As the first US consul in Liverpool, Maury was prominent in his lifetime, but little-known today. His friendship with Madison has left an intriguing paper trail.  Hilarie will discuss how researchers have scoured Maury and Madison's letters for insights into Montpelier plantation operations and the Madisons' buying habits.

Hilarie M. Hicks is the Senior Research Historian at James Madison’s Montpelier. Hilarie came to Montpelier in 2010 and joined the Research Department in 2011, where she conducts documentary research in support of the Montpelier Foundation’s many programs. She served on the research and writing team for the award-winning exhibition The Mere Distinction of Colour, and is currently writing biographies of the enslaved for The Naming Project on Montpelier’s Digital Doorway website. She is also a regular contributor to the website’s “Digging Deeper” blog. Her research interests include agriculture, livestock, and plantation operations at Montpelier, as well as the lives of James and Dolley Madison. Hilarie has served as a judge in the We the People student civics competition and has served as a board member of the Orange County Historical Society.

Hilarie has a broad background of experience in research, interpretation, and administration of historic sites. Before coming to Montpelier, Hilarie served as Curator of Interpretation at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens (New Bern, NC) and Executive Director of the Rosewell Foundation (Gloucester, VA). She is an alum of the College of William and Mary (B.A.), the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies (M.A.), and the Seminar for Historical Administration (now the AASLH History Leadership Institute).

Portrait of James Maury (1746–1840), by Gilbert Stuart Newton, Walker Art Gallery