get Tickets

Open Thursday – Monday, 9:00am-4:00pm – Ticket information

Starting Tuesday, May 26 – Open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00am-4:00pm

The Naming Project: Moses

What We Know About Moses

Moses was already a skilled blacksmith when he appears for the first time in the documentary record. In 1779, a loose note from one of James Madison Sr.’s account books mentioned Moses giving an opinion on repairing an ax. James Madison Sr. wrote:

“I have jumpt 2 of your axes, Moses says another only requires being upset.”

The note was presumably written by Madison Sr. to John or Jonathan Cowherd, whose name appears in another handwriting at the bottom of the note, along with the date of August 4, 1779.[1]

“Jumping up” and “upsetting” are two related terms for making a heated metal item thicker and shorter by hammering on its end.[2] Clearly Moses was able to assess the problem with Cowherd’s third ax and knew the appropriate technique to repair it. We don’t know how old Moses was, or how long he had worked as a blacksmith. Was Moses born at Montpelier, and did he learn his skills from another enslaved blacksmith there? Or did Madison Sr. buy Moses because of the skills he had learned previously while enslaved by someone else?

In this note, Madison Sr. referred to several business dealings with Cowherd, including grinding his corn and wheat, and having axes repaired by Moses. Taken from miscellaneous loose notes from one of James Madison Sr.’s account books. Courtesy of the Library of Virginia, which microfilmed the document from a private collection in 1941.

Wherever Moses had originally learned his trade, by 1779 he was toiling with several other enslaved smiths in a massive blacksmithing operation that sprawled across two acres beside the main house at Montpelier. The smiths’ work generated a significant portion of Madison Sr.’s income. His account books show that enslaved smiths produced or repaired approximately 800 items each year from 1776 to 1783. By 1800 they produced nearly 1500 items a year. Over 200 customers from Orange and surrounding counties, and even as far away as the Shenandoah Valley, patronized the shop.[3]

 

In Tax Records and Account Books

Moses appeared on James Madison Sr.’s Orange County personal property tax records from 1782 to 1786, the only years in which enslaved people were listed invididually by name. A second Moses also appeared on the tax records from 1782 to 1784.[4]

Two men named Moses appear on a list of shoes distributed to the enslaved community on November 2, 1787, found among James Madison Sr.’s miscellaneous notes. The first Moses on the list wore a size 9 shoe. The next man on the list was “B. Moses” (possibly “Big” Moses or “Blacksmith” Moses). His shoe size is harder to read, but may be a 10.[5]

Both Moses and B. Moses appear on the shoe distribution list from November 2, 1787. Taken from miscellaneous loose notes from one of James Madison Sr.’s account books. Courtesy of the Library of Virginia, which microfilmed the document from a private collection in 1941.

A fragmentary letter dated January 26, 1787, includes another mention of Moses as a blacksmith. R. Taylor (possibly Tayloe) wrote that if enough remained on his account after paying for one ax, he also wanted “a narrow ax of four pounds,” and he would “take it as a favor if you woud let Moses &c [several words missing] them on Monday morning as I must leave [several words missing] on Tuesday.” By writing “Moses &c” (Moses etc.) Taylor seems to have recognized Moses as the head of the crew of blacksmiths.[6]

Moses was hired out by James Madison Sr. in some instances. One of Madison Sr.’s surviving account books shows charges to Zachariah Herndon for several days’ work by Moses (possibly “Moses &c”) in December 1780. Moses may have gone to Herdon’s plantation to perform the work, or he may have devoted entire days in the Montpelier blacksmith shop to complete Herndon’s project.[7]

Moses, like many enslaved people, found opportunities to earn a little money for himself, perhaps by hunting, raising chickens or vegetables, or making use of his considerable mechanical skills on his own time. A surviving day book for the Barbour-Johnson store in Orange county has several entries for purchases made by Moses in 1785 and 1786, including rum, thread, pins, a cambric handkerchief, glass tumblers, and “Tin Cans.” (A cann is a bulbous-shaped mug). The storekeeper specifically identified him as “Moses, Smith belong.g to Colo. Madison” when recording Moses’s first purchase. In subsequent transactions, he was simply Moses, belonging to Col. Madison.[8]

