Martha Washington
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Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731. She was the first child of John Dandridge and Frances Jones, followed by seven brothers and sisters. Her father, John Dandridge, immigrated to America in 1714 from England, and by the time of his marriage to Frances Jones, John Dandridge had become a successful planter in colonial Virginia. The Dandridges were part of the minor local gentry, owning around 500 acres of land and 20 enslaved people. They lived in Chestnut Grove, a two-story house John had built for his family.
The family garnered a level of respect in Virginia, and Martha was expected to make a good marriage. When Martha was courted by Daniel Parke Custis, however, she exceeded her family’s expectations. At the time of their marriage, Martha was 19 years old, and Daniel was 39 years old. The son of one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, John Custis VI owned thousands of acres of land and enslaved almost 300 people. The elder Custis initially opposed his son's marriage because of Martha’s inferior wealth and status. However, Martha herself arranged a meeting with him to change his mind, and afterwards he supported the match.
After Martha and Daniel married in May 1750, they moved into the Custis’s Virginia estate, called White House. Here, Custis exported tobacco from his over 17,500 acres of land. Martha became the mistress of the house, in charge of domestic duties such as hosting formal dinners, overseeing the work of enslaved people in the house, and rearing her children.
Martha gave birth to her first child—a son named Daniel Parke Custis—in November 1751. She gave birth to a daughter—Frances Parke Custis—in April 1753. Both children died before they reached the age of 5. She gave birth to John Parke Custis in 1754 and Martha Parke Custis in 1756. These children survived and brought her much joy in her domestic life.
Martha’s domestic bliss was interrupted on July 8, 1757, when Daniel Parke Custis died after a sudden bout of illness. With her seven-year marriage ended, she became a widow at the age of 26 with two small children to raise. Upon Daniel’s death, Martha inherited his estate and the responsibility of managing it. She was soon sought after by suitors, one of whom quickly sparked affection.
There is no record of Martha Custis and George Washington’s first meeting. As they both lived within the world of the Virginia elite, it is possible they met while Martha and Daniel Custis were married. By the time Martha became one of the wealthiest widows in the colonies, George Washington had a career as a military leader in the British Army during the French and Indian War. His own social status improved due to a tragedy, when he inherited Mount Vernon after his older brother’s untimely death. George visited Martha at her home in March 1758, and after only a few meeting, they made wedding plans. George resigned his military commission, and on January 6, 1759, they married at Martha’s home.
While Martha and George had no children together, they raised Martha’s two children, Jack and Patsy Parke Custis, at Mount Vernon. Their lives were typical of typical Virginia planters, with Martha attending to the domestic duties of the family. She oversaw the labor of the many enslaved people who worked in the house, welcomed guests to the home and oversaw her children’s education. While these years were full of domestic happiness, the family suffered a tragedy when seventeen-year-old Patsy died from chronic epilepsy in 1773.
Martha’s life changed greatly again during the Revolutionary War, making her into a public figure. She strongly supported of the revolutionary cause, and when her husband became the General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, she continued to support him. Martha Washington spent every winter with George in the Army’s winter encampments, from Cambridge to Valley Forge, Morristown, and other locations.
Washington requested her presence at the winter encampments, and he regarded her as so important to the cause that he had Congress reimburse her travel expenses. She spent her time at the encampments entertaining other officers and their wives, assisting Washington as his confidant and secretary, and boosting morale around the camp. In 1780, Martha became the public face of an effort to raise money to provide soldiers with supplies.
The news of British General Cornwallis's army surrender at Yorktown in 1781 came as bittersweet news. At that same time, Martha experienced another loss when her only remaining son, Jack, died at Yorktown of camp fever. He was survived by his wife, Eleanor Calvert Custis, and their four children. For the next six years after the war, Martha and George lived at Mount Vernon, helping to raise two of the grandchildren, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis and George Washington “Washy” Parke Custis. The Washingtons hosted hundreds of people a year at Mount Vernon who wished to meet the most renowned couple in the country.
When Washington was elected president in 1789, Martha Washington became the first First Lady. While she would have preferred to no longer be in public life, she accepted her new role and helped establish what it meant to be a first lady. The role required her to maintain a full social calendar, receive guests, host parties and make calls on important members of society in the temporary capital of New York City and eventually Philadelphia. She hosted weekly levees on Friday evenings, which allowed citizens to have access to the President and First Lady.
Throughout Washington’s two presidential terms, Martha waited to return to the life at Mount Vernon that she cherished. In March 1797, at the end of George’s political career, they returned to Mount Vernon where Martha would spend the rest of her life. After only two years of being together at Mount Vernon, George Washington died on December 14, 1799, leaving Martha devastated. Sometime during the years after his death, she burned their correspondence that had accumulated over the past forty years. She continued to live at Mount Vernon with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, until on May 22, 1802, when she passed away at home.
Martha and George Washington were married for almost forty years, during an era of transformation for their country which challenged and strengthened their relationship. While her legacy is intertwined with the military and political career of her husband, she made her own mark as the first First Lady and symbol of motherhood in the new nation.
