Col Daniel Parke CUSTIS

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• Bio: ; Biography Colonel Daniel Parke Custis. [1] Daniel Parke Custis, a planter, is best known as Martha Dandridge Custis Washington's first husband. Custis found his early life constrained by his father, John Custis (1679?1749), who squelched at least two of
• Cause of Death: ; Died during the Revolutionery War
• FamilySearch ID: LZ33-81H
• Occupation: ; Colonel

Notes:

Daniel Parke Custis (October 15, 1711 ? July 8, 1757) was an American planter and politician who was the first husband of Martha Dandridge. After his death, Dandridge married George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the nation's first president.

Early life and career
Custis was born in York County, Virginia, on October 15, 1711. He was one of two children of John Custis IV (1678? 1749), a powerful member of Virginia's Governor's Council, and Frances Parke Custis. The Custis family were one of the wealthiest and socially prominent of Virginia. Custis's mother Frances was the daughter of Daniel Parke, Jr., a political enemy of the Custises.

As Daniel Custis was the sole male heir in the Custis family, he inherited the Southern plantations owned by his father. However, he did not choose to take a leading role in colonial Virginia politics.

Marriage and children
At the age of 37, Custis met 16-year-old Martha Dandridge at the St. Peter's Church where Martha attended and Custis was a vestryman. Custis's father John disapproved of the relationship but eventually relented. After a two-year courtship, Custis and Dandridge were married on May 15, 1750. The couple lived at Custis's plantation called the White House in New Kent County, Virginia.

They had four children:
Daniel Parke Custis, Jr. (November 19, 1751 ? February 19, 1754)
Frances Parke Custis (April 12, 1753 ? April 1, 1757)
John Parke "Jacky" Custis (November 27, 1754 ? November 5, 1781)
Martha Parke "Patsy" Custis (1756 ? June 19, 1773)
Death and estate
Custis died on July 8, 1757, in New Kent County, Virginia, most likely of a heart attack. He is buried in the graveyard of the Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia next to two of his children he had with his wife, Daniel Parke Custis, Jr. and Frances Parke Custis. Two years after Custis's death, on January 6, 1759, Martha married George Washington.

Estate
As Custis died intestate, his widow Martha received the lifetime use of one-third of his property (known as a "dower share"), while the other two thirds was held in trust for their children. The January 1759 Custis estate also included at least 85 slaves. According to the Mount Vernon slave census, by 1799 the dower share included 153 slaves. The October 1759 Custis estate inventory listed 17,779 acres (71.95 km2), or 27.78 square miles of land, spread over five counties.

Upon Martha Custis's marriage to George Washington in 1759, her dower share came under his control, pursuant to the common law doctrine of seisin jure uxoris. He also became guardian of her two minor children, and administrator of the Custis estate. John Parke Custis was the only child to reach his majority, upon which he inherited the non-dower two-thirds of his father's estate.

Upon George Washington's death on December 14, 1799, the dower share and slaves reverted to Martha. Through a provision in his will, Washington directed that his 124 slaves be freed following his wife's death. As Washington stated in his will, he "earnestly wished" to free his own slaves at the time of his death, but acknowledged that doing so would create "insuperable difficulties" because they had intermarried with Martha's "dower negroes," over whom he had no authority. He also believed that it would "excite the most painful sensations" and "disagreeable consequences" to attempt to separate them.

Washington's slaves were not part of the Custis estate, and Martha had no legal power to free them or the dower slaves, but they were freed at her request on January 1, 1801. The principal reason that Martha gave for requesting that her husband's slaves be set free is that she was concerned about her personal safety. Washington's slaves, having found out that they would be free upon her death, were suspected of wanting to hasten her death. They were also perceived as being restive and were believed to have been the cause of several suspicious fires on the Mount Vernon estate.

When Martha died on May 22, 1802, her dower share reverted to the Custis estate. Because of Martha Washington's dower share, the estate could not be liquidated for more than 45 years. Martha's dower share was eventually divided between John Parke Custis's widow, Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, and their four children. Martha also bequeathed Elisha, the one slave she owned herself, to her grandson George Washington Parke Custis.

Daniel married Martha DANDRIDGE on 15 May 1750 in New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America. Martha (daughter of Col. John DANDRIDGE and Frances Orlando JONES) was born on 2 Jun 1731 in New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; died on 22 May 1802 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia; was buried on 22 May 1802 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Daniel Park CUSTIS, Jr was born on 19 Nov 1751 in New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; died on 19 Feb 1754 in Williamsburg, York, Virginia, British Colonial America; was buried in 1754 in Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia.
2. Frances Parke CUSTIS was born on 12 Apr 1753 in White House Plantation, Pamunkey River, New Kent, Virginia; died on 1 Apr 1757 in New Kent, New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; was buried in 1757 in Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia.
3. Martha Parke CUSTIS was born on 12 Apr 1753 in London, England; died on 19 Jun 1773 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia, British Colonial America.
4. John Parke CUSTIS was born on 27 Nov 1754 in New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; died on 5 Nov 1781 in Eltham Plantation, New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; was buried in 1781 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia, British Colonial America.

Family/Spouse: Betty. Betty was born in 1738 in Virginia; died in Jan 1795 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia; was buried in Mount Vernon Estate Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Austin was born in 1757 in New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America; died in 1794.

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• FamilySearch ID: LHG4-PZ3

John married Frances PARKE. Frances was born about 1687 in Queens Creek Planation, Williamsburg, York, Virginia; died on 14 Mar 1714 in Williamsburg, James, Virginia; was buried on 16 Mar 1715 in Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery, Williamsburg, York, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: LH3G-DCK