Elizabeth Parke Custis Law

Elizabeth Parke Custis Law

Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (born August 21, 1776 , † December 31, 1831 in Richmond ) was a granddaughter of Martha Washington and step- daughter of George Washington . She was considered one of the leading women of society in the District of Columbia and was dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Washington family.

Early years

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of John Parke Custis , son of Martha Washington and stepson of George Washington, and of Eleanor Calvert , daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert and his wife Elizabeth Calvert. Her siblings include Martha Parke Custis Peter (1777-1854), Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (1779-1852) and George Washington Parke Custis (1781-1857). Within the family she was called Betsey , Bett, or Eliza . Elizabeth was the eldest grandchild of George and Martha Washington.

After the death of her father, John Parke Custis, in 1781, her mother, Eleanor, married Dr. David Stuart , a doctor from Alexandria . The two older children (Elizabeth and Martha) then stayed with their mother and stepfather, while the two younger children, Eleanor and George, lived with their grandparents George and Martha Washington.

Marriage and children

Elizabeth married Thomas Law, son of Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, on March 20, 1795. The announcement came as a surprise to grandparents, George and Martha Washington, especially since Thomas was twice as old as Elizabeth. The couple separated in 1804 and divorced on January 15, 1811. They had a daughter who survived childhood:

• Elizabeth Parke Custis Law Rogers (born January 19, 1797 - † August 9, 1822) ⚭ April 15, 1817 Nicholas Lloyd Rogers

Slaves and possessions

George and Martha Washington were unable to attend the wedding, but they invited the couple to spend their honeymoon in Philadelphia at the presidential residence. The first lady promised her Oney Judge , one of her slaves from the presidential household , as a wedding present . But the young woman fled when she heard of this plan. Instead, Oney's younger sister Delphy was passed on to the bride and groom. Delphy and her children were released in 1807. With her marriage, Elizabeth inherited 80 slaves from her father's property, after the death of Martha Washington in 1802 she inherited another 35 dowry slaves from Mount Vernon and after the death of her mother in 1811 another 40 custodian slaves followed.

The Thomas Law House in Washington DC

Elizabeth and Thomas built the Thomas Law House in 1796 near what is now 6th and N Streets in southwest Washington . After their separation, Elisabeth lived in a "small country house" from 1805 to 1809 and owned a property in Seminary Hill, Alexandria, which she named Mount Washington . Mount Washington later became the main administrative building of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, in that capacity it was referred to as the Hoxton House .

According to Martha Washington's last will in 1802, Elizabeth John Trumbull's portrait was given by General Washington, as well as a dressing table and mirror.

death

Although her date of death is occasionally given as January 1, 1832, Elizabeth Parke Custis Law died in Richmond at a friend's house "on Saturday night, December 31, 1831, ten minutes to noon," according to the Richmond Enquirer's obituary . Elizabeth was buried in Mount Vernon .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Arlis Herring: Elizabeth Parke Custis . Arlis Herring . February 9, 2008 2:39:18 pm. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
2. ^ Richmond Enquirer , Jan. 3, 1832
3. ^ The Papers of George Washington: Documents . The Papers of George Washington . 2009. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 28, 2008. 
4. ↑ Camelia Sims and Laura Gore: Chapter 7: Views and Advice . George Washington: A Timeless Hero . Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 28, 2008. 
5. ^ The Papers of George Washington: Documents . The Papers of George Washington . 2009. Archived from the original on August 29, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 28, 2008. 
6. ^ Edward Lawler Jr., "The President's House Revisited," Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , vol. 129, no. 4 (October 2005), pp. 397-98. [1]
7. ↑ 1845 Oney Judge interview. [2]
8. ↑ Henry Weincek, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003), p. 383n.
9. ^ Sarah Booth Conroy: Hoxton House's Secret; The Orgins of The Elegant Gray Stucco Mansion Were Obscured Until Researchers Digging Through Old Records Found The Owner: a Granddaughter of Martha Washington. . Washington Post . June 29, 1995. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
10. ^ Virginia Department of Historic Resources: Episcopal High School . The Historical Marker Database . 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
11. ↑ marthawashington.us: Martha Washington: A Life . Martha Washington: A Life . Retrieved February 28, 2008.
12. ^ Richmond Enquirer , Jan. 3, 1832