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Family: John Parke Custis / Martha Dandridge (F8737)  [1, 2



Family Information    |    PDF

  • Father | Male
    John Parke Custis

    Born  1712   
    Died  1781  Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried     
    Married     
    Father   
    Mother   

    Martha DandridgeMother | Female
    Martha Dandridge

    Born  2 Jun 1731  New Kent, New Kent County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  22 May 1802  Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Mount Vernon Estate Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Other Spouse  George Washington | F8738 
    Married     
    Father   
    Mother   

    George Washington Parke CustisChild 1 | Male
    + George Washington Parke Custis

    Born  30 Apr 1781  Colonial Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  10 Oct 1857  Alexandria County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Spouse  Molly, Mary Lee Fitzhugh | F8736 
    Married  1804  Arlington, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
    Spouse  Arianna Carter Custis | F8739 
    Married  Not married   

  • Sources 
    1. [S100] Internet Source, https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/george-custis.htm.

      George Washington Parke Custis
      The Washington Family The Washington family by Edward Savage. George Washington Parke Custis stands at the left next to his adopted father, George Washington.

      National Gallery of Art

      Born in 1781, George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington through her first marriage. After his natural father, John Parke Custis, died in 1781, G.W.P. Custis went to live at Mount Vernon where George and Martha Washington raised him as their own son. During his childhood, Custis became very attached to his stepfather, George Washington. In 1802, Custis started the construction of Arlington House on land that he had inherited from his natural father. When completed in 1818, he intended the house to serve as not only a home but also a memorial to his stepfather, George Washington. In 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh. The two had four children, but only one, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived.


    2. [S100] Internet Source, https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/george-custis.htm.
      George Washington Parke Custis
      The Washington Family The Washington family by Edward Savage. George Washington Parke Custis stands at the left next to his adopted father, George Washington.

      National Gallery of Art

      Born in 1781, George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington through her first marriage. After his natural father, John Parke Custis, died in 1781, G.W.P. Custis went to live at Mount Vernon where George and Martha Washington raised him as their own son. During his childhood, Custis became very attached to his stepfather, George Washington. In 1802, Custis started the construction of Arlington House on land that he had inherited from his natural father. When completed in 1818, he intended the house to serve as not only a home but also a memorial to his stepfather, George Washington. In 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh. The two had four children, but only one, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived.
      Custis derived his living from large inherited estates, worked by many enslaved people, though he was a poor manager and his properties were not very profitable. He devoted most of his energies to other activities, many and varied including painting, playwriting, music, oratory, and promoting the improvement of American agriculture. None of his endeavors were marked by great or lasting success. He frequently held celebrations, special programs and other social events which attracted thousands of visitors to the Arlington estate over the years. Regarding himself as the heir to the Washington tradition, Custis collected and displayed, a large number of Mount Vernon relics at Arlington. He was always eager to comment on the collection and the Washington legacy for famous guests and curious strangers.

      Custis saw his daughter marry Lt. Robert E. Lee at Arlington in 1831. Robert and Mary Anna came to call Arlington home and Custis was a prominent figure in the lives of the seven Lee children. In his later years, Custis did not stray far from Arlington. He made his will in 1855, and he increasingly relied on his son-in-law, Col. Lee, to handle his tangled business affairs. Until his death, Custis retained his old bedchamber in the north wing of the mansion, where he died after a short illness on October 10, 1857.