The 'Keeper of George Washington's Legacy': Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis (1779

The 'Keeper of George Washington's Legacy': Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis (1779–1852)

Throughout her life, [Nelly Custis] Lewis regarded herself as the keeper of George Washington’s legacy. She shared memories and mementos, entertained and corresponded with those seeking information, and verified or debunked new accounts. Her husband had been one of Washington’s executors and was instrumental in having a grand tomb erected at Mount Vernon, completed in 1835. At the time of Lewis’s death, she had little fortune to leave but her remaining Mount Vernon artifacts, which she distributed among her grandchildren. Woodlawn was sold in 1846, and after numerous vicissitudes, in 1951 the house and a portion of the grounds became the first property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Nelly Custis was the delight of George and Martha Washington’s lives and the most accurate purveyor of information about them. During her long life, stretching from the American Revolution until the crucial decade leading up to the American Civil War (1861–1865), she was a living point of connection with the most important of the founding fathers. Nelly Custis Lewis suffered partial paralysis during the last two years of her life. She died at Audley on July 15, 1852, and was buried at Mount Vernon in an enclosure adjoining George Washington’s tomb. In 1915 Lunt Silversmiths designed a Nellie Custis silver pattern, and her name also appears in various guises on the landscape of Northern Virginia, including Nelly Custis Park, in Arlington County, and the Nelly Custis Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County.(Source: Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis (1779–1852) - Encyclopedia Virginia)

This bit of insight into Nelly's life after the deaths of George and Martha Washington reveals not only the love and respect she had for her grandparents, but also the Christian virtue of honoring our mother and father.

We know from historical accounts of the Washington's homelife that Christianity played an important part in the home and that Mrs. Washington was known to be pious and to instruct her children and grandchildren with Scripture.

Nelly is not only a historical American figure that we can remember who lived well, but also a good role model for future generations of women to follow.

'Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.' - Ephesians 6:2,3 KJV

Edward Savage's most famous work, The Washington Family

Source: George Washington's Mount Vernon

May the good Lord bless the memory of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis. Amen.

Mercy Adams

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