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Elizabeth Parke Custis Law
Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (née Elizabeth Parke Custis; August 21, 1776 – December 31, 1831), sometimes known as Eliza Law, was the eldest surviving granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and a step-grandchild of George Washington. She married Thomas Law, the youngest son of the late bishop of Carlisle, England, and an experienced administrator with the East India Company.
Eliza Law became a social leader in the District of Columbia, and she worked to preserve the Washington family heritage. She and her husband separated in 1804 and divorced in 1811. They had one daughter who survived infancy and three grandchildren.
Elizabeth Parke Custis, also known as "Eliza" and "Betsey," was born on 21 August 1776. She was the second daughter of John Parke Custis, the son of Martha Washington and her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis; and his wife Eleanor Calvert, the daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert and his wife, Elizabeth Calvert. She was also the eldest surviving grandchild of Martha Washington and a step-grandchild of President George Washington; while overall the secondborn grandchild to a US President and First Lady, she was the first to reach adulthood.
Elizabeth's siblings included Martha "Patsy" (1777–1854), Eleanor "Nelly" (1779–1852), and George "Wash" (1781–1857). Elizabeth had three unnamed sisters who had died shortly after birth — an elder sister in 1775, and younger twins in 1780. During their early childhood, the four Custis children were raised at the Abingdon plantation, which their father had purchased.
After the 1781 death of their father, Betsey and Martha continued to live with their mother at Abingdon while their younger siblings, Nelly and George, moved to Mount Vernon to live with George and Martha Washington. In 1783, their widowed mother, Eleanor Calvert Custis, married Dr. David Stuart (1753–1814), a physician and business associate of George Washington from Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Stuart and his wife remained at Abingdon for the first years of their marriage. Through this marriage, Elizabeth would acquire sixteen half-siblings, including nine more stillbirths or infant deaths.
The Stuart family and the Washingtons remained very close. In 1785, Dr. Stuart purchased an estate, Hope Park, in Fairfax County, Virginia and moved the family there. The girls continued to visit back and forth with their grandparents, and Martha Washington's letters mark these occasions. Elizabeth and Martha were taken often to Mount Vernon in George Washington’s coach. When Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart went to stay with her mother on her father’s death in 1788, the two sisters remained with Martha Washington.
On 20 March 1796, Elizabeth married Thomas Law, the son of Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, and the brother of Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, George Henry Law, later Bishop of Bath and Wells, and John Law, Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in Ireland. Law had come to Washington, D.C. after working for years in the East India Company, and used his fortune to invest in real estate in the new capital. Speculation proved volatile, but he became known as one of the city's wealthiest citizens. He was not always successful in his affairs and eventually lost much of his fortune before his death.
The announcement of Elizabeth's engagement came as a surprise to George and Martha Washington, as Thomas was twice Elizabeth's age. They may not have known that he brought his two natural, Anglo-Indian sons Edmund and John with him to the United States from India. They were educated at Yale and Harvard, respectively, and John became a lawyer in Washington, DC.
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Elizabeth Parke Custis Law
Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (née Elizabeth Parke Custis; August 21, 1776 – December 31, 1831), sometimes known as Eliza Law, was the eldest surviving granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and a step-grandchild of George Washington. She married Thomas Law, the youngest son of the late bishop of Carlisle, England, and an experienced administrator with the East India Company.
Eliza Law became a social leader in the District of Columbia, and she worked to preserve the Washington family heritage. She and her husband separated in 1804 and divorced in 1811. They had one daughter who survived infancy and three grandchildren.
Elizabeth Parke Custis, also known as "Eliza" and "Betsey," was born on 21 August 1776. She was the second daughter of John Parke Custis, the son of Martha Washington and her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis; and his wife Eleanor Calvert, the daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert and his wife, Elizabeth Calvert. She was also the eldest surviving grandchild of Martha Washington and a step-grandchild of President George Washington; while overall the secondborn grandchild to a US President and First Lady, she was the first to reach adulthood.
Elizabeth's siblings included Martha "Patsy" (1777–1854), Eleanor "Nelly" (1779–1852), and George "Wash" (1781–1857). Elizabeth had three unnamed sisters who had died shortly after birth — an elder sister in 1775, and younger twins in 1780. During their early childhood, the four Custis children were raised at the Abingdon plantation, which their father had purchased.
After the 1781 death of their father, Betsey and Martha continued to live with their mother at Abingdon while their younger siblings, Nelly and George, moved to Mount Vernon to live with George and Martha Washington. In 1783, their widowed mother, Eleanor Calvert Custis, married Dr. David Stuart (1753–1814), a physician and business associate of George Washington from Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Stuart and his wife remained at Abingdon for the first years of their marriage. Through this marriage, Elizabeth would acquire sixteen half-siblings, including nine more stillbirths or infant deaths.
The Stuart family and the Washingtons remained very close. In 1785, Dr. Stuart purchased an estate, Hope Park, in Fairfax County, Virginia and moved the family there. The girls continued to visit back and forth with their grandparents, and Martha Washington's letters mark these occasions. Elizabeth and Martha were taken often to Mount Vernon in George Washington’s coach. When Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart went to stay with her mother on her father’s death in 1788, the two sisters remained with Martha Washington.
On 20 March 1796, Elizabeth married Thomas Law, the son of Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, and the brother of Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, George Henry Law, later Bishop of Bath and Wells, and John Law, Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in Ireland. Law had come to Washington, D.C. after working for years in the East India Company, and used his fortune to invest in real estate in the new capital. Speculation proved volatile, but he became known as one of the city's wealthiest citizens. He was not always successful in his affairs and eventually lost much of his fortune before his death.
The announcement of Elizabeth's engagement came as a surprise to George and Martha Washington, as Thomas was twice Elizabeth's age. They may not have known that he brought his two natural, Anglo-Indian sons Edmund and John with him to the United States from India. They were educated at Yale and Harvard, respectively, and John became a lawyer in Washington, DC.