Martha Washington
First Lady of the United States from 1789 to 1797
AI overview
Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1789 to 1797. She matters because she helped establish the role and expectations for future First Ladies during the nation's early years.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1731
- Died
- 1802
- Works
- 9
Top works
- Lady Washington's lamentation
- Lady Washignton's [sic] lamentation for the death of her husband
- A history, of the life and death, virtues, and exploits of General George Washington
- George Washington family letters at the Library of Congress American Memory Project
- Battle of Bunker Hill, and and Saw ye my hero George
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 43
Article
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the inaugural first lady of the United States, defining the role of the president's wife and setting many precedents that future first ladies observed. During her tenure, she was referred to as "Lady Washington". Washington is consistently ranked in the upper half of first ladies by historians.
Martha Dandridge married Daniel Parke Custis on May 15, 1750. They had four children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. She was widowed in July 1757 at the age of 26, inheriting a large estate, and remarried to George Washington in January 1759 at the age of 27, moving to his plantation, Mount Vernon. Her youngest daughter died of epilepsy in 1773, and the Washingtons were unable to conceive any children of their own. Washington became a symbol of the American Revolution after her husband was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. During the war, she played a maternal role, visiting encampments when fighting stalled each winter. Her only surviving child, John Parke Custis, died from a camp illness during the war. After the war ended in 1783, she sought retirement at Mount Vernon, but returned to public life when her husband became president of the United States in 1789.
Gallery (12)
Connections
Categories
1731 births1802 deaths18th-century American Episcopalians18th-century American women landowners18th-century owners of plantations in the Thirteen Colonies18th-century owners of plantations in the United States19th-century American Episcopalians19th-century American women19th-century owners of plantations in the United StatesAmerican salon-holdersBurials at Mount Vernon