John Parke Custis
Encyclopedia
John Parke Custis was a Virginia
planter, the son of Martha Washington
and stepson of George Washington
.
, a wealthy planter, and Martha Dandridge Custis
, he was most likely born at White House
, his parents' plantation on the Pamunkey River
in New Kent County, Virginia
.
Following his father's death in 1757, almost 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land and about 285 enslaved Africans were held in trust for him. In January 1759, his mother married George Washington
. The Washingtons then raised him and his younger sister Martha (Patsy) Parke Custis (1756-1773) at Mount Vernon
. Washington became his legal guardian, and administrator of the Custis Estate. Upon his sister's death in 1773 at the age of sixteen, Custis became the sole heir of the Custis estate.
, a daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert
and granddaughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
. George and Martha were greatly surprised by the marriage choice due to the couple's youth. During that year, Custis began to attend King's College (later Columbia University
) in New York City
, but left soon afterwards when his sister died.
On February 3, 1774, Custis married Eleanor at her family's home at the Mount Airy estate, whose restored mansion is now in Rosaryville State Park
in Greater Upper Marlboro
, Prince George's County
, Maryland
. After their marriage, the couple settled at the White House plantation. After the couple had lived at the White House for more than two years, John Parke Custis purchased the Abingdon plantation
in Fairfax County, Virginia
(now in Arlington County, Virginia
), into which the couple settled during the winter of 1778-1779.
According to one account, Custis served on Washington's staff during the Siege of Boston
in 1775-1776 and served as an emissary to the British forces there. He became the friend of a young British officer who gave him a weeping willow
(Salix babylonica) twig that he planted at Abingdon. The tree that grew from the twig reportedly became the parent of all weeping willows in the United States.
In 1778, Custis was elected to the Virginia General Assembly
as a delegate from Fairfax County. Washington was apparently not pleased with Custis' reported performance in the legislature. Washington wrote to Custis: “I do not suppose that so young a senator as you are, so little versed in political disquisition, can yet have much influence in a popular assembly, composed of various talents and different views, but it is in your power to be punctual in attendance.”
The terms of Abingdon's purchase were extremely unfavorable to Custis. His behavior in this and other matters prompted Washington to write: "I am afraid Jack Custis, in spite of all of the admonition and advice I gave him about selling faster than he brought, is making a ruinous hand of his Estate." By 1781, the financial strains of the Abingdon purchase had almost bankrupted Custis.
John and Eleanor had seven children, four of whom lived to maturity:
. However, Custis contracted "camp fever" there. Shortly after the surrender of Cornwallis
, Custis died on November 5, 1781, in New Kent County at Eltham, the home of Colonel and Mrs. Burwell Bassett, brother-in-law and sister of Martha Washington. He was buried at his family's plot near Queen's Creek
in York County
, near Williamsburg, Virginia
.
With Custis's premature death at age 26 (nearly 27), his widow left their two youngest children (Eleanor and George) at Mount Vernon to be raised by the Washingtons. In 1783, she married Dr. David Stuart
of Alexandria, Virginia
, with whom she had 16 more children.
Custis died intestate, so his estate was not fully liquidated until the 1811 death of his widow; his four children inherited more than 600 slaves.
Part of the Abingdon estate is now on the grounds of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
At the time that he purchased Abingdon, Custis also bought a nearby property that after his death became the Arlington Plantation
and later, Arlington National Cemetery
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
planter, the son of Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington 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...
and stepson of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Childhood
The son of Daniel Parke CustisDaniel Parke Custis
Daniel Parke Custis was a wealthy Virginia planter whose widow, Martha, married George Washington.He was the son of John Custis , a powerful member of Virginia's Governor's Council, and Frances Parke Custis...
, a wealthy planter, and Martha Dandridge Custis
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington 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...
, he was most likely born at White House
White House (plantation)
White House, an 18th-century plantation on the Pamunkey River near White House in New Kent County, Virginia, was the home of Martha Dandridge Custis and Daniel Parke Custis after they were married in 1750. They had four children, two of whom survived childhood...
, his parents' plantation on the Pamunkey River
Pamunkey River
The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York River it is part of the watershed of Chesapeake Bay.-Course:...
in New Kent County, Virginia
New Kent County, Virginia
At the 2000 census, there were 13,462 people, 4,925 households and 3,895 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile . There were 5,203 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
.
Following his father's death in 1757, almost 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land and about 285 enslaved Africans were held in trust for him. In January 1759, his mother married George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. The Washingtons then raised him and his younger sister Martha (Patsy) Parke Custis (1756-1773) at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
. Washington became his legal guardian, and administrator of the Custis Estate. Upon his sister's death in 1773 at the age of sixteen, Custis became the sole heir of the Custis estate.
Family
In 1773, at the age of eighteen, "Jacky", as he was known by his family, announced to the Washingtons his engagement to Eleanor CalvertEleanor Calvert
Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart was a prominent member of the Calvert family of Maryland. Upon her marriage to John Parke Custis, she became the daughter-in-law of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington and the stepdaughter-in-law of George Washington...
, a daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert
Benedict Swingate Calvert
Benedict Swingate Calvert was a Maryland Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland , and may have been the grandson of King George I of Great Britain...
and granddaughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, 3rd Proprietor and 17th Proprietary Governor of Maryland, FRS was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland...
