Nelly Madison's Sitting Room
Stop in to visit with the "Old Lady" of Montpelier
Unlocking Nelly Madison's Sitting Room
This sitting room was where James Madison's mother, Nelly Conway Madison spent much of her time. She lived until she was 98 years old, and occupied the southern wing of the main house. By unlocking her sitting room you will learn about what her many visitors had to say, the evidence of colonial architecture in the room, how archaeology informs the ceramics in the room, and how a portrait helped us furnish the room itself.
Nelly's Sitting Room Web Map
Learn about Nelly Madison's Sitting Room
See what we have unlocked so far, and what we still have to uncover!
What did the Visitors have to say?
Visitors frequently stopped in to see Nelly Madison, and she left many of them with an impression.
Nelly's Sitting Room Visitor Accounts
Here what Senior Research Historian Hilarie Hicks has uncovered from the documentary resources:
🗝 Colonial Architecture in the Original House
Because this room was part of the original 1765 house, the architecture provides a number of clues about the original construction of the building that were unaltered despite the 1809 modifications.
Details of the window in the Sitting Room's closet are the only evidence of the 18th century windows in the house.
🗝 Nelly Madison's Ceramics
How did we choose the ceramics to put in Nelly's room?
Ceramics in Nelly's Room
Curator of Archaeological Collections will walk you through some of the archaeological discoveries that informed the ceramics in Nelly's room, particularly looking at the unique clouded or tortoise shell patterned ceramics that have been discovered at Montpelier!
The Portrait
Historical documents, archaeology, and architecture are not the only clues we used to piece together what Nelly Madison's sitting room may have looked like. We rely on every type of clue to build the most authentic representation of her space as we possibly could. This includes using period art to influence our decisions. Listen to Collections Manager Jenniffer Powers talk about how this painting of Nelly informed our interpretation.
Nelly Madison's Sitting Room cap and shawl
Nelly Conway Madison by Charles Peale Polk, 1799, Belle Grove Collection
You did it!
Now that you've spent time visiting with James Madison's mother, it is time to move into the main drawing room!
The Drawing Room
See All the Rooms
See what we have unlocked so far:
