Martha DANDRIDGE^[1]

1731 - 1802  (70 years)

• Name	Martha DANDRIDGE  [2, 3, 4]
  Birth	21 Jun 1731	New Kent County, Virginia
  Gender	Female
  HIST	A mezzotint of Martha Dandridge Custis, based on a 1757 portrait by John Wollaston. On January 6, 1759, Washington married the widow Martha Dandridge Custis. Surviving letters suggest that he may have been in love at the time with Sally Fairfax, the wife of a friend. Some historians believe George and Martha were distantly related. Nevertheless, George and Martha made a good marriage, and together raised her two children from her previous marriage, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, affectionately called "Jackie" and "Patsy" by the family. Later the Washingtons raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. George and Martha never had any children together—his earlier bout with smallpox followed, possibly, by tuberculosis may have made him sterile. The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon, where he took up the life of a planter and political figure.[31] Washington's marriage to Martha, a wealthy widow, greatly increased his property holdings and social standing. He acquired one-third of the 18,000 acre (73 km²) Custis estate upon his marriage, and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha's children. He frequently bought additional land in his own name. In addition, he was granted land in what is now West Virginia as a bounty for his service in the French and Indian War. By 1775, Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (26 km2), and had increased the slave population there to more than 100 persons. As a respected military hero and large landowner, he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses, beginning in 1758.[32] Martha Washington From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the first First Lady of the United States. For the comic character from Give Me Liberty, see Martha Washington (comics). Martha Washington First Lady of the United States In office April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 Preceded by None Succeeded by Abigail Adams Born June 2, 1731 Chestnut Grove, New Kent County, Virginia Died May 22, 1802 (aged 70) Mount Vernon, Virginia, United States Spouse(s) Daniel Parke Custis (1750-1757) George Washington (1759-1799) Relations John Dandridge and Frances Jones Children Daniel Parke Custis, Jr., Frances Custis, John Parke "Jacky" Custis, Martha Parke "Patsy Custis Occupation First Lady of the United States Religion Anglican Signature Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States. During her lifetime, she was known as "Lady Washington." Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Martha Washington and Slavery 3 USS Lady Washington 4 U.S. Postage Stamp 5 Appearance on U.S. Currency 5.1 Paper currency 5.2 First Spouse Coin 6 References 7 External links [edit] Biography Born on her parents' plantation Chestnut Grove on June 2, 1731, at 10:29 a.m., she was the oldest daughter of Virginia planter John Dandridge (1700–1756) and Frances Jones (1710–1785). Martha was the eldest of three brothers and five sisters, John Dandridge (1733-1749), William Dandridge (1734-1776), Bartholomew Dandridge (1737-1785), Anna Marie "Fanny" Dandridge Bassett (1739-1777), Frances Dandridge (1744-1757), Elizabeth Dandridge Aylet Henley (1749-1800), Mary Dandridge (1756-1763) Her younger illegitimate half-sister (date of birth unrecovered) was a slave, Ann Dandridge Costin, who was one-quarter African, one-quarter Cherokee Indian, and half-white; there is further evidence of an illegitimate half-brother Ralph Dandridge (date of birth unrecovered), who was probably white.[citation needed] At the age of 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a rich planter two decades her senior. They lived at White House Plantation on the south shore of the Pamunkey River, a few miles upriver from Chestnut Grove. She had four children by Custis. A son and a daughter, Daniel (1751–1754) and Frances (1753–1757), died in childhood, but two other children, John (Jacky) Parke Custis (1754–1781) and Martha ("Patsy") Parke Custis (1756–1773) survived to young adulthood. Daniel Custis' death in 1757 left Martha a rich widow, with independent control over a dower inheritance for her lifetime and trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children. Martha Dandridge Custis in 1757. Martha Dandridge Custis, aged 27, and George Washington, aged nearly 27, married on January 6, 1759 at her estate, known as the White House, on the Pamunkey River northwest of Williamsburg. It seems likely that Washington had known Martha and her husband for some time. In March 1758 he visited her at White House twice; the second time he came away with either an engagement of marriage or at least her promise to think about his proposal. She was, at the time, also being courted by the immensely rich planter Charles Carter.[1] Their wedding was a grand affair. The groom appeared in a suit of blue and silver with red trimming and gold knee buckles; the bride wore purple silk shoes with spangled buckles.[2] After the Reverend Peter Mossum pronounced them man and wife, the couple honeymooned at White House for several weeks before setting up housekeeping at Washington's Mount Vernon. Their marriage appears to have been a solid one, untroubled by infidelity or clash of temperament. Martha and George Washington had no children together, but they raised Martha's two surviving children. Her teenaged daughter, also named Martha, died during an epileptic seizure, which led John to return home from college to comfort his mother. John later served as an aide to Washington during the siege of Yorktown in 1781. John died during this military service, probably of typhus. After his death, the Washingtons raised two of John's children, Eleanor Parke Custis (March 31, 1779 - July 15, 1852), and George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 - October 10, 1857). They also provided personal and financial support to nieces, nephews and other family members in both the Dandridge and Washington families. Content to live a private life at Mount Vernon and her homes from the Custis estate, Martha Washington nevertheless followed Washington into the battlefield when he served as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. She spent the infamous winter at Valley Forge with the General, and was instrumental in maintaining some level of morale among officers and enlisted troops. She opposed his election as President of the newly formed United States of America, and refused to attend his inauguration (April 30, 1789. As the First Lady, Mrs. Washington hosted many affairs of state at New York and Philadelphia (the capital was moved to Washington D. C. in 1800 under the Adams administration). Martha Washington and her husband both died at Mount Vernon, with Martha dying on May 22, 1802, slightly over two years after her husband. In 1831, her remains were moved from their original burial site a few hundred feet to a brick tomb that overlooks the Potomac River. [edit] Martha Washington and Slavery Martha Washington was raised in a time when chattel slavery was legal in all the American colonies. No record exists of her questioning the ethical or moral foundations of the "peculiar institution." Following the 1757 death of Martha's first husband, the widow received a "dower share," the lifetime use of (and income from) one third of his estate, with the other two-thirds held in trust for their minor children. The full Custis Estate contained plantations and farms totaling about 27 square miles (70 km2), and 285 enslaved men, women, and children attached to those holdings. In 1759 Martha's dower share included at least 75 slaves. Upon his 1759 marriage to Martha, George Washington became the legal manager of the Custis Estate, under court oversight. In actuality, estate records indicate that Martha Washington continued to purchase supplies, manage paid staff, and make many other decisions. Although the Washingtons wielded managerial control over the whole estate, they received income only from Martha's "dower" third. Washington used his wife's great wealth to buy land, more than tripling the size of Mount Vernon (2,650 acres in 1757, 8,251 acres (33.39 km2) in 1787). For more than 40 years her "dower" slaves farmed the plantation alongside his own. The Washingtons could not sell Custis land or slaves, which were held in trust for Martha's only surviving child, John. "Washington's Family" by Edward Savage, painted between 1789 and 1796, shows (from left to right): George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington, Eleanor Parke Custis, Martha, and an enslaved servant: probably William Lee or Christopher Sheels. Seven of the 9 slaves that President Washington brought to Philadelphia (the national capital, 1790-1800) to work in the executive mansion were "dowers." Pennsylvania had begun an abolition of slavery in 1780, but non-residents were allowed to hold slaves in the state for up to 6 months. The Washingtons rotated the President's House slaves in and out of the state before the 6-month deadline to prevent their establishing residency (and legally qualifying for manumission). Washington reasoned that should the "dowers" attain their freedom due to his negligence, he might be liable to the Custis Estate for the value of those slaves. Martha Washington was personally upset when her lady's maid Oney Judge, a "dower" slave, fled the Philadelphia household during Washington's second term. According to interviews with Oney in the 1840s,[1] the First Lady had promised the young woman as a wedding gift to granddaughter Eliza Custis. Oney hid with free-black friends in the city, and then traveled to the north. Patricia Brady, in her 2005 biography of Martha Washington, writes: "Martha felt a responsibility for the unsophisticated girl under her care, especially since her mother and sister were expecting to see her back at Mount Vernon. What she could never understand was that (Oney had)...a simple desire to be free. Ona, as she preferred to call herself, wanted to live where she pleased, do what work she pleased, and learn to read and write . . . Ona Judge professed a great regard for Martha and the way she had been treated, but she couldn't face a future as a slave for herself and her children." (Brady, p. 209) In March 1797, during the Washington family's last week in Philadelphia, their chief cook Hercules also fled slavery, leaving a daughter at Mount Vernon who told a visitor that she was glad her father was free. By 1799 the number of "dower" slaves was 153, the number of Washington slaves was 124, and at least a dozen couples had intermarried. In Washington's will[2] he resolved to free his own slaves following his death, but his hope of purchasing the "dowers" from the Custis Estate and freeing them too, or of setting up a system by which the "dowers" would be rented out and gradually work themselves out of slavery came to nought. To spare Martha the spectacle of witnessing slave families torn apart, Washington directed in his will that his slaves not be freed until after her death. Martha freed Washington's slaves on January 1, 1801. Abigail Adams visited Mount Vernon two weeks earlier, and wrote: "Many of those who are liberated have married with what are called the dower Negroes, so that they all quit their [family] connections, yet what could she do?" Adams cited a sinister motive for Martha freeing Washington's slaves early: "In the state in which they were left by the General, to be free at her death, she did not feel as tho her Life was safe in their Hands, many of whom would be told that it was [in] their interest to get rid of her--She therefore was advised to set them all free at the close of the year.--" (A.A. to Mary Cranch, 21 December 1800) Following Martha's 1802 death, the "dower" slaves were inherited by her four grandchildren (the children of Jacky Custis). She bequeathed the one slave she owned outright, Elisha, to her grandson George Washington Parke Custis. An 1878 portrait by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews. Author Henry Wiencek, in his 2003 book "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America", writes that Martha Washington owned her own mulatto half-sister, a slave named Ann Dandridge, who had a child by Martha's son (and therefore Ann's nephew), John Parke "Jack" Custis. He bases his assertion on original documents he discovered in the files of Mount Vernon and the Virginia Historical Society, and states that previous historians ignored the documentary evidence that this sister existed. According to Wiencek, this incident was among several that led George Washington to call slavery repugnant, and probably influenced Washington's decision late in life to free all his slaves. The existence of a slave named Ann Dandridge is recognized in Helen Bryan's 2001 "Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty." However this book draws upon Wiencek's research. Bryan stated that the "shadow sister" was close to Martha's age and had been with her since they were children. Brady, in a brief bibliographical note at the end of her book (page 256), denies the existence of Martha Washington's half sister and asserts that Wiencek and Bryan accepted "family mythology" and "lore" as fact. Brady does not offer a review of the documentary evidence discovered by Wiencek in the Virginia Historical Society and in the Washington, D.C., archives where Ann Dandridge's manumission is recorded--Land Records, Liber H., #8, p. 382; Liber R, #17, p. 288. In assessing the documents that have survived on this question, Wiencek notes that Ann Dandridge was omitted from the Custis estate records and the records of slaves at Mt. Vernon. Having studied plantation families for many years, Wiencek observes that family ties between slaves and slave owners were often kept hidden. [edit] USS Lady Washington Mrs. Washington had a row galley named in her honor, the USS Lady Washington. It holds the distinction of being the first U.S. military ship to be named in honor of a woman and for a vessel named while the person was still alive (see also List of U.S. military vessels named after living Americans). It has a number of other distinctions as well, as the first ship named after a (future) First Lady and one of the few active vessels in the U.S. Navy named in honor of a woman (see also USS Hopper (DDG-70)). [edit] U.S. Postage Stamp In 1902 Martha Washington became the first American woman to be commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp. It was an 8 cent stamp. In 1923, a second stamp was issued in her honor, a 4 cent. The third Martha Washington stamp, of 1½¢ denomination, was issued in 1938. [edit] Appearance on U.S. Currency [edit] Paper currency Martha Washington is the only woman whose portrait has appeared on the face of a U.S. currency note. It appeared on the face of the $1 Silver Certificate of 1886 and 1891, and the back of the $1 Silver Certificate of 1896. An 1856 national banknote carried The baptism of Pocahontas on its reverse face. [edit] First Spouse Coin The First Spouse Program under the Presidential $1 Coin Act authorizes the United States Mint to issue 1/2 ounce $10 gold coins and bronze medal duplicates[3] to honor the first spouses of the United States. Martha Washington's coin was released on June 19, 2007, and was sold out in just hours. Obverse Reverse Obverse (bronze medal) Reverse (bronze medal) [edit] References 1. ^ Two 1840s interviews with Oney Judge 2. ^ Last Will and Testament of George Washington 3. ^ U.S. Mint: First Spouse Program. Accessed 2008-06-27. "The United States Mint also produces and make available to the public bronze medal duplicates of the First Spouse Gold Coins." ▪ Brady, Patricia. "Martha Washington: An American Life." Viking/Penguin Group, New York, New York, 2005. ISBN 0-670-03430-4. ▪ Wiencek, Henry. "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America." Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, hardbound edition 2003, paperback edition 2004. ISBN 0-374-52951-5. [edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martha Washington Wikisource has original works written by or about: Martha Washington Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Martha Washington ▪ Martha Washington at findagrave ▪ White House biography ▪ Biography from National First Ladies Library Honorary titles New title First Lady of the United States 1789–1797 Succeeded by Abigail Adams [hide] v • d • e First Ladies of the United States Martha Washington · Abigail Adams · Martha Jefferson Randolph · Dolley Madison · Elizabeth Monroe · Louisa Adams · Emily Donelson · Sarah Jackson · Angelica Van Buren · Anna Harrison · Jane Harrison · Letitia Tyler · Priscilla Tyler · Julia Tyler · Sarah Polk · Margaret Taylor · Abigail Fillmore · Jane Pierce · Harriet Lane · Mary Lincoln · Eliza Johnson · Julia Grant · Lucy Hayes · Lucretia Garfield · Mary McElroy · Rose Cleveland · Frances Cleveland · Caroline Harrison · Mary Harrison · Frances Cleveland · Ida McKinley · Edith Roosevelt · Helen Taft · Ellen Wilson · Edith Wilson · Florence Harding · Grace Coolidge · Lou Hoover · Eleanor Roosevelt · Bess Truman · Mamie Eisenhower · Jacqueline Kennedy · Lady Bird Johnson · Pat Nixon · Betty Ford · Rosalynn Carter · Nancy Reagan · Barbara Bush · Hillary Rodham Clinton · Laura Bush · Michelle Obama Categories: First Ladies of the United States | George Washington | Washington family | British North American Anglicans | People from New Kent County, Virginia | 1731 births | 1802 deaths | Custis family of Virginia | Dandridge family of Virginia | American Episcopalians | English Americans | American planters article discussion edit this page history Try Beta Log in / create account navigation ▪ Main page ▪ Contents ▪ Featured content ▪ Current events ▪ Random article search   interaction ▪ About Wikipedia ▪ Community portal ▪ Recent changes ▪ Contact Wikipedia ▪ Donate to Wikipedia ▪ Help toolbox ▪ What links here ▪ Related changes ▪ Upload file ▪ Special pages ▪ Printable version ▪ Permanent link ▪ Cite this page languages ▪ Български ▪ Česky ▪ Cymraeg ▪ Deutsch ▪ Español ▪ Esperanto ▪ Euskara ▪ Français ▪ 한국어 ▪ Hrvatski ▪ Bahasa Indonesia ▪ Italiano ▪ עברית ▪ ქართული ▪ Latina ▪ मराठी ▪ Nederlands ▪ 日本語 ▪ Polski ▪ Português ▪ Русский ▪ Sicilianu ▪ Simple English ▪ Slovenčina ▪ Suomi ▪ Svenska ▪ ไทย ▪ 中文 ▪ This page was last modified on 27 October 2009 at 22:39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. ▪ Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers  [3, 5]
  _UID	E1CEE65385634487BBD3511AC4AB7EBC3D9F
  Death	22 May 1802	Mount Vernon, Virginia
  Person ID	I49632	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	4 Aug 2011