 

Made by Moses

Although future president James Madison Jr. enslaved a small number of people on his own lands in the 1790s, he periodically asked for Moses (who was enslaved by Madison’s father) to do specific projects for him. In November 1790, as Madison set out for Congress in Philadelphia, he left directions for overseer Mordecai Collins

“To get a plow made by Moses according to the model lately arrived up from Mr. Bishops: his brother [Lewis Collins] to do the wooden work. The old Bar share to be refitted by Moses & L. C to be worked with oxen…” [9]

The fact that Madison specifically wanted Moses to copy a new model of plow and to refit the old bar share plow suggests that he had confidence in Moses’s ability to analyze unfamiliar forms and improvise workable solutions.

In February 1797, Madison checked in with his father on another specific project assigned to Moses:

“I hope Moses has finished my Waggon: if not pray instruct him to do so.”[10]

Moses probably worked on the iron components of the wagon, such as the iron tires on the wheels.

 

More Than One Moses

When documents refer to Moses as a blacksmith, or describe him doing the work of a smith, it’s not hard to tell which Moses is under discussion. When someone named Moses is doing other tasks, such as carrying messages, it is less clear if we are seeing Moses the blacksmith or another Moses.

For example, James Madison Sr. and his wife Nelly spent some time at Orange county’s Healing Springs in the summer of 1792. When Madison Jr. wrote to update his father about events at Montpelier, he addressed the letter to “Col. James Madison/Healing Springs/By Moses,” indicating that Moses was the courier. Madison expected Moses not only to deliver the letter, but to report on the harvest to his father, and to bring back an update from the saddle maker who was working on his riding chair:

“Moses will give you the progress & state of the Harvest. I wish to be informed by his return what passed with the Sadler at the Court House & what & when he is to finish for my chair.” [11]

Was Moses the blacksmith available to act as a courier during a lull in business? Or was this letter carried by a different Moses?

 

Moses in Madison Sr.’s Estate

When James Madison Sr. wrote his will in 1787, he listed only certain enslaved people by name: the people he had already given to his children as an advance on their inheritance; “tradesman Harry,” whom he hoped his wife Nelly would take as part of her share of the estate, and Moses.

“I desire my blacksmith Moses may belong to such of my children as he shall choose to serve, if they are willing to take him at a reasonable price that shall be set on him by three disinterested men.”[12]

Madison Sr. died on February 27, 1801. Moses apparently chose to be enslaved by Madison Jr., who purchased “negro Moses” from the estate for £150 in April 1802.[13] Although the United States used the dollar by this time, many people still made calculations in the familiar British units of pounds, shillings, and pence. The price of £150 was equivalent to about $682 in 1802, which most enslavers would consider a “reasonable price” for a highly-skilled enslaved craftsman still in the most productive years of his working life.[14]

Moses was the only enslaved person whom James Madison Sr. allowed to choose which of Madison’s heirs would be his next enslaver. Will of James Madison Sr., courtesy of the Library of Congress, James Madison Papers.

Years after the fact, when executor William Madison responded to a lawsuit challenging his administration of his father’s estate, he made a revealing side comment about the operation of the blacksmith shop. In discussing possible debts due to his father’s blacksmithing operation, William noted that

“the Blacksmiths shop accounts were kept by the negro smithes.”[15]

This offhand reference reveals that some of the smiths – perhaps Moses – could write and do arithmetic well enough to keep track of the shop’s daily business.

It is unclear what happened to Moses after Madison Jr. purchased him from his father’s estate. Within weeks of his father’s death, Madison had embarked on what would become a sixteen-year tour of duty in the nation’s capital, serving two terms as Jefferson’s secretary of state and two terms as president. Madison returned to Montpelier for only a few weeks each year. He corresponded with his overseers while in Washington, but Moses is not mentioned in the few letters that survive from that correspondence, nor does Moses’s name appear in letters that Madison wrote during his retirement from the presidency.

