#patsy parke custis

[phociian]

y'all i'm reading up on a lot of (amrev) history just cause (i think it's fun) and i found out that patsy parke custis (washington's stepdaughter) apparently had a seizure when she was a toddler and then had a break for several years before they came back when she was 12 and then they were regular until she died at the age of 17 in 1773.

Also, also, jack parke custis (washington's stepson, patsy's older brother and martha washington's last living child) joined his stepfather as a volunteer aide de camp for yorktown and contracted camp fever (likely dysentery or typhus) and got real sick real quick. His last wish was that he wanted to watch the festivities of cornwallis' surrender, so they put him up on a high vantage point so he could watch. Then he was rushed to his uncle's house (martha washington's brother-in-law), eltham, nearby and the doctors tried everything they knew before sending for washington who was busy with the surrender. He immediately set out for eltham and arrived just in time. Jacky died a few hours after and washington was described by a french observer as "uncommonly affected" by the death. Apparently according to some contemporaries, washington clutched nelly calvert custis (jack's widow) to his chest and proclaimed that from that moment he would regard jack's two youngest children (nelly and washy/tub parke custis, who were 2 years old and 7 months) as his own. The washingtons, to help alleviate a bit of nelly calvert custis' load, took their two youngest children in and raised them as their own even after nelly remarried. In fact nelly parke custis once, after needing to go stay with her mother, wrote that she missed her grandparents terribly and that there was no one she loved more in the world.

Don't mind me, i'm just gonna go sob for a bit

#john parke custis #george washington #martha washington #american revolution #amrev #patsy parke custis

[publius-library]

do you have any info into how the washington's treated their children or how they were as parents? both biological (in martha's case) and their grandkids?

also, how did they react to the deaths of patsy and jack?

Yes, I do, but it's unfortunately not very satisfactory.

George and Martha were pretty traditional parents. George loved Martha's kids as his own, but she had primary control over their discipline. George, however, did have a say, especially with Jacky. He pushed Jacky to get his formal education, and reminded him to focus on it when he wanted to get married young. We don't have as much information on Patsy. Generally, they were very affectionate, but George tended to play bad-cop, just because he was very strict in general.

They raised their grandkids, specifically Eleanor (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), as their own children, though of course not entirely. Again, they were very affectionate, and loved their grandchildren greatly. They were very proud parents and grandparents.

The deaths of Patsy and Jacky devastated them both. In the final months of Patsy's life, George did everything he could to improve her health. Because healthcare was what it was at the time, there wasn't much knowledge about how to treat seizures, which is what Patsy suffered from. They tried many different treatments, to no avail, and George spent a large amount of money attempting to help her.

"...this Sudden, and unexpected blow, I scarce need add has almost reduced my poor Wife to the lowest ebb of Misery; which is encreas’d by the absence of her Son (whom I have just fixed at the College in New York, from whence I returnd the 8th Instt) and want of the balmy Consolation of her Relations; which leads me more than ever to wish she could see them, and that I was Master of Arguments powerful enough to prevail upon Mrs Dandridge to make this place her entire, & absolute home." -George Washington to Burwell Bassett, June 20, 1773

There is very little mention of George's thoughts after Jacky's death, but I believe that is due to the circumstances. Jacky died during the war, when Washington's time for writing personal letters was limited, and he didn't have time to focus on his grief. Additionally, Martha burned much of their correspondence for privacy, so it is likely that his comment on Jacky's death was contained within those. I have no difficulty saying that Jacky's death was just as painful for George and Martha as Patsy's was.

A majority of my information on the Washingtons comes from Mount Vernon and the sources they provide. Here is their collection on Washington's entire family if you want more detail on the children/grandchildren. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for the ask!!

#george washington #martha washington #jacky parke custis #patsy custis #washington family #american history #amrev #history #amrev history #i love talking about the washingtons #idk why they just are so comforting #they were such a traditional 18th century family without being overly toxic and i love it

[georgewashington-official]

*knocks on door*

@sassy-macaroni-1743

@patsy-jefferson199

For: @john-parke-custis + @georgewashington-official

Ah, Mister Jefferson! And you brought your lovely daughter. It's good to have you over. Please do come in.

[alexander-hamilton-2022]

Mr.Hamilton, what is the "F-word?" *smiles cutely*

-Patsy @parke-custis-children

It's a swear word, and it's very offensive, so you shouldn't say it

#ask

[spymaster-and-socialite]

Patsy: *looks at him curiously* You have a nice outfit, sir!

-@parke-custis-children

Though Andre is unaccustomed to dealing with children, he puts on a friendly smile. "Thank you, young lady."

