Henry
You point out correctly the distinction that I glossed over in my
reference to the "dower slaves" of Martha Washington. Dower provides a
life estate and not a fee simple interest, so that on Martha's death,
her interest in the slaves extinguished, and they passed under the
provisions set up for the intestate estate of Daniel Parke Custis. You
did explain this in "An Imperfect God," so I should have known better.
Richard
On 5/17/2012 10:15 PM, Henry Wiencek wrote:
> Among all the contributors to this list, Richard Dixon holds my
> highest respect for his deep knowledge of Virginia law and history,
> but in the matter of Martha Custis Washington I fear he has made a
> mistake. Upon the death of Martha's first husband, Daniel Parke
> Custis, all his real property--the land and slaves--passed not to
> Martha but to his heir-at-law, their son, John Parke "Jacky" Custis.
> (Jacky's sister, Patsy, inherited a substantial cash income but no
> real property.) Martha had a life interest in the income from DPC's
> real property. This income came into the hands of George Washington
> upon their marriage. The real property was owned by a legal entity,
> the Custis Estate, with George Washington managing the property under
> the oversight of a court. The income from the Custis Estate maintained
> Mount Vernon and gave Washington the financial freedom to pursue
> public service. Martha Washington never owned the so-called "dower
> slaves" who formed the majority of the slaves who worked at Mount
> Vernon. They remained the property of the Custis Estate until Jacky
> Custis came of age. When Jacky died, his widow, Eleanor, married Dr.
> David Stuart, who took control of the Custis slaves and frustrated
> George Washington's 1795-96 attempt to free them along with his own
> slaves.
>
> Henry Wiencek
>
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