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Martha was born in june 2, 1731 at Chestnut Grove Plantation, Virginia
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Martha was the oldest of eight children. When not helping to watch her younger siblings, Martha was learning homemaking skills including cooking, planting vegetables, and sewing clothes. Unlike many girls of her time, she also learned how to read and write.
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Martha helped to manage the estate with her husband gone. She had experience doing this from when she was a widow. She also aided the cause of the patriots by raising money to help pay for things like uniforms and food for the soldiers. Martha gave over $20,000 of her own money to the war effort, which was a lot of money in the 1700s.
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During the war.
Martha's trips to Valley Forge were a personal sacrifice. She could have stayed home on her nice estate at Mount Vernon, but she chose to support the troops. The camp was not only uncomfortable compared to home, but much more dangerous due to diseases such as smallpox. -
After the war, George (her husband) Washington was elected the first President of the United States. Although the title wasn't used at the time, this made Martha the first "First Lady". She hosted events and started a tradition where she held public receptions every Friday. Martha did a great job as First Lady. -
When Martha was seventeen she met a wealthy plantation owner named Daniel Parke Custis at church. Daniel was more than twenty years older than Martha, but they soon fell in love. In 1750, Daniel and Martha were married and Martha went to live with Daniel on his large estate. Martha and Daniel had four children together, although two of them died in childhood.
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Seven years after getting married, Daniel passed away. Martha was now a widow and owner of a huge Virginia plantation.