Born on June 2, 1731, Martha Washington was christened as Martha Dandridge. The oldest daughter of John and Frances Dandridge, she had three brothers and five sisters. Interestingly, she had a younger illegimate sister, Ann Dandridge Costin, who was one-quarter African, one-quarter Cherokee, and half white. She was a slave. There was also evidence she had an illegitmate half-brother named Ralph Dandridge who was probably white.

Although her family had a modest income, she grew up among wealthy plantation families. She had no formal education but was taught what is termed a lady's education by a governess. This included music, arts, dance, dress, fine sewing, demeanor, and household mangaement.

Martha was no stranger to grief. At the age of 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter, who was two decades her senior. She had four children with Custis, and before the last two children were barely out of infancy, they died. One of the infants died the same same year as her husband died in 1757. However, tragedy did not end there. The other two died as young adults. A wealthy widow, she had independent control of a dower inheritance,trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children, and lifetime use of one-third of the estate. The other two-thirds of his estate was for their minor children.

When George returned home In 1757 from his military duty, Martha's friends introduced her to George. He visited her twice at her residence called the White House (later called Mt. Vernon), and the upon the last visit he left with either an engagement or promise to think about an engagement. At the time, she was also being courted by Charles Carter, another very wealthy planter.

Married in 1759, their wedding was a grand affair. Except for her two surving children with Custis, Martha and George has no children together. When Mary's eldest daughter died as a teenager from an eleptic siezure, her remaing son, John, returned home from college to comfort her. Afterwards, John served as an aide to George during the siege of Yorktown in 1781, but he died during his military service of typhus. The Washingtons raised his two children.

George became President on April 30, 1789. However, Martha was opposed to it and refused to attend the inauguration. From various confessions to friends and family, she did not enjoy all the formal entertaining that comes with the Presidency. She preferred being at home and tending to her families comfort and happiness. In an except from a letter written to her niece, she said, "...many younger women would be extremely pleased" in her place; she would "much rather be at home." In another letter written to her friend, Mercy Otis Warren, she wrote, "I cannot blame him for having acted according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of his country," but as for herself, " I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for Ihave also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispostions, not upon our circumstance."

After their marriage, George became legal manager of the Custis estate. The estate included 27 square miles of plantations and farms and 285 slaves. Using his wife's wealth, he more than tripled the size of Mount Vernon. Although Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780, he brought nine slaves with him to Philadelphia. Since they were considered non-residents, they were allowed to hold slaves for up to six months. However, the Washingtons rotated slaves in and out of state to prevent the slave's being able to establish residency. However, in his later years, he must have changed his feelings about slavery because he wanted all of his slaves freed upon his and Martha's death.

After George completed the Presidency in 1797, the couple did not have long together. He died in 1799, She died a few years later in 1802 from severe fever. However, before she died, she burnt their letter to each other to insure their privacy. Today, they are both interned at Mount Washington.

Although Martha Dandridge came from a modest home, her marriage to Daneil Custis made her one of the wealthiest widows in Virginnia when he died. However, even though she was blessed with wealth, her life was marked by tragedy since she lost all of her four during her lifetime. When she married George, even though she preferred to be at home with her grandchildren, she was a gracious and welcoming hostess at social affairs. It appeared they had a loving and supportive marriage.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first_ladies/marthawashington/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Washington

http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/article1048.html

http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Martha-Dandridge-Custis-Washington.html