Martha Parke Custis Peter

Martha Parke Custis Peter was born on December 31, 1777, in the Blue Room at Mount Vernon. She was the daughter of John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert. Her paternal grandparents were Martha Washington and Daniel Parke Custis, making her a step-granddaughter of George Washington. Her maternal grandparents included Benedict Swingate Calvert and Elizabeth Calvert. Martha was named after her father's late sister, Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis, who lived from 1756 to 1773.

Her siblings included Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (1776–1831), Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (1779–1854), and George Washington Parke Custis (1781–1857). The family initially alternated residence between Mount Vernon in Virginia and Mount Airy in Maryland. In 1778, John Parke Custis acquired Abingdon, a 900-acre plantation situated on the west bank of the Potomac River, which was approximately equidistant from Mount Vernon and Mount Airy.

Martha married Thomas Peter in 1795 at Hope Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. For her wedding, she requested a miniature of George Washington as a gift. The miniature was painted in Philadelphia between 1794 and 1795 by Walter Robertson. It was a watercolor on ivory, set in gold, depicting Washington in his Continental Army uniform.

Martha and Thomas Peter had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Their children included Martha Eliza Eleanor Peter (1796–1800), Columbia Washington Peter (1797–1821), John Parke Custis Peter (1799–1848), George Washington Parke Custis Peter (1801–1877), America Pinckney Peter Williams (1803–1842), Robert Thomas Peter (1806–1807), Martha Custis Castania Peter (1808–1809), and Britannia Wellington Peter Kennon (1815–1911).

Upon her marriage, Martha inherited 61 slaves from her father's estate. Her husband, Thomas Peter, auctioned these slaves soon after their marriage, an action that contrasted with the pro-family reunification stance George Washington expressed in his will. Martha inherited approximately 35 dower slaves after her grandmother Martha Washington's death in 1802, and further about 40 slaves following her mother's death in 1811.

Her inheritance from George Washington, amounting to $8,000 (equivalent to approximately $192,676 in 2024), was used in 1805 to purchase property in Washington, D.C. Located on Georgetown Heights with a view of the Potomac River, the property was developed into a mansion called Tudor Place. The Peters commissioned Dr. William Thornton, the architect of the United States Capitol, to design the mansion.

Martha Parke Custis Peter died in July 1854.