click image for close-up George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were wed in January of 1759. Both were twenty-seven years old, and they had spent a total of fewer than three weeks together.

George’s marriage to Martha propelled him into Virginia’s upper gentry. ... After George Washington’s death, the Custises and the Washington nieces and nephews continued on diverging paths.

click image for close-up George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were wed in January of 1759. Both were twenty-seven years old, and they had spent a total of fewer than three weeks together.