Martha Washington
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."
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.
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, 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.
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. 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.
This is a
projection cache set up for true north.
Start point is: N
42 31.328 W 082 55.406
Project a point:
416 ft. at 346 degrees to find the cache.