page_title: Elizabeth Parke Custis Law
section_title: Slaves, residences and possessions
hierarchical_section_title: Elizabeth Parke Custis Law / Slaves, residences and possessions
caption_attribution_description: English: Washington at Verplanck's Point on the North River on September 14, 1782, reviewing the French troops under General Rochambeau on their return from Virginia after the victory at Yorktown.
context_page_description: Elizabeth Parke Custis Law was the eldest granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and step-grandchild of George Washington. She married Thomas Law, the youngest son of the late bishop of Carlisle, England, and an experienced administrator with the East India Company.
  Elizabeth P. Law became a social leader in the District of Columbia, and she worked to preserve the Washington family heritage. She and Law separated in 1804 and divorced in 1811. They had one daughter who survived and three grandchildren. She was known for her fierce temper.
context_section_description: George and Martha Washington were unable to attend the Laws' wedding, but invited the couple to honeymoon in Philadelphia at the President's House. The First Lady promised one of the slaves in the presidential household, Oney Judge, as a wedding gift to the couple, but the young woman fled after learning of the plan. She reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she remained free. She married and had three children. Martha Washington bequeathed her younger sister, Delphy, to the bride and groom instead. 
  In 1800 Delphy married William Costin, a free man, and lived with him in Washington, DC. Delphy and her children were manumitted by Thomas Law and Eliza P. Custis Law in 1807. Eliza remained in close contact with William and Delphy Costin throughout her life.
  Upon her marriage, Elizabeth Law had inherited about 80 slaves from her late father's estate. After Martha Washington died in 1802, she inherited about 35 dower slaves from her grandfather Daniel Parke Custis's estate. Martha Washington had use of them in her lifetime. Following Elizabeth Law's mother's 1811 death, her father's estate was liquidated, and she inherited about 40 more slaves. She likely sold some of them for her support.
  In March, 1796, Elizabeth and Thomas moved into the Thomas Law House near present-day 6th and N Streets Southwest. The house became known as "Honeymoon House" as the Laws lived there for a few months while awaiting completion of their house. They moved at the end of August. The National Park Service listed the house on the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973.
  Following her separation from Thomas, Elizabeth resided between 1805 and 1809 at a "small country house" and estate on Seminary Hill in Alexandria, which she called Mount Washington. Mount Washington later was acquired by the Episcopal High School and used as its central administration building; it was known as Hoxton House.
  Martha Washington bequeathed to Elizabeth the John Trumbull portrait of General Washington, Washington at Verplanck's Point, as well as a dressing table and looking glass.
caption: Washington at Verplanck's Point, by John Trumbull, 1790
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