Washington, Martha Custis (1731-1802), was the wife of George Washington. When he took office as the first president in 1789, she became America’s first first lady.
Martha Washington was born on June 2, 1731, near Williamsburg, Virginia. Her father, Colonel John Dandridge, was a wealthy landowner. Martha had no formal schooling. Until she married Washington, she had never traveled beyond Virginia. At the age of 17, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy Virginia planter 13 years older than she. They had four children, two of whom died in childhood. The other two died before Washington became president. The death of Custis in 1757 made Martha one of the richest women in Virginia.
No one knows when Martha Custis first met George Washington. They may have met at a neighbor’s home in Williamsburg early in 1758. Washington was then a colonel in the militia. She was eight months older than he. They were married on Jan. 6, 1759.
Washington called his wife by her childhood nickname, “Patsy.” During the Revolutionary War, she traveled long distances to share his hardships. Mrs. Washington joined him at his camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the winter of 1777-1778. She also spent the harsh winters of 1778-1779 and 1779-1780 with him in camp at Morristown, New Jersey. She organized a women’s sewing circle and mended clothes for the troops.
As first lady, Mrs. Washington managed the president’s home with dignity and grace. But she did not enjoy being first lady. She said she felt like a “state prisoner.” Many people called her “Lady Washington.” But Mrs. Washington dressed so plainly that people often mistook her for the family maid.
Loading the player...Washington, the first President of the United States of America
After Washington’s death in 1799, she continued to live at Mount Vernon, their estate. Shortly before she died on May 22, 1802, she burned the letters Washington had written her. Mrs. Washington was buried at Mount Vernon.
