Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/413

Rh Martha, b. in New Kent county, Va., in May, 1732 ; d. at Mount Vernon, Va., 22 May, 1802, was the daughter of Col. John Dandridge, a planter in New Kent county. Martha was fairly educated by pri- vate tutors, and became an expert performer on the spinet. She was introduced to the vice-regal court, during the administration of Sir William Gooch, at fifteen years of age, and in June, 1749. married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter, with whom she re- moved to his resi- dence, the White House, on Pamun- key river. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy, and in 1757 Mr. Custis also died, leaving his widow one of the wealthiest wo- men in Virginia. About a year after her husband's death she met Col. Washington, who was visiting at the house of Maj. William Cham- be rlayne, where she too was a guest. In May, 1758, they became engaged, but the marriage was delayed by Col. Washington's northern campaign, and it was not till January, 1759, that it was solemnized, at St. Peter's church, New Kent county, the Rev. John Mossum performing the ceremony. The wed- ding was one of the most brilliant that had ever been seen in a church in Virginia. The bridegroom wore a suit of blue cloth, the coat lined with red silk, and ornamented with silver trimmings ; his waistcoat was embroidered white satin, his knee- buckles were of gold, and his hair was powdered. The bride was attired in a white satin quilted petticoat, a heavily corded white silk over-dress, diamond buckles, and pearl ornaments. The gov- ernor, many members of the legislature, British officers, and the neighboring gentry were present in full court dress. Washington's body-servant, Bishop, a tall negro, to whom he was much at- tached and who had accompanied him on all his military campaigns, stood in the porch, clothed in the scarlet uniform of a soldier of the royal army in the time of George II. The bride and her three attendants drove back to White House in a coach drawn by six horses led by liveried postilions, Col. Washington and an escort of cavaliers riding by its side. Mrs. Washington's life at Mount Ver- non for the subsequent seventeen years partook much of the style of the English aristocracy. She was a thorough housekeeper, and entertained con- stantly. Her daughter, Martha Parke Custis, who died in the seventeenth year of her age, was known as the " dark lady," on account of her brunette com- plexion, and was greatly loved by the neighboring poor, to whom she frequently ministered. On her portrait, painted by Charles Willson Peale, is in- scribed " A Virginia Beauty." Mrs. Washington ardently sympathized with her husband in his patriotic measures. To a kinswoman, who depre- cated what, she called " his folly," Mrs. Washing- ton wrote in 1774: " Yes, I foresee consequences — dark days, domestic happiness suspended, social enjoyments abandoned, and eternal separations on earth possible. But my mind is made up, my heart is in the cause. George is right ; he is al- ways right. God has promised to protect the righteous, and I will trust him." Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton spent a day and night at Mount Vernon in August, 1774, on their way to congress. Pendleton afterward wrote to a friend : " Mrs. Washington talked like a Spar- tan to her son on his going to battle. ' I hope you will all stand firm,' she said ; ' I know George will.'" After her husband became commander- in-chief she was burdened with many cares. He visited Mount Vernon only twice during the war. She joined him at Cambridge, Mass., in 1775, oc- cupying the mansion, an illustration of which is shown in the article on Longfellow, Henry W. She subsequently accompanied Gen. Washington to New York and Philadelphia, and whenever it was possible joined him in camp. During the winter at Valley Forge she suffered every priva- tion in common with the officers, and " was busy from morning till night providing comforts for the sick soldiers." Although previous to the war she had paid much attention to her attire, as became her wealth and station, while it con- tinued she dressed only in garments that were spun and woven by her servants at Mount Vernon. At a ball in New Jersey that was given in her honor she wore one of these simple gowns and a white kerchief, " as an example of economy to the women of the Revolution." Her last surviving child, John Parke Custis, died in November, 1781, leaving four children. The two younger, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis, Gen. Washington at once adopted. After Mrs. Washington left headquarters at Newburg in 1782, she did not again return to camp life. She was residing quietly at Mount Vernon (see illustration) when Washington was chosen president of the United States. When she assumed the duties of mistress of the executive mansion in New York she was fifty-seven years old, but still retained traces of beauty, and bore herself with great personal dignity. She instituted levees, that she ever afterward continued, on Friday evening of each week from eight to nine o'clock. " None were admitted but those who had a right of entrance by official station or established character," and full dress was required. During the second term of the president they resided in Philadelphia, where their public receptions were conducted as those in New York had been. An English gentleman, describing her at her own table in 1794, says : " Mrs. Washington struck me as being older than the president. She was extremely simple in dress, and wore her gray hair turned up under a very plain cap." She greatly disliked official life, and rejoiced when her husband refused a third term in 1796. She resided at Mount Vernon during the remainder of her life, occupied with her domestic duties, of which she was fond, and in entertaining the numerous guests that visited her husband. She survived him two and a half years. Before her death she destroyed