#classified information

[pub-lius]

Martha Washington for richie my beloved menace <3

sorry this is late, but we're in the final stretch of this where it's my Main Focuses (washington, lafayette, burr, and hamilton), so these posts are going to be a bit more separated and in multiple posts bc i just have so much information on them. all my sources for the Washingtons come from Mount Vernon and the Washington papers, other information comes from an assortment of biographies. anyway, enjoy these old white people @thereallvrb0y <3

~~~

Born as Martha Dandridge on June 2, 1731 at Chestnut Grove Plantation in New Kent County, Virginia, Martha was the eldest of eight children of John Dandridge and Frances Jones. John immigrated to America in 1714 and was the son of an English craftsman. Frances was the daughter of a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. They got married in 1730 when Frances was 20 and John was 30 because all these men were creeps. John was a moderately successful planter, and came to enslave 15-20 people. Their family belonged to minor local gentry, so while not in the Virginia aristocracy as I like to call it, they were still known and respected.

Martha received a typical female education in housekeeping, religion, reading, writing, music, and dancing. She grew to be about five feet tall with brown hair and either brown or hazel eyes.

In her late teens, Daniel Parke Custis thought she was hot, and it was totally fine that he was 20 years older than her because he was a very eligible bachelor. No, like actually really eligible as in rich, because he was so rich that his dad didn't want him to marry Martha because she wasn't rich enough. But eventually he was "as much enamored with her character as [his son was] with her person." Creepy!

But, they didn't ask for my opinion, and got married in May 1750. They had four children, two who died as toddlers. These were Daniel Custis (1751-1754) who probably died of malaria, Frances Custis (1753-1757), John "Jacky" Parke Custis (1754-1781), and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis (1756-1773). Funny story, their great-grandfather had a condition that only children with the name Parke would receive inheritance, so idk why Daniel and Frances were screwed over since birth, bc that seems a bit prejudiced.

Anyway, they moved into Custis' house called White House (foreshadowing) on the Pamunkey River. Side note, what the fuck is going on with Virginia's rivers and why are they all so... like that??? I guess I can't talk, since I know how to pronounce Natchitoches like it's an everyday term.

The death of Danny boy's dad made him one of the richest men in Virginia. Common Custis W. He exported tobacco and had immense holdings, over 300 enslaved people and over 17,500 acres of land. Get it Martha.

Martha became the mistress of her household, which was a really significant role for any upper class woman in Virginia, but also because women were expected to be "purveyors of sociability". In simple terms, they held the family's shit together. Martha presided over formal dinners, entertained guests, and hosted balls. She also furnished her house with the finest goods to make sure everyone knew how much of a bad bitch she was.

This job also included being the mistress of the enslaved people working in the household. She acted as the overall supervisor of the household which eventually included 12 enslaved people. And she was highkey racist, so fair warning for this quote.

"The Blacks are so bad in their nature that they have not the least grat[i]tude for the kindness that may be shewed to them." -Martha Washington, 1795

What the fuck, Martha??? I'm sure you wouldn't be very happy about your circumstances if you had some entitled white lady being pissy about everything you did all the time.

She never actually expressed her views on slavery, but she didn't question it, so like. yeah she was racist. Also she was really pissed when Ona Judge escaped enslavement, feeling like she was betrayed. Like bitch. Come on. Also she never freed any of the enslaved people who she had the legal ability to.

Oh yeah and she had motherly responsibilities, which is a whole job within itself on top of all the other shit. Luckily, she had experience raising her younger siblings bc yk. Eldest daughter syndrome.

Daniel died on July 8, 1757, and I wouldn't say I'm happy about it but like.................

This death kinda fucked her over. There's no evidence she really liked him that much, but she was left alone at 26 with two children, which really sucks. Other than that, she was popping her pussy bc like. She inherited a third of his property, nearly 300 enslaved people, over 17,500 acres of land and over £40,000 so.

She couldn't legally free or sell those enslaved people because they were already "owned" by the next generation (the whole legal aspect of this bullshit is so uselessly complicated, that's all you need to know to understand). Daniel didn't leave a will, so she was the executioner of his estate. When she died, the estate would automatically transfer to her descendants.

This gave her almost all the legal rights of a man. She could buy and sell property, make contracts, and be sued in court. However, she still considered financial matters to be a man's concern EVEN THOUGH SHE GIRLBOSSED THROUGH IT HERSELF whatever. She likely hoped for another relationship for companionship and also children. Missed opportunity.

Her status as a super fucking rich widow became known and a bunch of dudes wanted in on the marthussy (that is a direct quote from my notes and i just though you had to see that). Annnnnyway, because she didn't have a need for a financial advantage, it would be a love match.

Convenient! She met this dude named George Washington. He's pretty underground, but you might have heard of him.

