The Dahlgren Family

Sarah Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, was the daughter of Congressman Samuel Finlay Vinton of Ohio. Her first husband, David Converse Goddard, died in 1862, leaving her with one daughter. She married John A. Dahlgren, a widower with two children, in 1865. Together they had three more children and were very active in Washington Society.

Rear Admiral Dahlgren, U.S.N., a close confidant of President Lincoln, invented the Dahlgren Gun used by the U.S.S. Monitor in its battle with the Merrimac. He died in 1870 and both Dahlgren Hall and the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and Dahlgren, Virginia, home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, were named in his honor. He is recognized today as the "Father of the United States Naval Ordnance".

Madeleine Dahlgren published several works, among them Memoirs of Admiral Dahlgren and The Executive Power in the United States. She also translated a number of Catholic works from French and Spanish and was identified with her missionary work. Her book South Mountain Magic described the folklore of the people she came to know and appreciate. As a wealthy widow, Mrs. Dahlgren maintained both her summer residence on South Mountain and a home on Sheridan Circle in Washington, DC.