Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis
Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (born March 31, 1779 in Mount Airy, Maryland , † July 15, 1852 ), known as Nelly , was the granddaughter of Martha Washington and the step- daughter of George Washington .
Life
Nelly was the daughter of John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert . She was probably born in Mount Airy, on her maternal grandfather's estate in Prince George's County, Maryland, although some local traditionalists claim she was born on the Abingdon plantation in Arlington County , Virginia, which is now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is located. Her father was the only surviving child of Daniel Parke Custis and Martha Dandridge Custis, who widowed George Washington in 1759. Nelly was also the granddaughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert, the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore . After the untimely death of John Parke Custis in 1781, Nelly and her younger brother George Washington Parke Custis were adopted by the Washington.
During George Washington's presidency, Nelly helped look after the guests in the presidential household, first in New York City , then in Philadelphia, and later at the Mount Vernon manor . The talented, beautiful young woman often accompanied her adoptive parents to social events.
On February 22, 1799, Nelly married the widower Lawrence Lewis (1767-1839), the son of George Washington's sister Betty Washington Lewis from Fredericksburg . As a dowry, she received 2000 acres of land in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, where they built the Woodlawn plantation . With her marriage, Nelly inherited 80 slaves from the estate of John Parke Custis. Daniel Parke Custis' estate was split up after Martha Washington's death in 1802, and Nelly inherited 35 Mount Vernon dowry slaves. After her mother's death in 1811, the property of John Parke Custis was also divided and she inherited an estimated 40 more slaves.
The couple had the following children:
- Frances Parke Lewis Butler (1799-1875)
- Lorenzo Lewis (1803-1847)
- Mary Eliza Lewis Conrad (1813-1839)
- 5 other children did not reach adulthood
In about 1830, they moved to Audley Plantation in Clarke County , Virginia. In the mid-1830s, the couple began dividing their time between Virginia and their surviving daughter's home in Louisiana . After her husband's death in 1839, Nelly Custis lived on the Audley Plantation.
All of her life, Nelly saw herself as the keeper of George Washington's legacy. She shared memories and keepsakes, chatted and corresponded with people seeking information about the first president, and confirming or revealing stories about him. She was buried in Mount Vernon next to George and Martha Washington.
literature
- Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington: An American Life . New York: Viking / Penguin Group, 2005. ISBN 0-670-03430-4 .
- Kneebone, John T., et al., Eds. Dictionary of Virginia Biography . Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1998-. Volume 3, pages 627-628. ISBN 0-88490-206-4 .
- Ribblett, David L. Nelly Custis: Child of Mount Vernon . Mount Vernon, Va., 1993.
Web links
Individual proof
- ^ Henry Wiencek, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003), p. 383n.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lewis, Eleanor Parke Custis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nelly |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Granddaughter of Martha and George Washington |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 31, 1779 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mount Airy, Maryland |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 15, 1852 |