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Isabella (Minor) Madison (abt. 1663 - aft. 1726)

Isabella Madison formerly Minor aka Todd [uncertain]
Born about in Ware Church, Gloucester, Virginiamap
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
Wife of — married 1690 in King and Queen County, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died after after about age 63 in St. Stephen's Parish, Kent Co., Virginiamap [uncertain]
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Profile last modified | Created 9 Apr 2014
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U.S. President Direct Ancestor
Isabella (Minor) Madison is an ancestor of a US President/Vice President
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Please see the discussion below about her ancestry. No parents should be added to this profile without definitive sources.
20:10, 3 November 2017 (EDT) Lee-5956 for the US Presidents Project

Contents

Biography

GrGrandmother of James Madison 4th US President

Isabella, whose surname and parents are uncertain, was probably born say 1655 based on having a son when she married John Madison. She died after 1725/26 when she was named in an account book of Ambrose Madison (grandfather of Pres. James Madison).[1]

Her first husband may have been named TODD since she had a son Thomas Todd when she married John Madison.[2] She married second circa 1680, at VA, John MADISON Jr, son of John MADISON Sr and Mary (surname unknown, not Ambrose).

  • On 20 Jan 1705/6, Isabella and John sold 300 acres at King William County, VA.[3]
  • Ambrose Madison's will, dated 31 Jul 1732, devised to James Coleman and his wife 600 acres adjoining the plantation owned by James Coleman. (Spotsylvania Co. Records, Will Bk. 3, p. 172) Eleanor was still alive in May of 1751. From Orange Co. VA Deed Bk. 12, pg. 1, May 1751: "James Coleman of St. Thomas Parish, Orange Co., Gentleman, and Eleanor, his wife, Deed to Elizabeth Willis, Orange Co.VA 18 acres-corner to Mr. Richard Todd & John Minor beginning at a pinein a branch, etc., west to the main road." Signed James Coleman, Eleanor Coleman, Elizabeth Willis. Wit: Thos. Scott, George Merrill.

Disputed Origins

The identification of Isabel's maiden name continues to generate lack of agreement.

A hand written tree ascribed to President James Madison identifies her as Isabel Minor Todd, although the word "Todd" is difficult to decipher. "Minor" is clearer.[4] Since James writes his wife's name as D.P. Todd and we know that Dorothea Payne was married first to John Todd, then we can assume the same order of naming was used for his great grandmother. So Isabella was not a Todd, and since middle names were not used then we can assume she was a Minor, if she was married only once previously.

[Bob Allen, San Jose, CA - "MADISONS OF COLONIAL VIRGINIA (Revised)"] believes that Isabella Minor Todd’s maiden name was Minor, not Todd. First of all, middle names were not in general use in VA in the 17th Century, and were even more uncommon for women than men. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Isabella had a middle name. Second, President James Madison’s handwritten genealogy names his wife as “D. P. Todd.” It is well established that President James Madison married Dolly Payne, the daughter of John Payne and Mary Coles. Dolly Payne was previously married to John Todd before marrying James Madison, Jr. Yet when naming his wife in his chart he called her by her previous married name and only used an initial “P” for her maiden name. It would be consistent for him to have done the same with Isabella Minor Todd if she was a widow of Mr. Todd at the time of her marriage to John Madison, Jr.

Some sources identify Isabella's parents as Thomas Todd and Ann Gorsuch[5] One expanded version of the account also says that she was the daughter of Thomas Todd who died in Baltimore Co., MD in 1679. However, this Thomas Todd’s Will mentions 4 daughters, none of whom is Isabella (one is Avarilla). Although Isabella’s maiden name may have been Todd, it is highly doubtful that she was the daughter of this Thomas Todd who died in MD in 1679.

"No evidence can be found that Isabel or Isabella Todd, sometimes called Isabel Minor and possibly a widow was a daughter or 9th child of Capt. Thomas Todd (the 3rd Thomas Todd treated above) and Anne Gorsuch. The descent given in d'Angerville, mentioned earlier in this bibliography, appears also in A. L. Langston and J. O. Bucks, Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, 2 (1974) p. 178, but d'Angerville was apparently this latter's only source. The will of Capt. Thomas Todd, dated 26 Feb 1675/6 and printed in VM 24 (1916) pp. 430 f., and Winston and Allied Families p. 96-8, mentions "my fower daughters Anne, Johanna, Frances and Averilla." That Isabella was a 5th daughter seems highly unlikely. The later history of Averilla, the 8th child of Capt. Thomas and Anne, is unknown. Someone may have once misread Averilla as Isabella and printed the error; a later researcher, unaware of Averilla, may then have assumed that Isabella was a 9th child."[6]

It is also unlikely her parents were John Minor b 1637 and wife Isabell Taylor b 1641, who had one daughter Isabella. Both were deceased at the time of Ambrose's will.

