Daniel Parke Custis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait byJohn Wollaston, 1757 | |
| Born | (1711-10-15)October 15, 1711 York County, Virginia, British America |
| Died | July 8, 1757(1757-07-08) (aged 45) New Kent County, Virginia, British America |
| Resting place | Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery |
| Occupations | Planter and Politician |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Daniel Parke Custis Jr. Frances Parke Custis John Parke "Jacky" Custis Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis |
| Parent(s) | John Custis IV Frances Parke Custis |
| Relatives | Daniel Parke (maternal grandfather) |
Daniel Parke Custis (October 15, 1711[1] – July 8, 1757) was an American planter and politician who was the first husband ofMartha Dandridge. After his death, his widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, marriedGeorge Washington who later became the firstpresident of the United States after it achieved independence.
Custis was born inYork County, Virginia, on October 15, 1711. He was one of two children ofJohn Custis IV (1678–1749), a powerful member of Virginia's Governor's Council, and Frances Parke Custis. The Custis family was one of the wealthiest and most socially prominent of Virginia.[2] Custis' mother, Frances, was the daughter ofDaniel Parke, a political enemy of the Custises, and his wife.[3]
As Daniel Custis was the sole male heir in the Custis family, he inherited the Southern plantations owned by his father.[4] However, Custis did not choose to take a leading role in colonial Virginia politics.
At the age of 37, Custis met 16-year-oldMartha Dandridge atSt. Peter's Church, which they both attended. He was also avestryman.[5][6] His father, John Custis, disapproved of the relationship, but eventually relented. After a two-year courtship, Custis and Dandridge were married on May 15, 1750.[7][8] The couple lived at Custis's plantation called theWhite House in New Kent County, Virginia.[4]
They had four children:[9]
Custis died on July 8, 1757, inNew Kent County, Virginia, with some historians stating the cause of death as aheart attack,[10][11] but others stating that he died from a severe throat infection.[12]
Custis is buried in the graveyard of theBruton Parish Church inWilliamsburg, Virginia beside two of his children, Daniel Parke Custis, Jr., and Frances Parke Custis.[13] Eighteen months after Custis died, his widow Martha married George Washington on January 6, 1759.[5]
As Custis diedintestate, or "without a will", his widow Martha received the lifetime use of one third of his property (known as a "dower share"),[14] and the other two thirds were held in trust for their children. The January 1759 Custis estate also included at least 85 slaves.[15] According to the Mount Vernon slave census, by 1799 the dower share included 153 slaves. The October 1759 Custis estate inventory listed 17,779 acres (71.95 km2), or 27.78 square miles of land, spread over five counties.[16]
Upon Martha Custis' marriage toGeorge Washington in 1759, her dower share came under his control, pursuant to the common law doctrine ofseisinjure uxoris. He also became guardian of her two minor children, and administrator of the Custis estate.John Parke Custis was the only child to reach his majority, upon which he inherited the non-dower two-thirds of his father's estate.
Upon George Washington's death on December 14, 1799, the dower share and slaves reverted to Martha. Through a provision in his will, Washington directed that his 124 slaves be freed following his wife's death.[17] As Washington stated in his will, he "earnestly wished" to free his own slaves at the time of his death but acknowledged that doing so would create "insuperable difficulties" because they had intermarried with Martha's "dower negroes," over whom he had no authority. He also believed that it would "excite the most painful sensations" and "disagreeable consequences" to attempt to separate them.[18]
Washington's slaves were not part of the Custis estate, and Martha had no legal power to free them or the dower slaves, but they were freed at her request on January 1, 1801. The principal reason that Martha gave for requesting that her husband's slaves be set free is that she was concerned about her personal safety. Washington's slaves, having found out that they would be free upon her death, were suspected of wanting to hasten her death. They were also perceived as being restive and were believed to have been the cause of several suspicious fires on theMount Vernon estate.[19]
When Martha died on May 22, 1802, her dower share reverted to the Custis estate. Because of Martha Washington's dower share, the estate could not be liquidated for more than 45 years. Martha's dower share was eventually divided between John Parke Custis's widow,Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, and their four children. Martha also bequeathed Elisha, the one slave she owned herself, to her grandsonGeorge Washington Parke Custis.
Even if Custis had diedtestate, Martha, as his widow, could have elected against the will and taken her dower.
This land inventory was incomplete, not listing Custis lots in Jamestown and Williamsburg
Washington's private letters indicate a plan to rent out the dower slaves to other plantations, with the income going toward purchasing them from the Custis Estate and ultimately freeing them. That would have required the approval of all the Custis heirs to succeed, but it is not known why it was never implemented.
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