In 1752, at age 20, Washington proposed marriage to a Virginia beauty, Betsy Fauntleroy. She said no. Later he courted Mary Eliza Philipse, whom he called “deep-bosomed.” ...

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.

Likely the child of Martha’s son from her first marriage, William Costin used his position to advocate for D.C.’s free Black community Cassandra Good - Author, First Family: George Washington ...