Possible husbands: Some have concluded that because middle names were not in much use at that time, she was therefore born Minor and had previously been married to a Todd.

One candidate for her first husband is the “Mr. William Todd, dec.” who died between 1692-1695 and whose orphans, Margaret Todd and Frances Todd, received a land patent of 500 acres in Stratton Major Parish, King & Queen Co., VA, on 25 October 1695. [Patent Book 9, page 10] This patent says that the land was originally patented to “Mr. William Todd” (the father) on 29 April 1693 and this (1695) patent was necessary to insert a course boundary line omitted from the previous patents. This patent suggests that this William Todd did not have any sons at the time of his death or otherwise the patent would have likely gone to the son(s) instead of to his two daughters. The 29 April 1693 land patent to William Todd is located in Patent Book 8, page 266 and says that this patent followed an order of the General Court in James City, VA, on 24 October 1692.

Another candidate for her first husband may have been John Todd b. 1664, Toddsbury, Gloucester, VA (s/o Capt. Thomas Todd and Anne Gorsuch).

Sources

  1. Genealogy.com, discussion list, Margaret Amundson, "Re: Pres. Madison & issue of descendants," 26 Nov 2001[1].
  2. Genealogy.com, Robert Allen, "Isabella Minor Todd m. John Maddison (c. 1700, VA)," 9 Mar 2002.[2].
  3. Genealogy.com, Robert Allen, "John Mad(d)isons of VA," 3 Apr 2000.[3]
  4. James Madison, Family Tree, 1813-1819. Holograph draft. Madison Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
  5. George Iru Todd, ed., The Todd Family in America or the Descendants of Christopher Todd 1637-1919, (Northampton, Massachusetts: Press of Gazette Printing Co. (1920), Google Books (Digital Library), p 11.[4]
  6. Gary Boyd Roberts, "Third Addendum to the Presidential Bibliography," The American Genealogist, (AmericanAncestors.org, NEHGS, 2009-), 1893, 59 (1983):3.

Trees on the Web that seem to "drive" incorrect data

King William County Genealogy & History: missing records history





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Isabella by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Isabella:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 15

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Todd-9882 and Minor-671 appear to represent the same person because: same husband
posted by Steve Hunt
Minor-721 and Minor-671 appear to represent the same person because: the dates are very different, the Minor-721 profile includes a husband that has been speculation for years. We need to see the sources for all of this information. But, clearly with the marriage to Madison, these profiles are intended to be the same person, we just do not know if there is a second woman by the same name that needs to be considered in the process of merges.
posted by Robin Lee
Please provide your sources, the dates and all are so different than what is on the other profile that we want to merge into.....I do not want us to make a mistake
posted on Minor-721 (merged) by Robin Lee
Could Minor be a statement of age?
posted by [Living Snyder]
Todd-5015 and Minor-671 appear to represent the same person because: please see discussion on last name on Minor-671, unless you have primary sources to further defend the last name as Todd, please approve this merge
posted by Robin Lee
It is my understanding that Isabelle and John had a son around 1695 named Thomas - but I don't see him listed above. I no longer have my great-grandmother's research notes to consult for a source, though. I have Thomas m. Johanna UNKNOWN (d. 1758) and had children J. (1719), Ambrose ('24), Jane ('28), Humphrey ('30), Ann* (1733) who married John Jones, Sarah ('36), Mary ('38), George ('40), Roger('44), Elizabeth ('47)
posted by DK Clews
Todd-4203 and Minor-671 appear to represent the same person because: now that we have a decent source and write up on our evidence around her maiden name, this merge should proceed.
Is this the wife of Madison-15?
posted by Cynthia (Billups) B
The founders website has verifiable information. Thanks for sharing, Betty.
posted by [Living Stewart]
I've seen the page you are referring too, Betty. It is still argumentive. Some expert authorities believe that her maiden name was Minor while other believe Todd was a married name. I am not an expert. Thank you for the source though.  :)
posted by [Living Stewart]
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?pagegr&GRid55453559 link to Isabella Toddbury Minor Madison.
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-01-02-0063-0001 has a family tree with a old photo of family tree written by John Madison. Would this help?
Hope,

Do you have a copy of the marriage from the international marriage records? Page #, dates, author and year of publishing? What you quoted below could be used as secondary sources.

posted by [Living Stewart]

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