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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.
He was moved 30 miles upriver to Eltham plantation the home of his uncle Colonel Burwell Bassett (Martha Washington's brother-in-law), where Martha Washington as well as his wife Eleanor (both of whom had journeyed to Williamsburg a few weeks before) attempted to help nurse him. [16]
Washington was not close to his father and rarely mentioned him in later years; he had a fractious relationship with his mother. [6] Among his siblings, he was particularly close to his older half-brother Lawrence. [7] The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1735 before settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Washington's great-grandfather, Samuel Washington, was a younger brother of George Washington. Washington married Georgianna Hite Ransom on October 22, 1845, in Jefferson County, Virginia [4] (now West Virginia). He studied law [5] but went west to California in the 1849 Gold Rush as the president [6] of the Charlestown Company. [7] [8]
Samuel Washington, George Washington's younger brother, was buried in an unmarked grave at the cemetery at his Harewood estate (an interior view is pictured above) near Charles Town, West Virginia.
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.
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]
Elizabeth Washington Lewis (June 20, 1733 – March 31, 1797), also known as Betty Lewis, was the younger sister of George Washington and the only one of his three sisters that survived childhood. [ 1 ]