. George and Martha were greatly surprised by the marriage choice due to the couple's youth. During that year, Custis began to attend King's College (later Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but left soon afterwards when his sister died.
On February 3, 1774, Custis married Eleanor at her family's home at the Mount Airy estate, whose restored mansion is now in Rosaryville State Park
Rosaryville State Park
Rosaryville State Park is a state park in Greater Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland. It includes the restored Mount Airy Mansion, an event facility that Pineapple Alley Catering, Inc. operates...
in Greater Upper Marlboro
Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Greater Upper Marlboro is a census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States that completely surrounds Upper Marlboro, the county seat...
, Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. After their marriage, the couple settled at the White House plantation. After the couple had lived at the White House for more than two years, John Parke Custis purchased the Abingdon plantation
Abingdon (plantation)
Abingdon was an 18th- and 19th-century plantation that the prominent Alexander, Custis, Stuart, and Hunter families owned. The plantation's site is now located in Arlington County in the U.S...
in Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
(now in Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
), into which the couple settled during the winter of 1778-1779.
According to one account, Custis served on Washington's staff during the Siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
in 1775-1776 and served as an emissary to the British forces there. He became the friend of a young British officer who gave him a weeping willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
(Salix babylonica) twig that he planted at Abingdon. The tree that grew from the twig reportedly became the parent of all weeping willows in the United States.
In 1778, Custis was elected to the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
as a delegate from Fairfax County. Washington was apparently not pleased with Custis' reported performance in the legislature. Washington wrote to Custis: “I do not suppose that so young a senator as you are, so little versed in political disquisition, can yet have much influence in a popular assembly, composed of various talents and different views, but it is in your power to be punctual in attendance.”
The terms of Abingdon's purchase were extremely unfavorable to Custis. His behavior in this and other matters prompted Washington to write: "I am afraid Jack Custis, in spite of all of the admonition and advice I gave him about selling faster than he brought, is making a ruinous hand of his Estate." By 1781, the financial strains of the Abingdon purchase had almost bankrupted Custis.
John and Eleanor had seven children, four of whom lived to maturity:
- Elizabeth Parke CustisElizabeth Parke Custis LawElizabeth Parke Custis Law was a granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and the step-granddaughter of George Washington. She was a social leader of the District of Columbia and a preserver of the Washington family heritage.-Early life:Elizabeth Parke Custis was born on 21 August 1776...
(1776–1831), married Thomas LawThomas Law HouseThe Thomas Law House was built in 1796 near present day 6th and N Streets, Southwest in Washington, D.C. Originally inhabited by Thomas Law and Elizabeth Parke Custis, oldest granddaughter of Martha Washington.... - Martha Parke CustisMartha Parke Custis PeterMartha Parke Custis Peter was a granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and the step-granddaughter of George Washington.-Early life:Martha Parke Custis was born on 31 December 1777 in the Blue Room at Mount Vernon...
(1777–1854), married Thomas PeterTudor PlaceTudor Place is a mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, the step-granddaughter of George Washington, who left her the $8,000 in his will that was used to purchase the property in 1805... - Eleanor (Nelly) Parke CustisEleanor Parke Custis LewisEleanor Parke Custis Lewis , known as Nelly, was the granddaughter of Martha Washington and the step-granddaughter of George Washington.-Childhood:Nelly was the daughter of John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert Custis...
(1779–1852) (born at Abingdon), married Lawrence Lewis - George Washington Parke CustisGeorge Washington Parke CustisGeorge Washington Parke Custis , the step-grandson of United States President George Washington, was a nineteenth-century American writer, orator, and agricultural reformer.-Family:...
(1781–1857) (born at Mount Airy), married Mary Lee FitzhughMary Lee Fitzhugh CustisMary Lee Fitzhugh Custis was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria County...
.
Death
Custis served as a civilian aide-de-camp to Washington during the siege of YorktownSiege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
. However, Custis contracted "camp fever" there. Shortly after the surrender of Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
, Custis died on November 5, 1781, in New Kent County at Eltham, the home of Colonel and Mrs. Burwell Bassett, brother-in-law and sister of Martha Washington. He was buried at his family's plot near Queen's Creek
Queen's Creek
Queen's Creek is located in York County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States...
in York County
York County, Virginia
York County is a county located on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Situated on the York River and many tributaries, the county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown...
, near Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
.
With Custis's premature death at age 26 (nearly 27), his widow left their two youngest children (Eleanor and George) at Mount Vernon to be raised by the Washingtons. In 1783, she married Dr. David Stuart
David Stuart (Virginia)
David Stuart was an associate and correspondent of George Washington. When Washington became President of the United States, he appointed Stuart to be one of the three commissioners that were in charge of siting and designing the nation's new capital city.-Private life:Born in Scotland, Stuart...
of Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, with whom she had 16 more children.
Custis died intestate, so his estate was not fully liquidated until the 1811 death of his widow; his four children inherited more than 600 slaves.
Part of the Abingdon estate is now on the grounds of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
At the time that he purchased Abingdon, Custis also bought a nearby property that after his death became the Arlington Plantation
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, formerly named the Custis-Lee Mansion, is a Greek revival style mansion located in Arlington, Virginia, USA that was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It overlooks the Potomac River, directly across from the National Mall in Washington,...
and later, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...