James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia.

He served as the fourth U.S. president from 1809 to 1817.

Here are the years of Monroe's presidency in context:

 

One of President Madison's major concerns was the War of 1812, which was fought from 1812 to 1815.

And Napoleon, who was at the height of his game 1804-1815, made sure that Madison's foreign affairs experts didn't fall asleep. Case in point, the Cadore Letter.

 

 

Dolley Madison

On September 15, 1794, James Madison married the 26-years-old widow Dolley (or Dolly) Todd, nee Dolley Payne.

By her first husband, the lawyer John Todd, Dolley had two sons, John Payne Todd, who lived 1792-1852, and William Isaac Todd, who was born in 1793 and died at three months old, the same day as his father (yellow fever).

James and Dolley Madison didn't have any children together.

Dolley Madison 1768-1849
From an original picture by Gilbert Stuart
in possession of Richard Cutts, Esq. M.D., Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress

Dolley not only turned out to be a real treasure in terms of character, personality, and IQ. She also set the bar very high for future American first ladies.

In fact, The National First Ladies' Library tells us that,

According to legend, it was at Dolley Madison's funeral that incumbent President Zachary Taylor eulogized her as "First Lady," perhaps thus being the first known use of the title in connection with a president's wife. No record of his eulogy is extant.

1st "First Lady" or not, in 1999 and to commemorate the 150th anniversary of her death, Dolley became the first First Lady to be featured on a silver dollar.

And the U.S. Mint explains why she deserved it:

Dolley Madison defined the role of our nation's First Ladies, setting the tone for presidential spouses since.

[...]

Known for her grace and wit, Dolley Madison served 16 years as hostess of the White House, first during the presidency of the widowed Thomas Jefferson, and later during the administration of her own husband.

[...]

When the British advanced upon Washington in 1814, Dolley Madison showed the courage for which she would also be remembered. As the British set fire to large parts of the nation's capital, Dolley Madison rescued Gilbert Stuart's famous portrait of George Washington and a number of important government papers.