He was traveling to Williamsburg in March 1758 during a break in the French and Indian War. We don't know when their first meeting was, but it could have been while Daniel was alive because they had mutual friends. Scandalous.

Washington paid a visit to her house on March 16, 1758, and left a generous tip to her enslaved household workers, probably to impress her. Fucking nerd. He visited again on the 25th, then returned to war like a real man.

However, they began to plan a future together within months. Washington started renovating Mount Vernon, and Martha made an order for wedding finery. They were both such dorks.

She trusted and loved George quickly, which is shown by the fact that, although some widows wrote contracts protecting their assets, Martha didn't. Washington would have use of her portion of land inherited from her previous husband until it was passed down to the Custis heirs, and he would also become her children's legal guardian, and she just trusted him with all that.

At the end of 1758, Washington resigned from the military, and on January 6, 1759, they got married at their new home in New Kent County.

They lived 16 years at Mount Vernon, referred to as "the golden years". They had no children of their own, but raised Jacky and Patsy, and lived typical Virginian planter lives. George oversaw lands and business while being involved in politics and society, while Martha supervised the education of the children, domestic operations, and the whole mistress of the household thing. She also oversaw the making of textiles and production of clothing for the entire household. These were pretty typical gender roles for the time.

The golden years ended with the death of Patsy from an epileptic seizure in the summer of 1773 at the age of 17. More information about the Custis kids and their deaths in this ask.

Martha strongly supported the Revolutionary War, and had a wild ride during it. She traveled all over the country to spend time with George at his winter encampments every year of the six that Washington served as Commander-in-Chief. She now had another role as a public figure and a figure of the Revolution.

She ended up being with him for almost half of the Revolution, and Washington regarded her presence as essential as she boosted morale across the Continental Army. Washington even sought reimbursement from Congress for her traveling expenses.

While at camp, she entertained visiting diplomats and officers' wives, assisted with secretarial duties, even being considered a part of Washington's staff. She was Washington's closest confidant.

She also made efforts to improve the lives of soldiers. She became the public face of a campaign to raise money for supplies in 1780, and was a symbol of the American people.

The Revolution ended in her life when Washington came home at the end of the war to have Christmas dinner with his wife.

They were chillin at Mount Vernon for six years after the war, raising their two grandchildren, this time paralleling the golden years. The main difference was the fact that Washington was an international celebrity, and they hosted hundreds of guests each year from around the world, dramatically increasing Martha's workload.

Then they fucking elected Washington as the president after the whole Constitution thing, and Martha was Reasonably Pissed.

She left Mount Vernon on May 16th with Washington's punk ass nephew and their grandchildren. The trip sucked and everything went to shit. They had bad horses, a broken carriage, and a shitty boat ride. They went through parades and receptions, and the kids learned social skills, but Martha was fucking exhausted.

Like her husband, she took criticism personally during his administration. However, the most important thing to her was having good entertainment as the first lady. She initiated weekly receptions on Friday evenings, receiving congressmen, dignitaries, and local community members at the President's House. Critics, however, complained that these events were too aristocratic, but they served as a sign that the new government would be close to the people. Washington also held events, but Martha's were more diverse.

Martha grew more comfortable in her role when the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1791. Her longing to return home was highlighted by the second fucking term. They eventually did go home in March 1797.

George only lived for two years after retiring, leaving Martha as a devastated widow. She burned 40 years of correspondence between them in order to preserve their privacy.

Martha died of illness on May 22, 1802 at her home, surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

#martha washington #george washington #history #american history #amrev #amrev history #washington administration #founding fathers #founding mothers #slay slay slay #slay all day #do it for richie 💪

[the-real-george-washington]

Jacky: Hi, papa!

Patsy: *gives dad a small flower*

- @parke-custis-children

*hugs them both* my babies!

[peterson-children]

Patsy: Um... Hello there~

-@parke-custis-children

Thomas: Hello!

[benjamin-tallmadge-official]

Patsy: Brother, why will everyone scold me when I say a bad word? *pouting*

-@parke-custis-children

Because bad words are usually rude and tend to insult others

[phociian]

another lil history thing:

The Washingtons were well known for spoiling the children under their care. People in that time noted that. Their kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. All the kids that lived with them were spoiled by them. Patsy and Jacky Parke Custis (Martha's children from her first marriage) were extremely loved, especially since George and Martha never had children of their own. George bought Jack a violin, and Patsy a spinnet (which was kinda like a predecessor to the harpsichord), and would buy Patsy a doll from London once a year that was updated with the latest fashions from Europe. He also bought Jack horses and Patsy a parrot (I think it was a parrot, it might have been another bird). One of his and Martha's granddaughters (I can't remember which) also had a spaniel named Frisky. Also George tended to spoil the girls and was stricter with the boys, and Martha tended to spoil the boys and was stricter with the girls (probably because she was the woman of the house from a very young age).

But they were strict too. George was strict about education (since he didn't have a chance to be formally educated like his older brothers). He was very strict about where he would send Wash Parke Custis to college (and I think someone recommended he ask Hamilton where he was sending Philip, since Philip was a few months younger). He was super strict with Jack, Wash's father, but both boys were lazy about schooling and just overall uninterested, and in the end deferred to Martha (in Jack's case) and Nelly Calvert and David Stuart (since they were Wash's mother and stepfather). Neither of them ended up finishing school. The girls were also tutored really well in dance (I think), music, embroidery, etc. They were well read and were able to read and write proficiently. Martha was more lax about the boys' education (I don't think she actually had a formal education and would often use secretaries to write her letters and then she'd copy them and sign them), but she was known to be pretty strict with the girl's education (since all that jazz was vital to them finding a husband and all that).

#once again i don't know my sources #whoops #john parke custis #patsy parke custis #nelly calvert custis #nelly parke custis lewis #wash parke custis #george washington #martha washington #alexander hamilton #amrev #american revolution #history #american history

[the-dress-of-martha-washington]

The Dress of Martha Washington is a project that aims to reconstruct what clothing could have been worn by Washington, using extant garments surviving from the 18th century. To do this, I will use extant garments and textiles worn by Martha Washington, descriptions of her clothing, shopping orders, as well as portraits. In addition, I will look at the fashion of her time and society to interpret what clothing she might have worn. Furthermore, I will discuss how major political events (the American Revolution and the Founding of the American Republic) affected the style of Washington. As Martha Washington's life is inherently tied to the violent institution of slavery, I will highlight the role slavery played in the fashion. Slavery allowed Washington to afford expensive clothing, while the labour of enslaved women was used to clean, repair, and alter her clothing.

Table of Content:

The Life of Martha Washington

Fashion in Colonial Virginian upper class society

How many dresses did Martha Washington own and buy?

Surviving Gowns of Martha Washington

The Portraits of Martha Washington

The Transatlantic Trading Network

The Impact of Patsy Parke Custis

Fashion and the American Revolution

Fashion and the Politics of the Early American Republic

Mourning Fashion

The Labor of enslaved seamstresses

[patriotspy]

Jacky: Good morning, sir!

Patsy: *smiles sweetly and gives him a flower*

-Parke Custis children @parke-custis-children

Oh! Good morning, little ones. *smiles gently and takes it* Is this for me, dear? Tis quite lovely, and I am most honored to have such a precious gift.

#asks #parke custis children

[georgewashington-official]

you know @martha-parke-custis is dating @agnes-bocskai

Not really. I thought they were good friends. But I must say I quite like the idea of my dear Patsy with a nice "girlfriend" like that. Do you say it like that? Girlfriend?

Although on a second thought, they are a bit young, aren't they?

[alexander-hamilton-2022]

Patsy: *knocks on the door* Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Hamilton!! *calls him out loud*

-@parke-custis-children

*Open the door* Hello Patsy, how are you?

#ask

[dominavulpis]

#c; patsy parke custis #Because there is little wide-spread knowledge of Patsy #I feel the need to upload these each time I begin a new blog. Haha. #Patsy Parke Custis

[simplysummers]

@quillsink @vive-le-revolution @forest-the-tree @coldinmyproffesions @warminmyfreindships @chaotic-randomzooli @ms-march @jackyfalahees @stuck-in-1700 @ifgremlinsweretall @binch-i-might-be @burgoyned @aarongoesburr @eat-th3-rich @that-veela-girl @floatyteabag @yes-i-am-also-amrev-gay @queenbutgenderneutrally @timelesspaperbutterfly @lostinmymindpalace-m @rthoney @stinkyavocado @princesspreze7 @history-headache @harrison-the-dilf-friend @were1776 @i-like-old-things

I feel like my attention towards the amrev fandom has definitely faltered slightly as of recent, especially considering this new crazy ship is floating around and I’m just “0-0” my way through the chaos because I have no Idea what’s going on lmao- so I thought I’d give my favourite people a little post towards my favourite chaotic Washington children, just to let you all know I’m still here and thriving in my own chaos.

I talk about Jacky all of the time, but I very rarely mention Patsy (that’s a lie, I do talk about her a lot, just not as much as Jacky) but I should definitely discuss her more! She’s a legendary disaster and I love her 💛

Also Jacky’s curls on ivory??? Pardon me sir who gave you the right to be this fabulous.

#jacky Custis #John Parke Custis #patsy Custis #Martha Parke Custis #George Washington #Martha Washington #the Custis domestics #1700s letters #amrev #american revolution #American history #I’m still here on my bullshit I promise