George Washington and Family

After the presidency, George and Martha Washington returned to Mount Vernon to raise her two grandchildren, George Washington “Wash” Parke Custis (far left) and Eleanor “Nelly” Custis (center right). As an adult, Wash Custis fathered a daughter named Maria with an enslaved house servant, Arianna Carter. In 1825, he freed Maria, providing her with land from his Virginia estate, which was called Arlington. Wash’s other surviving daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, went on to marry Robert E. Lee and occupied the nearby mansion house on the property that is now known as Arlington National Cemetery.

In this popular print, the Washingtons gather around a map. An enslaved servant, possibly Christopher Sheels, stands at right, alluding to the complex interracial relationships and dependencies that were a part of the Washington family’s life and legacy.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution