Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (March 31, 1779 – July 15, 1852), known as Nelly, was a granddaughter of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 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 served as the inaugural ...

and a step-granddaughter and adopted daughter of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

Childhood

Nelly was a daughter of

John Parke Custis John Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) was an American planter. He was a son of Martha Washington and stepson of George Washington. Childhood A son of Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter with nearly three hundred enslave ...

and Eleanor Calvert Custis. Her father was the only surviving son of Daniel Parke Custis and his widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, who married

in 1759. She was also the granddaughter of

Benedict Swingate Calvert Benedict Swingate Calvert (January 27, 1722 – January 9, 1788) was a planter, politician and a Loyalist in Maryland during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Mar ...

, an illegitimate son of

Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just fifteen, on the death of his father and gra ...

, whose mother may have been a granddaughter of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

. He was certainly descended from Charles II through the king's daughter by

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of En ...

, Charlotte FitzRoy. Nelly was most likely born at Mount Airy, her maternal grandfather's estate in

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

, although local tradition holds that she was born at Abingdon, her father's estate in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

(now the site of

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

). Following the premature death of their father John Parke Custis in 1781, Nelly and her brother, George Washington Parke Custis, were informally adopted by the Washingtons and grew up at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, although they visited their mother, stepfather David Stuart and older sisters at Abington and later at Dr. Stuart's estates in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. During

George Washington's presidency The presidency of George Washington began on April 30, 1789, when Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1797. Washington took office after the 1788–1789 presidential election, the n ...

, Nelly helped entertain guests at the first presidential mansion on Cherry Street in New York City, the second presidential mansion on Broadway in New York City, and the third presidential mansion in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Marriage, death, and burial

On February 22, 1799, Nelly Custis married George Washington's nephew, the widower Lawrence Lewis of

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg w ...

. The Washingtons' wedding gift was adjacent to Mount Vernon, on which the Lewises built Woodlawn Plantation. The Lewises had eight children, four of whom lived to adulthood: * Frances Parke Lewis (1799–1875), married Edward George Washington Butler, nephew of General Richard Butler. * Martha Betty Lewis (1801–1802), died in infancy * Lawrence Fielding Lewis (1802–1802), died in infancy * Lorenzo Lewis (1803–1847), father of

Edward Parke Custis Lewis Edward Parke Custis Lewis (February 7, 1837 – September 3, 1892) was a Confederate Army colonel, lawyer, legislator, and diplomat who served as United States Minister to Portugal from 1885 to 1889. Early life Lewis was born at Audley, hi ...

, grandfather of Esther Maria Lewis Chapin. * Eleanor Agnes Freire Lewis (1805–1820), died unmarried * Fielding Augustine Lewis (1807–1809), died in childhood * George Washington Custis Lewis (1810–1811), died in infancy * Martha Eleanor Angela Lewis Conrad (1813–1839), died unmarried * Eleanor also suffered miscarriages in 1800, 1804, 1806, 1808, 1809, 1811, 1812 and 1814. Upon her marriage, Nelly Lewis inherited about 80 slaves from her father's estate. Her grandfather Daniel Parke Custis's estate was liquidated following Martha Washington's death in 1802, and Nelly Lewis inherited about 35 "dower" slaves from Mount Vernon. Following the death of Eleanor Calvert in 1811, the John Parke Custis estate was liquidated, and Nelly Lewis inherited approximately 40 additional slaves. In about 1830, the Lewises moved to Audley plantation in

Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,783. Its county seat is Berryville. Clarke County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistic ...

. Beginning in the mid-1830s, they began dividing their time between Virginia and their daughters' homes in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. Nelly Custis Lewis continued to live at Audley after her husband's death in 1839. Throughout her life, she regarded herself as a preserver of George Washington's legacy. She shared memories and mementos, entertained and corresponded with those seeking information on the first president, and verified or debunked stories. A shaft to the east of the Washingtons' tomb at Mount Vernon marks her burial site.(1)
(2)

References

Sources

* Brady, Patricia. ''Martha Washington: An American Life''. New York: Viking/Penguin Group, 2005. . * Kneebone, John T., et al., eds. ''Dictionary of Virginia Biography''. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1998-. Volume 3, pages 627-628. . * Ribblett, David L. ''Nelly Custis: Child of Mount Vernon''. Mount Vernon, Va., 1993.

External links

*
Woodlawn Plantation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Eleanor Parke Custis 1779 births 1854 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians 18th-century American women 19th-century American women American socialites American women slave owners American slave owners Burials at Mount Vernon Custis family of Virginia Lewis family People from Arlington County, Virginia People from Fairfax County, Virginia People from Mount Vernon, Virginia Washington family Children of presidents of the United States