What happened to Moses? We will probably never know. Perhaps Moses gradually became less able to work during the years that Madison was in Washington, and his duties had been assumed by a younger man by the time Madison retired. Perhaps Moses died while Madison was in Washington, and the letter conveying that news does not survive. We know as little about the end of Moses’s life as we do about its beginning. The references we do have, however, depict Moses as a skilled craftsman whose work was highly valued, even as he himself was viewed as a commodity.

References

[1] James Madison Sr. Miscellaneous Loose Notes from Unknown Account Book, Miscellaneous Reels, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, image 11, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 26491, Montpelier Research Database.

[2] See “upset” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, accessed January 21, 2021, https://ahdictionary.com/; and “jump” in John D. Light, “A Dictionary of Blacksmithing Terms.” Historical Archaeology 41, no. 2 (2007): 84-157, accessed January 21, 2021, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25617445.

[3] Lynne G. Lewis, Scott K. Parker, Larry D. Dermody, and Ann L. Miller, “Crafty Businessmen: a new perspective on 18th-century plantation economics,” Council of Virginia Archaeologists (May 1992), p. 18-19, accessed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 40260, Montpelier Research Database.

[4] Personal Property Tax Records for James Madison, Sr., 1782-1786, Orange County, Virginia, Tax Records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 43968, Montpelier Research Database.

[5] James Madison Sr. Miscellaneous Loose Notes from Unknown Account Book, Miscellaneous Reels, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 26491, Montpelier Research Database.

[6] James Madison Sr. Miscellaneous Loose Notes from Unknown Account Book, Miscellaneous Reels, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 26491, Montpelier Research Database.

[7] James Madison Sr., Account Book D, 1776-1798, Miscellaneous Reels, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 25676, Montpelier Research Database.

[8] Barbour – Johnson Daybook, 1785-1786, box 7, Papers of the Barbour Family, MS 1486, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Virginia, accessed January 20, 2021, MRD-S 38579, Montpelier Research Database.

[9] James Madison, Instructions to Mordecai Collins, Lewis Collins, and Sawney, November 8, 1790, James Madison Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, accesssed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 21794, Montpelier Research Database.

[10] James Madison to James Madison Sr., February 13, 1797, James Madison Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, accessed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 11390, Montpelier Research Database.

[11] James Madison to James Madison Sr., July 6, 1792, James Madison Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, accessed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 10865, Montpelier Research Database.

[12] James Madison Sr., Will dated September 17, 1787, James Madison Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, accessed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 20954, Montpelier Research Database.

[13] Account of James Madison Sr.’s Estate with William Madison, Executor, July 27, 1818, Will Book 5: 242-247, Orange County Courthouse, Orange, Virginia, accessed January 21, 2021, MRD-S 24578, Montpelier Research Database.

[14] Caculated using the helpful tool at Measuring Worth https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/exchange/, accessed January 22, 2021.

[15] Answer of William Madison, April 29, 1835, box HB 606, Chancery Cause Ended 1838, File No. 2 Loose Papers, Orange County Courthouse, Orange, Virginia, accessed January 23, 2021, MRD-S 24746, Montpelier Research Database.

Why did James Madison have a temple in his front yard? He didn’t come here to pray– it wasn’t that kind of temple. Maybe it reminded him of the ancient Roman temple where the “flame of Liberty” was kept burning. But what does “liberty” mean? Does it mean that you can do anything you want? Whenever you want? Of course not! Can you imagine a whole country of people doing whatever they want? Imagine how quickly things would get out of control!

Things were getting out of control after the colonies broke away from the King of England during the American Revolution. The new states didn’t have a good system to govern themselves. They needed a rulebook. They needed a constitution.

Enter James Madison. He read lots of books right here at Montpelier that gave him ideas about the rules that other countries played by, if they didn’t have a king. Madison went to Philadelphia and worked with people from many different states to write a Constitution. His ideas were so helpful that now he is known as the “Father of the Constitution.”

