Eleanor Calvert

Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (1758 – 28 September 1811) was a prominent member of the Calvert family of Maryland, and the daughter-in-law of Martha Dandridge Washington and the stepdaughter-in-law of George Washington.

Early life

Eleanor Calvert was born in 1758 at the Calvert family's Mount Airy plantation near Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County, Maryland. Eleanor was the second eldest daughter of Benedict Swingate Calvert, son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, and his wife Elizabeth Calvert Butler. She was known to her family as "Nelly." As a teenager, Eleanor was an exceptionally pretty girl and well-mannered.

Marriage and children

Eleanor married John Parke Custis, son of the late Daniel Parke Custis and Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (and stepson of George Washington), on 3 February 1774 at Mount Airy. "Jacky", as he was known by his family, announced his engagement to Eleanor to his parents, who were greatly surprised by the marriage choice due to the couple's youth.

Eleanor and John had four children who survived infancy:

Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, "Eliza", (1776–1831), married Thomas Law
Martha Parke Custis Peter, "Patsy", (1777–1854), married Thomas Peter
Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, "Nelly", (1779–1852), married Lawrence Lewis
George Washington Parke Custis, "Wash", (1781–1857), married Mary Lee Fitzhugh

After the 1781 death of her husband from illness following the Siege of Yorktown, Eleanor and their four children lived at Mount Vernon. John died intestate, so his widow was granted a "dower third", the lifetime use of 1/3 of the Custis estate assets, including its more than 300 slaves. The balance of the Custis estate was held in trust for their children and distributed as the daughters married and the son reached his majority. Eleanor's "dower third" was distributed among their children following her death.

Eleanor married Dr. David Stuart, an Alexandria physician, in the Autumn 1783. David became the executor of the Custis estate and legal guardian to the children. Her two elder daughters, Elizabeth and Martha, lived with Eleanor and David at Abingdon, while her younger two children, Eleanor and Wash, lived with their grandparents George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon.

Eleanor and David had five daughters and two sons of their own:

Ann Calvert Stuart Robinson (born 1784), married William Robinson
Sarah Stuart Waite (born 1786), married Obed Waite
Ariana Calvert Stuart
William Skolto Stuart
Eleanor Custis Stuart (born 1792)
Charles Calvert Stuart (1794–1846), married Cornelia Lee
Rosalie Eugenia Stuart Webster (1796–1886), married William Greenleaf Webster

Later life

Eleanor and David resided at two estates in Fairfax County, Virginia: Hope Park and Ossian Hall. She died at age 53 at Tudor Place, the home of her daughter Martha Parke Custis Peter, on 28 September 1811.