Madeleine was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. She was the only daughter of Samuel F. Vinton, who served as a Whig leader in Congress. Her first marriage was to Daniel Convers Goddard, with whom she had two children before his passing. In 1865, she married Admiral John Dahlgren, and had three children by that marriage. She wrote prose and poetry under the name “Corinne,” and "Cornelia". She was the author of “Biography of Admiral Dahlgren,” a number of novels, among which are “South Mountain Magic,” “A Washington Winter,” “The Lost Name,” “Lights and Shadows of a Life,” “South Sea Sketches,” and a volume on “Etiquette of Social Life in Washington.” She was responsible for the building of Dahlgren Chapel in South Mountain, Maryland. She was one of the founders and vice-president of the Literary Society of Washington, and was at one time president of the Ladies Catholic Missionary Society of Washington.

Additional information: DAHLGREN, Mrs. Madeleine Vinton, author, born in Gallipolis, Ohio, about 1835. She is the only daughter of Samuel F. Vinton, who served for a quarter of a century with much disjunction as a Whig leader in Congress. Her maternal ancestors were French. At an early age she became the wife of Daniel Convers Goddard, who left her a widow with two children. On 2nd August, 1865, she became the wife of Admiral Dahlgren, and has three children of that marriage. Admiral Dahlgren died in 1870. As early as 1859 Mrs. Dahlgren contributed to the press, prose articles under the signature "Corinne," and, later, some fugitive poems. She also wrote under the pen-name "Cornelia." In 1859 her little volume, "Idealities" (Philadelphia), appeared, and this was her first work in book form. Since then she has found time to write upon a great variety of subjects. She has made several translations from the French, Spanish and Italian languages, notably Montalembert's brochure, "Pius IX.," the abstruse philosophical work of Donoso Cortes from the Spanish, and the monograph of the Marquis de Chambrun on "The Executive Power" (Lancaster, Pa., 1874). These translations brought her many complimentary recognitions, among others a flattering etter from the illustrious Montalembert, an autograph letter from Pope Pius IX., the thanks of the Queen of Spain, and a complimentary notice from President Garfield. She is the author of a voluminous "Biography of Admiral Dahlgren," and a number of novels including "South-Mountain Magic" (Boston, 1882), "A Washington Winter" (Boston, 1883), "The Lost Name ' Boston, 1886), "Lights and Shadows of a Life" (Boston 1887), "Divorced" (New York, 1887), "South Sea Sketches" (Boston), and a volume on "Etiquette of Social Life in Washington" (Philadelphia. 1881), "Thoughts on Female Suffrage (Washton, 1871), and also of a great number of essays, articles, reviews and short stories written for papers and periodicals. Social questions and the live topics of the day have especially occupied her attention. Occasionally Mrs. Dahlgren has expressed herself in verse, and several of her efforts ave found a place in anthologies of poets. Mrs. Dahlgren's estate is on South Mountain, Md., overlooking the battle-field. She is a woman of fine talents and a thorough scholar. Her writings show considerable versatility, and in the social circles of Washington, where her winters are spent, she is a literary authority. In 1870 and 1873 she actively opposed the movement for female suffrage, and drew up a petition to Congress, which was extensively signed, asking that the right to vote should not be extended to women. The Literary Society of Washington, of which she was one of the founders, held its meetings in her house for six years, and she was elected its vice-president She was for some time president of the Ladies' Catholic Missionary Society of Washington, and has built the chapel of St. Joseph's of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, on South Mountain, Md.