Martha Parke Custis Peter (December 31, 1777 – July 13, 1854) was a granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and a step-granddaughter of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Early life

Martha Parke Custis was born on December 31, 1777 in the Blue Room at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. She was the second-eldest surviving daughter of

John Parke Custis John Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) was an American planter class, planter and politician. Custis was a son of Martha Washington, Martha Dandridge Custis (later Washington) and Daniel Parke Custis, and later, the stepson o ...

, son of Martha Washington and her first husband

Daniel Parke Custis Daniel Parke Custis (October 15, 1711 – July 8, 1757) was an American planter and politician who was the first husband of Martha Dandridge. After his death, his widow, Martha Dandridge Custis married George Washington, who later became the fir ...

, and his wife

Eleanor Calvert Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (born Eleanor Calvert; 1758 – September 28, 1811) was a member of the wealthy American Calvert family of Maryland. She was the wife of politician John Parke Custis who was the son of Daniel Parke Custis and Martha ...

, daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert and his wife Elizabeth Calvert. Martha was named for her father's late sister, Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis (1756–1773). Her siblings included

Elizabeth Parke Custis Law Elizabeth Parke Custis Law ( Elizabeth Parke Custis; August 21, 1776 – December 31, 1831),"Obituary: Elizabeth Parke Custis Law", ''Richmond Enquirer'', 3 January 1832 sometimes known as Eliza Law, was the eldest granddaughter of Martha Dandri ...

(1776–1831),

Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (March 31, 1779 – July 15, 1852) was a granddaughter of Martha Washington and a step-granddaughter of George Washington. Early life Nelly was born on March 31, 1779, at Mount Airy, her maternal grandfather's estate ...

(1779–1854), and

George Washington Parke Custis George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American antiquarian, author, playwright, and slave owner. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. His father John Parke Custis served in the American Revolution wi ...

(1781–1857). She was known to her family as "Patsy," like her aunt and namesake. At first the family alternated between living at the Washingtons' plantation,

in Virginia, and the Calverts' plantation, Mount Airy in Maryland. In 1778, John Parke Custis purchased Abingdon, a plantation on the west bank of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

(now the site of

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and ope ...

). Abingdon was conveniently located equidistant between Mount Vernon and Mount Airy.

Marriage and children

Martha married Thomas Peter in 1795 at Hope Park in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...

, Virginia. The young bride requested from her step-grandfather George Washington a miniature of himself as a wedding gift. Painted in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

between 1794 and 1795 by Walter Robertson, the miniature was a

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, set in gold, and depicted Washington in his

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

uniform. Martha and Thomas had eight children, but only five of them lived to adulthood. *Martha Eliza Eleanor Peter (January 20, 1796 – August 31, 1800), died in childhood *Columbia Washington Peter (December 2, 1797 – December 3, 1821) *John Parke Custis Peter (November 14, 1799 – January 19, 1848), married Elizabeth Jane Henderson *George Washington Parke Custis Peter (November 18, 1801 – December 10, 1877), married Jane Boyce *America Pinckney Peter Williams (October 12, 1803 – April 25, 1842), married William George Williams *Robert Thomas Peter (November 7, 1806 – October 5, 1807), died in infancy *Martha Custis Castania Peter (October 5, 1808 – April 5, 1809), died in infancy *Britannia Wellington Peter Kennon (January 28, 1815 – January 27, 1911), married

Beverley Kennon Beverley Kennon (April 7, 1793 – February 28, 1844) was a career officer in the United States Navy who attained the rank of captain as head of the Bureau of Construction and Repair. He died as a result of the explosion aboard USS ''Princeton''. ...

(1793–1844)

Slaves and inheritances

Upon her marriage, Martha inherited 61 slaves from her late father's estate. Thomas almost immediately auctioned them off to raise cash, an action that may have inspired the stern rebuke against the breaking up of slave families that George Washington delivered in his will. Her step-grandfather bequeathed her $8,000, 1/32 of his estate. Martha Washington died in 1802, and Thomas Peter served as executor of her estate. The Peters purchased at a private sale many objects from Mount Vernon to preserve her grandparents' legacy. Martha Peter inherited approximately 35 dower slaves from Mount Vernon following her grandmother's death (from grandfather

's estate). She later inherited about 40 additional slaves following the 1811 death of her mother (from father

's estate).As widow of an intestate husband, Eleanor Calvert Custis (later Stuart) was granted the lifetime use of 1/3 of the assets of John Parke Custis's estate, including its slaves. Upon her death, her third of the Custis estate, including its slaves, was inherited by the couple's 4 children.

Tudor Place

Her $8,000 (~$ in ) inheritance from George Washington was used to purchase property in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1805. The property, comprising one city block on the crest of Georgetown Heights, had an excellent view of the

. The couple commissioned Dr. William Thornton, architect of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

, to design their mansion which they named

Tudor Place Tudor Place is a Federal-style mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington. The property, comprising one city block on the crest of Ge ...

Later life

Martha Parke Custis Peter died in July 1854.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Martha Parke Custis 1777 births 1854 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 18th-century American women 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American women American socialites American slave owners Burials at Mount Vernon Custis family (Virginia) Episcopalians from Virginia People from Arlington County, Virginia People from Fairfax Station, Virginia People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) People from Mount Vernon, Virginia Washington family Women slave owners