By 1876 Dorsey was a widow and, when learning of Jefferson Davis' misfortunes, she invited him to visit her plantation of Beauvoir and use a cottage. He ended up living there the rest of his life, and their friendship created a scandal, but both ignored it, and his second wife, Varina Davis, also came to stay. In 1878, Dorsey realized she was terminally ill, rewrote her will, and bequeathed her property to Jefferson Davis. He wrote his history of the Civil War there and began his autobiography.