Martha Washington

It has been a chock-a-block week working on revisions but I did manage to finish Patricia Brady's, Martha Washington. It's only 236 pages but filled with information. Made me wonder what were the challenges of being First Lady. Found out there were many.

We see pictures of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington as a little old lady with a white mob cap. Well by the late 1700's she was. However, in her younger days she was quite the catch. Her name was Martha but her family called her Patsy, which was a nickname for Martha back in the day. She was also a true survivor. She outlived her first husband, Daniel Park Custis, as well as her three children, Daniel, John and Martha. She was a devote member of the Anglican Church. She was an avid reader and loved the theater.

History tells us she was hd dark brown hair, hazel eyes and fair skin and was fortunate to have both her parents throughout her girlhood. As the eldest in a household without servants she learned to run a home. She was shy of five feet tall and tiny build. Also she had beautiful white teeth which was unusual for a time without dentists.

When she was being courted by Daniel Custis, his father, John, apparently a nasty man, threatened to disinherit him. However, "Patsy" a.k.a. Martha wasn't afraid of him.

After Daniel died, she became a business woman, carrying on her late husband's business of lending money, at interest, to planters. She kept careful records, which was a great asset to Gen. Washington when he had to be away from Mt. Vernon during the War.

During the war she didn't stay at home during the winter but joined her husband at the winter camps. Apparently, gentleman and their armies did not wage war during the winter. In the planting season she returned to Mt. Vernon.When the war was over she did not want her husband to accept the presidency. The country was in a turmoil and he did attempt to resist but we know from history what happened.

Now Martha was the first First Lady. The capitol was in New York at that time so she moved the household there. To say Washington's first term was rocky is a matter of history. That he survived is a miracle that can be attributed to Martha taking care of him and bolstering his morale, which also included nursing him through a bout of pneumonia in addition to handling the social requirements of his office and hers as the nation's hostess. When the capitol was moved to Philadelphia there was an outbreak of yellow fever and George sent the family back to Mt. Vernon for their safety. He was going to remain there but she refused to leave without him. Not that it mattered, the government was at a standstill because so many had evacuated, including Jefferson.

She was vehemently against Gen. Washington accepting a second term but being the good wife she supported him. She didn't like Thomas Jefferson at all because of his politics and manipulations with Madison.

Their time at Mt. Vernon was relatively short after Washington left office. However she was surrounded by family as well as company but he died within two years of leaving office. Martha sat by his bedside and when he died she moved to a smaller room at Mt. Vernon. He had been her love, her life.

There are those who say Washington loved a lot of women. Maybe he did but Martha loved him with all her being.