Martha Dandridge Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States, and therefore is seen as the first First Lady of the United States although that title was not coined until after her death; she was simply known as "Lady Washington".

George Washington took his oath of office in New York City on April 30, 1789, and assumed the new duties of President of the United States, his wife brought to their position a tact and discretion developed over 58 years of life in Tidewater Virginia society.

Early Life

Martha ("Patsy") Dandridge was the eldest daughter of Virginia planter John Dandridge and Frances Jones. Martha was born near Williamsburg, Virginia. She enjoyed riding horses, gardening, sewing, playing the spinet and dancing. Her father saw that she received a fair education in basic mathematics, reading and writing, something girls primarily did not receive at the time.

At the age of 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a rich bachelor two decades her senior. They had four children together. A son and a daughter, Daniel and Frances, died in childhood, but two older children, John (Jacky) Parke Custis and Martha ("Patsy") Parke Custis survived to young adulthood. 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 was left with the duties of running the household, the estate and raising her children. Fatherless children were usually "raised" under the auspices of a guardian, even if the mother survived — which meant that another male, primarily a relative, took care of the estates of the children. Her early education proved quite helpful in the task. Her husbands former business manager stayed on to help with the operation of the plantation and she consulted with lawyers when she felt it was necessary.

Marriage to George

Two years after the death of her first husband, Martha Dandridge Custis married Colonel George Washington on January 6, 1759. Washington had been commander of the First Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War and had been elected a burgess representing Frederick County in 1758. He had acquired Mount Vernon by lease from the widow of his half-brother Lawrence in 1754. He inherited the plantation upon her death in 1761. Before his marriage, Washington had increased the size of Mount Vernon from the original one-and-one-half-story dwelling to a two-and-one-half story home. George and Martha Washington and her children Jacky and Patsy moved to Mount Vernon in April 1759.

Mount Vernon remained George and Martha's home until their respective deaths, although they spent much time elsewhere during the war and presidential years. Martha's teenage daughter Patsy died at Mount Vernon. The following year, Martha's son John Parke Custis married Eleanor Calvert. George Washington attended the wedding, but Martha was so grief-stricken over Patsy's death, she was unable to make the trip. Jacky and Eleanor had five children.

Valley Forge

The political unrest in the colonies was becoming more apparent and voltile. The colonists were being burdened with an inordinant amount of taxes and levies. The Founding Fathers were friends and neighbors of George and Martha. Martha's friends and family were supporters on either sides, which made her feel at times alienated on both sides. George, however, felt it was his duty to assume some role of leadership at the urging of some of his fellow patriots. He began by working on recruiting and training an armed force. Militia were organized by state. Knowing he would have to be away from Martha, he asked Jacky and Eleanor to stay at Mount Vernon while he was gone.

George Washington soon became the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and he took charge of his army at Cambridge, Massachusetts in the winter of 1775. George's family and some friends traveled two weeks to be with him there for Christmas. Martha stayed with him until June of 1776, but the others returned home soon after Christmas. She wouldn't see him again until March of 1777, where the army was encamped at Morristown for the winter. The General was feeling ill and his wife was there to nurse him. He sent her home when the fighting got closer.

Jacky volunteered to be George's aide. He was enlisted only a few days when he died. Jacky was the last of Martha's children and she was quite distraught. George told her to stay at Mt. Vernon instead of being with him that winter. Eleanor became sick and left two of her children (Nelly and Wash) in Martha's care.

The war ended on November 25, 1783, when the British left their last stronghold. Washington said farewell to his troops at Fraunces Tavern in New York, shopped for gifts for his grandchildren in Philadelphia and resigned his commission in Annapolis then the temporary home of Congress. On Christmas Eve, he rode into Mt. Vernon.

Eleanor soon remarried a widower, Dr. Stuart, who had set up practice in Alexandria. Due to some confusion in guardianship and Martha's own distress at losing her grandchildren, Nelly and Wash ended up staying at Mt. Vernon.

First Lady

The Constitutional Convention was convening and George traveled to take part. He was named president of the convention and before ratification of the new Constitution, he was being urged to accept the role of the President of the United States. He returned to Mt. Vernon. Both he and Martha realized that he would be President by the beginning of 1789. In April, he was elected unanimously by the Electoral College.

Martha opposed his election as president of the newly formed United States of America, and refused to attend the inauguration, but gracefully fulfilled her duties as the official state hostess during their two terms.

The Custis estate

Some of the estate left by Daniel Parke Custis to his descendants was eventually confiscated from George Washington Parke Custis's son-in-law, Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery. In 1882, after many years in the lower courts, the matter of the ownership of Arlington National Cemetery was brought before the United States Supreme Court. The Court affirmed a Circuit Court decision that the property in question rightfully belonged to the Lee family. The United States Congress then appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of the property from the Lee Family.

Later Life

Martha Washington survived her husband and died at Mount Vernon, Virginia. She was buried on May 22, 1802 at Mount Vernon. In 1831, her remains were moved from their original burial site a few hundred feet to a brick tomb that overlooks the Potomac River. In 1902 Martha Washington was the first American woman to be commemorated by a U.S. postal stamp.

Mrs. Washington had a row galley named in honor of her, the USS Lady Washington (1776). 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 first lady and the only known vessel in the Continental Navy named in honor of a woman.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brady, Patricia. "Martha Washington: An American Life." Viking/Penquin 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.

External links

• White House biography

Preceded by: None

First Lady of the United States 1789–1797

Succeeded by: Abigail Adams

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