John Parke Custis
John Parke Custis ( " Jacky " ) ( born November 27, 1754 † November 5, 1781 in New Kent County) was a planter from Virginia and the stepson of George Washington.
Life
He was probably born in Virginia on the plantation of his parents White House in New Kent County. He was the son of Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter and Martha Dandridge Custis. After the death of his father in 1757 he inherited almost 18,000 acres (73 km ²) of land. In 1759 his mother George Washington married and moved to Mount Vernon with their children. Custis visited in 1773 for a short time King's College (later Columbia University).
On February 3, 1774 Custis married Eleanor Calvert. Eleanor was the second eldest daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert, son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, and his wife Elizabeth Butler Calvert. The couple moved to the wedding on the plantation White House. After the couple had lived for two years in White House, John Parke Custis bought the Abingdon Plantation, where the couple lasted 1778. Of their seven children, four reached adulthood:
- Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, " Eliza ", (1776-1831) ∞ Thomas Law
- Martha Parke Custis Peter, " Patsy ", (1777-1854) ∞ Thomas Peter
- Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, " Nelly " (1779-1852) ∞ Lawrence Lewis
- George Washington Parke Custis, " Wash" (1781-1857) ∞ Mary Lee Fitzhugh
Custis sat from 1778 to 1781 in the House of Representatives from Virginia. The land on which today the Arlington National Cemetery is located was in his possession. He served as Flügeladjudant Washington during the Siege of Yorktown. He is said to have predicted that he did not share the ambition of his step Vateres. In the camp he developed a fever and died in New Kent County shortly after the surrender of Cornwallis. He was buried in York County near Williamsburg.