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Washington,
MARTHA, wife of
George Washington;
born in New Kent county, Virginia,
in May, 1732. Her maiden name was Dandridge, and at the age of
seventeen years she married Daniel Parke Custis, son of one of the
King's council for Virginia. At his death she was left with two
children and a large fortune, and dwelt at his mansion, known as the
White House, in New Kent county, until her marriage with Colonel
Washington in January, 1759. Soon after their marriage they took up
their abode at
Mount Vernon, on the Potomac. She was a very beautiful woman, a
little below the medium size, elegant in person, her eyes dark and
expressive of the most kindly goodnature, her complexion fair, and
her whole face beamed with intelligence. Her temper, though quick,
was sweet and placable, and her manners were extremely winning. She
loved the society of her friends, always dressed with scrupulous
regard to the requirements of the best fashions of the day, and was
in every respect a brilliant member of the social circles which,
before the Revolution, composed the vice-regal court at the old
Virginia capital. During the Revolutionary War she usually spent the
winter months at the headquarters of her husband; and after the war
she received with grace and dignity, as the head of the household of
the great patriot, the numerous distinguished guests who thronged to
Mount Vernon. One of her two children died just as she was
blossoming into womanhood; the other, a son, was aide-de-camp to
Washington during the war. He died in October, 1781, leaving two
children - a son and a daughter - whom Washington adopted as his
own.
On
Dec. 11, 1775, Mrs. Washington arrived at Cambridge, accompanied by
her son, John Parke Custis, and his wife. She was very hospitably
received and welcomed by the most distinguished families in
Massachusetts. The army
hailed her presence on this, as on all other occasions, with
enthusiasm. She was urged to make the visit and spend some time at
headquarters by two motives - one, affection for her husband; and
another, because of apprehensions of danger at Mount Vernon on
account of the operations of
Lord Dunmore. She remained in Cambridge
until Howe evacuated Boston. Washington's headquarters there were in
the fine mansion that was for many years the residence of
Longfellow, the poet.
The
people showed affectionate regard for Mrs. Washington, as the wife
of the first President, when she journeyed from Mount Vernon to
New York to join her husband
there after the inauguration. She left Mount Vernon in her chaise on
May 19, 1789, with her two grandchildren, George Washington Parke
and Eleanor Parke Custis. She was clothed tidily in American textile
manufactures. She lodged at
Baltimore on the first night of her journey. When she approached
that city she was met by a cavalcade of gentlemen and escorted into
the town. Fireworks were displayed in her honor, and a band of music
serenaded her in the evening. When she approached Philadelphia she
was met, 10 miles in the suburbs, by the governor of the State, the
speaker of the Assembly, a troop of dragoons, and a large cavalcade
of citizens. Some distance from the city she was welcomed by a
brilliant company of women in carriages. She was escorted by these
gentlemen and ladies to Gray's Ferry, on the Schuylkill, where they
all partook of a collation; and from that point to the city, Mrs.
Robert Morris occupied a seat by the side of Mrs. Washington. When
the procession entered the city the wife of the President was
greeted with a salute of thirteen guns. She journeyed on to New
York. At Elizabethtown Point she was received by her husband,
Robert
Morris, and several distinguished gentlemen, in the splendid barge
in which Washington had been conveyed from the same place to New
York a month before. It was manned by thirteen sailors. When the
barge approached Whitehall, the landing-place in New York, crowds of
citizens were there assembled, who greeted Mrs. Washington with
cheers, and from the battery nearby the thunder of thirteen cannon
gave her a welcome. In all this there was nothing very extravagant,
considering the circumstances. Yet there were sturdy republicans who
viewed the pageantry with suspicion, believing that they saw in this
a foreshowing of monarchical ceremonies. She died at Mount Vernon,
Va., in May, 1802. |