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[[Image:Martha Washington.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Martha Washington as a young woman]]

[[Image:Martha Washington.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Martha Washington as a young woman]]

'''Martha Dandridge Custis Washington''' (New Kent County, Virginia, June 2, 1731 - Mount Vernon, May 22, 1802) was the wife of [[George Washington]] and the first [[First Lady]] of the [[United States of America]].

'''Martha Dandridge Custis Washington''' (June 2, 1731 - Mount Vernon, May 22, 1802) was the wife of [[George Washington]] and the first [[First Lady]] of the [[United States of America]].

==Early life==

==Early life==

Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731 to John and Frances Jones Dandridge on their plantation, Chestnut Grove. She was the eldest of nine children. According to her White House biography, ''Typical for a girl in an 18th-century family, her education was almost negligible except in domestic and social skills, but she learned all the arts of a well-ordered household and how to keep a family contented.'' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/mw1.html Biography] The White House.

Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731 to John and Frances Jones Dandridge on their plantation, Chestnut Grove in New Kent County, Virginia. She had three brothers and five sisters, as well as an illegitimate half-sister who was a slave.<ref>[http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=1 Martha Washington]</ref> Martha was taught all the usual subjects young ladies learned during the time period: music, sewing and home management. However, her later actions while managing her husbands' estates possibly show a more extensive education.<ref>[http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=1 Martha Washington]</ref>

==Marriage and family==

==Marriage and family==

Martha Dandridge married Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, a man twenty years her senior, on May 15, 1750. The couple lived in his father's Pumunkey River mansion, White House, where Custis managed the plantation for his father. <ref>[http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/bios/biomwash.cfm Martha Dandridge Custis Washington]</ref> They had four children: Daniel Parke Custis, Jr. (November 19, 1751 – February 19, 1754), Frances Parke Custis (April 12, 1753 – April 1, 1757), John "Jacky" Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis (1756 – June 19, 1773). Colonel Custis died on July 8, 1757.<ref>[http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=1 Martha Washington]</ref>

Martha Dandridge married Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, a man twenty years her senior, on May 15, 1750. The couple lived in his father's Pumunkey River mansion, White House, where Custis managed the plantation for his father. They had four children: Daniel Parke Custis, Jr. (November 19, 1751 – February 19, 1754), Frances Parke Custis (April 12, 1753 – April 1, 1757), John "Jacky" Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis (1756 – June 19, 1773). Daniel Parke Custis died on July 8, 1757.

 

 

==During the war==

==During the war==

==First Lady==

==First Lady==

==Back home at Mount Vernon==

==Back home at Mount Vernon==

She married George Washington on January 6, 1759. ''When his career led him to the battlegrounds of the Revolutionary War and finally to the Presidency, she followed him bravely.'' [[Ibidem]] They lie buried at [[Mount Vernon]].  

The Washingtons returned to their home at Mount Vernon on March 15, 1797. George Washington died on December 14, 1799 and Martha passed away on May 22, 1802. They are both buried at Mount Vernon.<ref>[http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/bios/biomwash.cfm Martha Dandridge Custis Washington]</ref>

 

[[Image:Stuart Portrait of Martha Washington.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Martha Washington by [[Gilbert Stuart]].]]

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*[[President of the United States of America]]

*[[President of the United States of America]]

== External links ==

== External links ==