What does the Constitution say about who makes the rules? Instead of a king, it’s “We The People.” The Constitution gives citizens the FREEDOM to govern themselves, to choose their own leaders, and to make their own laws and rules. The Constitution also protects the people’s rights like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press.

At first the Constitution didn’t allow everyone to participate in government, but over the past 240 years, Americans have made changes — things called Amendments– that let more people have rights, and vote, and run for office. Now “We the People” means just about “All the People!”

The United States Constitution is the modern world’s longest lasting Constitution, and many countries have used it as a model when they wrote their own Constitutions . And just think: it all began right here, on this plantation, Montpelier. That’s how Montpelier made its mark on the world!

Madison was the 4th President, but can you guess six other Presidents who came to Montpelier?

Madison’s best friends were Presidents 3 and 5. Maybe you’ll visit their homes, Monticello and Highland. Who were they? … Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe!

President Number 7 visited Montpelier in 1832. Someone in your family might have his picture right now – he’s on the $20 bill. Who was he? … Andrew Jackson!

Three other Presidents visited Montpelier after Madison’s lifetime. They might be harder to guess, but let’s give it a try.

President Number 19 came in 1878, and gave a speech in praise of Madison and the Constitution. In fact, his last name rhymes with “praise.” Any guesses?… Rutherford B. Hayes!

President Number 26 came to Montpelier on Thanksgiving Day 1907, when the duPonts lived here. A toy bear is named for him. Who was he? … Teddy Roosevelt!

And finally, President Number 41 came here in 1991 for the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. His son was a President too. Can you guess? … George H. W. Bush!

That’s a lot of Presidents who made their mark on Montpelier. And today you’re here! Now you’re part of Montpelier’s story too.

Sometimes the people who lived at Montpelier chose to make their mark, but other times they were forced to make their mark. From the time President Madison’s grandparents came to Montpelier, it was a plantation––a huge farm–where enslaved people of African descent grew crops like tobacco, wheat, and corn and did many other jobs to make money for the Madison family. People who were enslaved had many skills and worked hard, but they didn’t get the benefit.

It was not only enslaved adults that labored for the Madisons, but enslaved children were also forced to do a lot of different tasks such as gathering firewood, helping in the kitchens, hauling water, cleaning stables, and… making bricks. Look at this huge house in front of you— each and every one of these bricks was made one at a time, by hand. On plantations, brick-making was often a task given to enslaved children. They pressed wet clay into rectangular-shaped molds. Then the bricks were left in the sun to “bake,” and once enough bricks were made they “fired” them to harden them. Have you ever pressed your fingers into wet clay? What happens when you do that? Your fingerprints make a mark. That’s exactly what happened here when enslaved people were making bricks to build this house. As you walk around the house, see if you can find any fingerprints in the bricks. These fingerprints remind us that nearly 300 enslaved people, of all ages, made their mark on Montpelier.

Since enslaved adults and children did most of the work at Montpelier, they didn’t have a lot of time for fun. What did they do when they did have a little time to themselves? Archaeologists found artifacts – marbles, doll parts, and toy wagon wheels – that tell us that enslaved children sometimes played with toys. Other artifacts, like musical instruments called jaw harps, tell us that enslaved people made music. Many of the activities that enslaved people probably enjoyed, like storytelling or dancing, didn’t leave artifacts in the ground.

The Madisons had much more time to themselves. Written records describe one of their favorite ways to have fun: parties.

Dolley Madison wrote about a barbecue picnic that she and James hosted on the 4th of July 1816. Ninety guests sat at tables set up on the lawn by enslaved people. Enslaved waiters served them roasted meats and punch, and most likely, fresh vegetables from the garden.

