Individual Details

Daniel Parke Custis died intestate, so his widow received the lifetime use of one-third of his property ("dower share"), with the other two-thirds held in trust for their children. The January 1759 Custis Estate inventory lists 285 enslaved Africans.[1] The October 1759 Custis Estate inventory lists 17,779 acres (71.95 km2) of land, spread over 5 counties.[2] John Parke Custis was the only one of their children to reach his majority, and became the sole heir. Upon her marriage to George Washington, the dower share, including the "dower negroes," came under Washington's control, pursuant to the common law doctrine of seisin jure uxoris, but upon his death, reverted to her, and then, upon her death, to her first husband's children. Because of Martha Washington's "dower share" (which included 153 enslaved Africans in 1799), the Custis Estate was not liquidated until after her 1802 death.

Birth	15 Oct 1711	York County Colony
Marriage	10 May 1750	New Kent County, Virginia Colony - Martha Dandridge
Death	8 Jul 1757	New Kent County, British America

Spouse	Martha Dandridge (1731 - 1802)
Child	Daniel Curtis (1751 - 1754)
Child	Frances Park Curtis (1753 - 1757)
Child	John Parke Curtis (1754 - 1781)
Child	Martha Parke Curtis (1755 - 1773)