“James Madison Jr., the future president, saw Coreen walking back and forth between the kitchen and the mansion. And he wanted her,” Mom stated simply. “As soon as she became pregnant with his child, she began to worry she would not be allowed to keep the baby for more than a few years. Coreen gave birth to a boy. She named him Jim. Raising him, Coreen lived in constant dread that he would be taken from her. She had heard of family members, even mothers and infants, being sold and separated by hundreds of miles, never to see each other again.
“In Jim’s teenage years, Coreen’s fear became reality. He had been born around 1792. A few weeks after his birth, Dolley’s sister-in-law died, leaving two daughters — Susan, a toddler, and Victoria, an infant. Dolley agreed to take care of them. When the children arrived at Montpelier, she assigned Coreen to be Victoria’s wet nurse. Coreen nursed Victoria on one breast and Jim on the other. The two children became inseparable.
“Many plantation owners believed that black people lacked the ability to read, write, or ‘figger.’ The slaves knew this was not true. As Jim grew up, he hid behind the door and listened in on Victoria and Susan’s lessons. His father saw him hiding there but did nothing. Allowing Jim to learn,” Mom speculated, “was Madison’s way of showing love for his son.
“When Victoria was 12, Dolley told her she could no longer be around boys, especially slave boys, like Jim.
“In 1809, when Madison became president, he brought Coreen and Jim to Washington. Dolley directed the other house slaves to make sure her niece was not around when Jim was working. But Victoria was hardheaded; she hid in the armoires in the Madison family bedrooms, where they shared their deepest thoughts and feelings. It didn’t take long for Jim and Victoria to fall in love.
“One of the maids found out and suggested they stay away from each other. Jim was worried the maid would report them to Dolley, so he went to his mother. She burst into tears when he disclosed how he felt about Victoria. Coreen knew her boy could be sold or killed. She persuaded the steward to let Jim work in the kitchen, where it would be easier to keep the young lovers apart. But Victoria followed him there. One of the chefs, a slave, warned her that if she didn’t stop sneaking into the kitchen, he would have to tell the mistress.
“In 1812,” Mom continued, “the United States declared war on Great Britain, and on August 24, 1814, British soldiers and slaves who had been freed and recruited to fight with them advanced on Washington. Dolley told Jim to save the American flag. He folded it, secured it under his shirt, then ran to hide in the woods with the other slaves.
“Years after the war,” Mom said, “Jim told his children how worried he was that lightning and flames from the burning city would reveal his hiding place.