Mrs. Eleanor Parke Lewis (Nelly Custis)

Eleanor Parke Custis was the adopted grand-daughter of George Washington. “Nelly” was one of four children of Martha Washington’s son “Jackey” Custis who died young. Nelly was born March 31, 1779, at Abingdon Plantation, Virginia, present site of Ronald Reagan National Airport. She was part of the Washington household, appearing in the famous Edward Savage painting of the family. Her grandpapa Washington provided Nelly with a very good schooling.

When Nelly married Lawrence Lewis on Feburary 22, 1799, it represented the joining of the Washington family and the Dandridge/Custis family, as Lawrence was the son of George Washington’s sister Betty (Washington) Lewis. They lived at Woodlawn Plantation; see the previous post for a picture of their home from the side.

The illustration is from “Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington by his Adopted Son George Washington Parke Custis,” New York, 1860.