John Payne Todd (February 29, 1792 – January 16, 1852), was an American secretary. He was the first son of Dolley Payne and John Todd Jr. His father and younger brother died in the

1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 5,000 or more people were listed in the official register of deaths between August 1 and November 9. The vast majority of them died of yellow fever, making the epidemic in the city of 50,000 ...

, which killed nearly 10 percent of the city's population. His mother remarried the following year, to the older

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

, the future president of the United States. Madison adopted Todd at age two and tried to help him in what developed as a difficult life. Believed to be alcoholic, Todd was repeatedly jailed for shooting incidents, and ran up debts in gambling. His parents bailed him out of debtors' prison, mortgaging Madison's Montpelier to raise the money. His stepfather had him manage Montpelier at one point, but Todd was unsuccessful. Todd died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

less than three years after his mother's death of old age.

Early life and education

John Payne Todd was the first son of Dolley Payne and John Todd Jr. He had a younger brother, William Temple Todd. Both his brother and father died the same day of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

in the 1793 epidemic. The following year, his 26-year-old widowed mother married the future President

, then 43. He adopted Payne. Madison sent Todd as a youth for eight years to St. Mary's Seminary, a Catholic boarding school in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, but he seemed unsuited for academic work., n.d., ''Liberty and Learning'', James Madison University (PDF)

Career

As an adult, Todd never settled into a career. Believed to be

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, he was belligerent, and was repeatedly convicted of shooting incidents and sentenced to serve jail time for assaults and disruption of the peace. Twice he was sent to

debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...

, and his stepfather had to cover much of his debts and bail bonds by mortgaging his Montpelier

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

. During his second term, Madison assigned his stepson as secretary to an official delegation to Europe, but the 21-year-old Todd spent much of the time drinking, shooting and acquiring art. For a time, Madison assigned him to manage operations at Montpelier, but Todd was not successful.

Later life

Because of his problems, Todd contributed to his mother's late life poverty, as she and Madison had sacrificed for him during their lives.

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

sold the family's Montpelier plantation to cover his debts and gain some living expenses. But, she was still devoted to him. She lived with and was cared for by her niece Anne Cutts, and bequeathed her half of her estate. Todd threatened to sue Cutts to gain more of his mother's estate, all that was left from money she received for selling Madison's papers to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. She died at age 81. Todd survived his mother by two and a half years. She willed her remaining slaves to him. He was nearly 60 when he died of

on January 16, 1852, in Washington, DC. He is buried in the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

. Payne Todd's will provided for the

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...

of all his slaves upon his death. His debts delayed their release, but the Taylor family petitioned for freedom from James C. McGuire, administrator of the estate, which they were granted in 1853. They continued to live in Washington, where Ralph Taylor had been a servant to Dolley Madison. He was joined by his wife Catherine and children, who had been living and working on Todd's estate."Exhibit Tells Catherine Taylor's Story"
''Slaves and Freedmen'', Blog, James Madison's Montpelier, accessed 17 August 2012

References

External links

*, American History TV, CSPAN3, on YouTube, accessed April 16, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, John Payne 1792 births 1852 deaths 18th-century American people 19th-century American people American adoptees American slave owners Burials at the Congressional Cemetery Children of presidents of the United States Deaths from typhoid fever Madison family People from Philadelphia St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni