Lawrence Lewis

Lawrence Lewis was born on April 4, 1767, in Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia. He was the son of merchant and planter Fielding Lewis and Elizabeth Washington Lewis, making him a nephew of George Washington, as Elizabeth was George Washington's sister. His family owned a plantation near Fredericksburg that operated with enslaved labor. Lewis's full siblings included Fielding Lewis Jr., Augustine Lewis, Warner Lewis, Charles Lewis, Samuel Lewis, Robert Lewis, and Howell Lewis. He also had half-siblings from his father's first wife, including John Lewis and a deceased sibling.

George Washington served as a godparent to several of Lewis's brothers, including Warner Lewis, Fielding Lewis Jr., and Charles Lewis, although Warner and Charles died in childhood. The family experienced financial difficulties, which George Washington helped mitigate by supporting his nephews.

In 1790, Lewis married Susannah Edmonton, an heiress from Essex County, Virginia. She died in childbirth in 1790, shortly after giving birth to a child who also died. Lewis volunteered in 1794 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion, serving as aide-de-camp to General Daniel Morgan and attaining the rank of major.

Following George Washington's presidency and subsequent death on December 14, 1799, Lewis became one of the executors of the Washington estate, alongside Martha Washington and Bushrod Washington. Initially hoping to inherit Mount Vernon, Lewis was disappointed to only inherit Woodlawn plantation and Washington's gristmill and distillery. A legal dispute over the estate’s will ensued with Bushrod Washington, which lasted several years.

Lewis's second marriage was to Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis, a granddaughter of Martha Washington and Daniel Parke Custis. They married on February 22, 1799, at Mount Vernon. The couple resided at Mount Vernon initially; their first child, Frances Parke Lewis, was born there on November 27, 1799. After George Washington's death, Lewis received a wedding gift of 2,000 acres of Mount Vernon estate and oversaw the construction of the Woodlawn Plantation between 1800 and 1805, designed by William Thornton. The Lewises lived at Woodlawn until about 1830, after which they moved to the Audley estate in Clarke County, Virginia.

Lawrence Lewis and Nelly Custis had eight children, of whom four survived to adulthood: Frances Parke Lewis (1799–1875), Martha Betty Lewis (1801–1802), Lorenzo Lewis (1803–1847), and Eleanor Eleanor Agnes Freire Lewis (1805–1820). Several of their children died in infancy or childhood, and Nelly suffered multiple miscarriages.

Lewis continued his involvement with estate management and legal affairs, including litigation over Washington's land and estate settlement. He died on November 20, 1839, in Arlington, Virginia, and was buried in the vault at Mount Vernon, near George and Martha Washington.

**Family Summary:**

First wife: Susannah Edmonton (died in childbirth, 1790)

Children with Susannah: Baby Lewis (1790), who died during birth.

Second wife: Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis (married 1799)

Children with Nelly:

- Frances Parke Lewis (1799–1875), married Edward George Washington Butler

- Martha Betty Lewis (1801–1802)

- Lorenzo Lewis (1803–1847)

- Eleanor Agnes Freire Lewis (1805–1820)

- Henry Lewis and other children who died young or in infancy.

Throughout his life, Lawrence Lewis was involved in estate management, legal disputes, and plantation oversight.