When the American Revolution ended and George Washington returned to his home to Mount Vernon after an eight-year absence. He joined his wife, Martha Washington, and after the death of John Parke Custis on the Yorktown campaign, the couple began to raise their two youngest grandchildren Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis and George “Washy” Washington Parke Custis. The family’s life shifted at Washington’s call once again to public service. Washington’s role in the Constitutional Convention and subsequent election to the presidency propelled Martha to the position of First Lady.
George Washington’s Election to the Presidency
By the time George was elected as the first president, Martha was accustomed to the duties of public service. Martha had accompanied him for a large portion of the Revolutionary War, including at Valley Forge, and supported the Patriot causes through fundraising efforts. After serving as commander-in-chief, he was attuned to politics in the young country. And he left Mount Vernon once more when he was appointed as President of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.
As the Constitution was ratified with Washington’s support, it became increasingly clear that George Washington would head the new government. Less than a week after the Secretary of Congress, Charles Thomson, arrived at Mount Vernon with the official notification of George Washington's election to the presidency, Martha confided in her brother that, she was "truly sorry to tell" that her husband had left for New York and that she thought it was “much too late for him to go in to publick life again.”1
Martha Washington Becomes First Lady
Just as her husband realized that his every action might set a precedent for future presidents, so was Martha Washington aware that her behavior as first lady would become the template for the wives of future chief executives. Martha arrived in New York about a month after her husband's inauguration in 1789, accompanied by her two grandchildren “Nelly” and “Washy,” and several enslaved workers including Ona Judge. The group was escorted by one of the President's young nephews, twenty-year-old Robert Lewis, who was to be a secretary for his uncle in New York. Beyond establishing norms for future first ladies, Martha continued to care to her grandchildren and their education, remained in consistent contact with their extended family, and assisted in managing Mount Vernon from afar. They often returned to Mount Vernon during Congressional recesses.
One of George Washington's first tasks as president was to set a schedule for official entertaining, an endeavor that Martha Washington would have a prominent role. Washington found this aspect of the role immensely difficult. The Washingtons settled on a weekly schedule. The President would host reception for gentlemen on Tuesday afternoons, and a dinner with members of Congress and others on Thursday afternoons. Martha likely assisted in planning these. Then, Martha would hold a reception, or levee, on Friday evenings that gave the President the opportunity to interact with guests in a private setting.
However, their social calendar also included activities for their grandchildren. Martha wrote to Abigail Adams desiring her niece join her grandchildren in dancing on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays in the evening.2 Martha remained so occupied in her duties as First Lady, she wrote to a friend, “business of settling in a new habitation receiving and returning visits have left me no time for my self while in health,” and that she had been “so long accustomed to conform to events which are governed by the public voice that I hardly dare indulge any personal wishes which cannot yield to that.”3
As first lady, Martha Washington had the opportunity to live in two of the most important and dynamic cities in America, Philadelphia and New York. When the nation’s capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, she assisted in arrangement the President’s accommodations there, and the Washington established themselves there. Martha continued as the first lady such after Washington was elected for a second term in 1792.
While living in both national capitals, Martha took advantage of everything those cities had to offer. The first family went to church regularly, attended plays, circuses, museums, and waxworks. Most importantly for her husband and his administration, Martha made friends with ease, hosting politicians and Revolutionary war veterans in their executive residence. Not only did she maintain important political friendships, some spanning from before the Revolution, but also ensured that every day people felt welcomed.
Through her role as the first First Lady, Martha established precedents for the role, much like her husband did for the Presidency. By moving their family to the executive residences, Martha established a place for the president’s family in the nation’s capital. By assisting with entertaining, she expanded demonstrated the strategic role First Ladies play in facilitating political exchange and foreign relationships.
Revised by Zoie Horecny, Ph.D., 25 April 2025
Notes:
1. “From Martha Washington to John Dandridge, 20 April 1789,” in Fields, Joseph E. 'Worthy Partner': The Papers of Martha Washington. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994.
2. “From Martha Washington to Abigail Smith Adams, 25 January 1791,” The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Papers of Martha Washington, The Papers of Martha Washington.
3. “From Martha Washington to Janet Livingston Montgomery,” The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Papers of Martha Washington, The Papers of Martha Washington
Bibliography
Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington: An American Life. New York: Viking, 2005.
Fraser, Flora. The Washingtons: George and Martha Partners in Friendship and Love. Anchor Books, 2015.
The Papers of Martha Washington. Ed. Alicia K. Anderson, Jennifer E. Stertzer, Kathryn Gehred, et. al. University of Virginia Press, 2022.