We don’t have a written account of what enslaved people had to do to get ready for that party, but historians found one written account that gives us a clue. In 1824, the famous General Lafayette visited Montpelier. A young enslaved maid named Ailsey Payne was there. Years later, she gave a newspaper reporter her eyewitness account. She saw so many horse drawn carriages she could hardly count them. Young enslaved men rode and led the horses. Enslaved people stored all kinds of food and meat in the icehouse. Ailsey Payne helped clean every inch of the House and shined all of the glass, silver, and china.

Ailsey Payne left her mark on Montpelier by telling her story! Will you tell someone about your visit?

Have you ever been asked to “sweep the floor?” Maybe it’s your chore to sweep up the crumbs that fall to the floor after dinner (if you don’t have a dog to do it for you). But have you ever been asked to “sweep the yard?” Archaeologists at Montpelier believe that enslaved people who lived here did just that! They used brooms to sweep away all of the grass and weeds. The ground would have been like a smooth, hard, clay floor.

Sweeping the yard cut down pests and unwanted creatures like ticks, mice, and snakes. It was a natural way of getting rid of pests that ruined food or caused disease.

The building in front of you was once a kitchen. Enslaved cooks labored here from long before sunup to long after sundown to prepare meals for the Madison family and their guests. They could build their hot cooking fires outside in the swept yard so that the work was more tolerable.

Except for the two smokehouses, the buildings here were homes for enslaved families who mostly worked inside the Madisons’ House. Their homes could be crowded, dark, and unbearably hot in summer. Having a smooth, swept yard allowed them to move many of their indoor activities outdoors. Imagine how busy this place would have been!

The ancestors of enslaved people at Montpelier had also swept their yards in Africa.They passed their wisdom along to their descendants. This is just one example of how enslaved people and their ancestors left their mark on Montpelier.

Do you have pets?

The Madisons had a pet parrot named Polly, but most of the animals at Montpelier weren’t pets – they were working animals. Horses pulled plows that made the ground ready for planting wheat or corn. Horses also pulled wagons, loaded with barrels of Montpelier tobaccos or wheat flour, to market in Fredericksburg and Richmond, and brought supplies back. Aleck was an enslaved wagoner who drove and cared for the horses. On one trip to Fredericksburg, Aleck had to borrow 50 cents to go to the blacksmith for new horseshoes so the horses could make the trip back.

Besides horses, there were cows and sheep and pigs at Montpelier. Some animals were raised for food. Sheep were also raised for their woolly coats. Enslaved women spun the wool into yarn or thread, and weavers like Reuben, Amy, and Harriet wove it into cloth.

James Madison wanted to improve the American breeds of cows and sheep. He bought some Merino sheep, because their wool was so good. A friend gave him some Devon calves as a gift, because they were a better breed of cows.

Animals made their mark at Montpelier – and so did the people who worked with them and took care of them!

How do we know what we know about the past? We can’t ask the people who used to live here— they’re long gone. We have to piece together clues from “primary sources”— letters, journals, diaries, paintings, and newspapers. History is kind of like a giant jigsaw puzzle— as we put the pieces together, a picture of the past emerges!

The very first people to live at Montpelier were Native Americans, or Indigenous people. They didn’t leave written records behind, but they did leave artifacts– objects that were made or shaped or used with their own hands. People who study artifacts are called archaeologists. Montpelier’s archaeologists have discovered artifacts that are about 2000 years old. That tells us that Indigenous people were here, thousands of years before the Madisons, or enslaved people, ever set foot on this land.

The Manahoac tribe were the native people living on this land just before the Madisons arrived here. Artifacts show us that the Manahoac made their mark by making their homes here for periods of time. The artifacts found near President Madison’s house, and near his grandparent’s house at Mount Pleasant–objects such as ceramics, stone tools, and projectile points— show us that the Manahoac thought these were good places to live too.

Did you know that there are descendants of Manahoac people living and making their mark in Virginia today? They are now part of the Monocan tribe, one of the 7 Federally recognized tribes in Virginia.

