SKU: 38882632745

We Were Always Free: The Maddens of Culpeper County, Virginia: A 200-Year Family History

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We Were Always Free: The Maddens of Culpeper County, Virginia: A 200-Year Family HistoryIn August of 1758, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a poor Irish immigrant named Mary Madden bore a child, Sarah Madden, whose father was said to be a slave and the property of Colonel James Madison, father of the future president of the United States. This daughter, though born a free mulatto, became indentured to the Madisons. There she worked as a seamstress to pay off the fine of her birth until she was 31 years old. Sarah Madden bore ten

In August of 1758, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a poor Irish immigrant named Mary Madden bore a child, Sarah Madden, whose father was said to be a slave and the property of Colonel James Madison, father of the future president of the United States. This daughter, though born a free mulatto, became indentured to the Madisons. There she worked as a seamstress to pay off the fine of her birth until she was 31 years old.

Sarah Madden bore ten children and when the term of her indenture was over, she and her youngest son, Willis, struck out for themselves--Sarah as a seamstress, laundress, and later, with Willis, a dairy farmer and tavern keeper. Stories of Willis and Sarah were passed down in Madden family lore through the generations--their hard work, their business sense, their ability to overcome obstacles, poverty, illiteracy, prejudice. This is the chronicle of those generations, a 200-year history of a kind unusually complete in American history. Two factors make it so--that Sarah Madden and her offspring kept their stories alive, and that they saved hundreds of important documents of their freedom, hardship, and daily work.

These documents came to light in 1949 when author T.O. Madden, Jr. (great great grandson of Sarah Madden) conceived a powerful desire to know more of his bygone generations. He began to investigate, and his search for family brought him to a hidebound trunk originally belonging to his great grandfather Willis. Its contents brought tears to his eyes. Stored there, awaiting discovery, were papers dating back to the mid-eighteenth century, freedom papers, papers of indenture, deeds of land, Sarah Madden's laundry and seamstress record books, letters, traveling passes. In addition, the leather trunk held an exciting, full set of business records for the days of the nineteenth century when Madden's Tavern flourished as a center of activity in Orange County and as a place for travelers to rest on the road to Fredericksburg.

Since that day, T.O. Madden, Jr., has been deeply researching his family, using census reports, other official sources, familly, and friends. All have led to his ably reconstructed family history, and to his own remarkable story. We Were Always Free is a unique and very American family saga.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 06/17/1992
ISBN: 9780393350128
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.57d
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SKU: 38882632745

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Jackster
Phoenix, US
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Recommend for very heavy chewers
Color: Grilled color
My aggressive chewers love these! It’s been a few weeks and still in one piece and man they chew them for hours on end.
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Nicholas Kiefer
Draper, US
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Amazingly great product!
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I’m not just saying this, ok, this is not hyperbole: this is THE best nylon bone for chewing that I have ever purchased. And you get TWO of them for relatively less expensive than most chew toys give you one! I have 2 golden retrievers, and if you know goldens, you know that they are some of the most relentless and powerful chewers around. So I can’t give them almost any toy other than rubber stuff or it will be destroyed in a period of time that doesn’t make it worth it. One of them even figured out how to destroy a supposedly indestructible toy made out of kevlar! She was able to get into it through the seam, which is not kevlar ha ha. Anyway, I digress; I never even considered nylon chews because they suck! Usually. Usually my dogs in the past have lost interest with them in less than a day. I took a chance on these mainly because of the novel shapes, the fact that they give you two, and the low price. Both my goldens LOVE these! Not just for one day, but going on weeks now! I don’t know if it’s the flavor or what, but I will see them gnawing on one of them at some point every day. And they CAN’T destroy them (I knew nylon was good for that, but it was the “who cares” attitude of my previous dogs toward nylon that kept me away). Both the “ribs” and “steak” (quite clever) are a bit worn on the edges now, but they look like they will be around for years. You can’t go wrong with this product (unless for some reason your dog does not like the flavor, but the flavor seems to be what draws my dogs to them). I highly recommend this (these) as the most cost-effective chew toy I’ve ever purchased.
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Sue Roob
Battle Creek, US
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Great for larger dogs
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I think they were heavy duty and durable, but they were too heavy for my dog. The seller was excellent though!
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Rodney
Dallas, US
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Dog chew toys
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Smaller than expected but dogs liked it.
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Shulamit Saeger
Lowell, US
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It ok but a bit small for my golden and I have to supervise him.
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I don't recommend. Too big for my small dog. Too small for my big dog. They have similar bones but these just seem odd. ** WELL actually after some time they both will chew on them, especially my golden. Do be careful watch the dog while chewing. My home health care aid thought they were real. they are holding up well.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2025

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