  
  

  Father	DANDRIDGE
  _UID	B064445C9F60420580C84EC83A326B8AB9A7
  _UID	B064445C9F60420580C84EC83A326B8AB9A7
  Family ID	F181279	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Daniel Parke CUSTIS,   b. Abt 1718   d. 1757 (Age 39 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1748
  _UID	C78787AE87A241B38C497B62474DFCA6887C
  _UID	C78787AE87A241B38C497B62474DFCA6887C
  Notes	Collier's Encyclopedia 1965 Edition Vol 23 page 290.
  Children	1. John Parke CUSTIS,   b. Abt 1757   2. Martha Parke CUSTIS
  Family ID	F23415	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family 2	General George WASHINGTON,   b. 22 Feb 1732, Wakefield, Virginia d. 14 Dec 1799, at his home, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia (Age 67 years)
  Marriage	6 Jan 1759	St. Peter's Church
  _UID	73DE95C94393476FBE1A01AD248783604F47
  _UID	73DE95C94393476FBE1A01AD248783604F47
  Notes	Collier's Encyclopedia 1965 Edition Vol 23 page 290.
  Family ID	F26067	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Notes

  Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, wife of George Washington, was born on June 21, 1731 (old style), in New Kent County, Virginia. The daughter of a landowning family in the Tidewater region, she was reared in the plantation tradition - little schooling and early marriage. At the age of seventeen she was married to Daniel Parke Custis, heir to large plantations, who was then thirty and semi-invalid. During the following eight years she bore four children, two of whom died in infancy. The only son of the marriage, John, was born just before Custis died in 1757, leaving Martha a wealthy widow at the age of twenty-six. Martha's subsequent marriage to George Washington was apparently against her family's wishes, as he was not considered her equal socially. At her wedding on Jan. 6, 1759 (probably at St. Peter's Church, near the Custis estate), she was described as short and slight with brown eyes and light brown hair, a pleasing young woman who danced well and played the spinet. When Washington was appointed commander in chief of the American army in 1775, Martha Washington became a public figure. Each winter during the Revolution, she was driven to her husband's headquarters, her coach usually laden with provisions from the Washington's plantation at Mount Vernon. She endured Valley Forge without complaint. She spent two years with the army at Newburgh, New York, while the peace treaty was pending. After a brief period at Mount Vernon with her two grandchildren - the children of John Custis whom Washington had adopted - she was for eight years the nation's First Lady, in New York and Philadelphia. Martha Washington survived her husband by about two years. During her last illness she burned all of his letters to her. She died at Mount Vernon on May 22, 1802. Collier's Encyclopedia 1965 Edition Vol 23 page 290.

  
  

• Sources

  [S217] jenmend.ged. [S12979] . [S13043] . [S16420] Paul John, (Published by the Author * 203 Live Oak * Baytown, Texas 77520 * 1982). [S12971] .