Some of the people that left their mark on Montpelier are buried here in the Madison family Cemetery. Can you guess which of these gravestones marks the final resting place of James Madison? It’s the tallest monument, and it’s called an obelisk. Today it’s easy to spot Madison’s grave, but if you visited Montpelier in the first 20 years after his death, you wouldn’t know where he was buried unless you were a member of his family. James Madison passed away on June 28, 1836, and two days later, he was buried here, in an unmarked grave.

Why would a president of the United States be buried in an unmarked grave? Today we usually place a marker at the head of a grave, but in the 1700s and 1800s people didn’t always do that, especially in a family cemetery where everyone knew where their family members were buried. If you count the gravestones you’ll find that there are about 30, but we know there are about 100 Madison family members buried here.

It wasn’t until 20 years later that people, outside of the Madison family, decided to place the large gravestone to honor the “Father of the Constitution.” Now, ready for a creepy story? Before placing the gravestone, a deep foundation had to be dug to a depth below James Madison’s coffin. “The boards placed above the coffin had decayed…and the coffin lid was slightly out of place…” so the men digging the foundation opened the coffin lid and “looked in upon the remains…” of James Madison!

Some people made their mark at Montpelier by leaving it.

Anthony was just 17 years old when he decided to make his escape from Montpelier. He had been enslaved here all his life, working in the Madisons’ house, and he was ready to take a big risk for freedom. James Madison’s father placed an ad in the newspaper to say that Anthony had escaped. The ad said that Anthony had light hair and gray eyes, and it described his coats, pants, striped overalls, hat, and buckled shoes. The ad offered a reward for capturing Anthony.

Anthony didn’t want to be caught, so he told people his name was Robert Jones. But one year after he escaped, Anthony was found, about 70 miles from Montpelier. He told the men who captured him that he had traveled to port cities in Virginia, to Philadelphia, and even the West Indies.

But the very next day, Anthony escaped again. He managed to get papers that said he was a free man named Billy Willis. There was a rumor that he was heading to Philadelphia. The Madisons never heard from him again. What happened next is a mystery. But Anthony left his mark by taking a big risk for freedom.

The duPont Family bought Montpelier in 1901 and made many changes to the House and the property. Did you see the racetrack on your way in today? You might even have seen some horses!

Marion duPont Scott loved horses and horse racing. She helped make Montpelier one of the most important horse training centers in America. When three of her favorite horses passed away, she had them buried here and put up these markers to remember them.

Perhaps her favorite horse was Battleship. He was so small that people called him the “American Pony,” but Marion DuPont Scott knew that he had big talent. She sent him across the ocean to race in the British “Grand National,” an important steeplechase race that is still run today. The race is over 4 miles long, and the horses have to jump 30 fences! Many people thought that a small horse like Battleship couldn’t possibly win, but in 1938 he surprised them all! To this day, he is still the smallest horse ever to win the British Grand National. You might say that Battleship left his hoofprints on the history of horse racing!

Marion duPont Scott left another mark on Montpelier. She wanted to share Montpelier and its story with everyone. Thanks to her, you can visit Montpelier today!

Lots of people made their mark on Montpelier. But there are two people you might already know: James and Dolley Madison!

How did James Madison make his mark? He was a Virginia lawmaker, a US Congressman, the Secretary of State, and our 4th President! (Not all at the same time.)

But most importantly, Madison was “Father of the Constitution” and “Architect of the Bill of Rights.” He didn’t write those documents all by himself, but he shared lots of good ideas that still help us govern our country. Madison got his ideas from reading books right here at Montpelier, and he made notes to take to the Constitutional Convention.

Madison could spend so much time in public service because his family had money from owning this plantation. The Madisons enslaved people who grew crops and tended animals. The enslaved people didn’t have much choice about being here, but their hard work made Madison’s career possible. The enslaved people made their mark as the “invisible Founders” of our country.

Dolley Madison made her mark too. James was shy and quiet, but Dolley liked to bring people together for dinners and parties, especially in Washington, DC. That made it easier for James to connect with other people in government.

As you explore Montpelier, see what else you’ll find out about people making their mark!

Sign Up!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.