The fascinating saga of Washington's heirs

While it’s widely known that George and Martha Washington never had children of their own, few are aware that they raised numerous children together. In First Family, we see Washington as a father figure and meet his outspoken step-grandchildren.

The children of Martha Washington’s son by her first marriage—Eliza, Patty, Nelly and Wash Custis—were born into life in the public eye. By turns petty and powerful, glamorous and cruel, the Custises used Washington as a means to enhance their own power and status. As enslavers committed to the American empire, the Custis family embodied the failures of the American experiment. First Family brings new focus to this surprisingly neglected aspect of George Washington’s life and legacy.

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