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Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States.Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the inaugural first lady of the United States, defining the role of the president's wife and setting many precedents that future first ladies observed.
She was the fourth child of Martha Washington (née Dandridge) and Colonel Daniel Parke Custis. [2] [6] Her eldest brother Daniel Jr. had died at the age of three, before she was born, while her sister Frances died in 1757 at the age of four; both had died of unknown causes. [5] Her father died on July 8, 1757, possibly from a virulent throat ...
[10] [4] About two years later, in 1756, after his first wife's death, Washington married his second wife (and first cousin) Mildred Thornton (c. 1741 – c. 1762). She likewise died during or shortly after childbirth, possibly tuberculosis contracted from her husband progressed rapidly after the births. [4]
The presidency of William Henry Harrison, who died 31 days after taking office in 1841, was the shortest in American history. [9] Franklin D. Roosevelt served the longest, over twelve years, before dying early in his fourth term in 1945. He is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. [10]
Samuel Washington, more than two years younger than George, died in 1781 and was buried in the cemetery at his Harewood estate near Charles Town, West Virginia.
Lawrence Washington's great-grandson, Lawrence Washington (1602–1652), was a rector. [10] His brother Sir William Washington married the half-sister of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. [1] [14] The Washington family supported the Royalists during the English Civil War and were dispossessed of their lands following their defeat. [13]
Lawrence was born into the Washington family, being believed to have been born in 1718, the second child of Augustine Washington and his wife Jane Butler Washington (whose first-born son, Butler, died in infancy in 1716.) [3] The family was then living in Westmoreland County, Virginia, along the Potomac River.
Some descendants of West Ford, a slave of Washington's younger brother John Augustine Washington, maintain (based on family oral history) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though this paternity has been disputed. [306] Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, although he was known for having a strong presence.