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The Family Life of George Washington
By Charles Moore
(Houghton Mifflin Company, 1926)
Pages 148 ff.
"At six months of age, my father became the Child of
Mount Vernon, the idol of his grandmother and and object on
which was lavished the caresses and attention of the many
distinguished guests who thronged that hospitable mansion. His
beautiful sister Nelly often observed: 'Grandmamma always
spoiled Washington.' He was the pride of her heart; while the
public duties of the Veteran prevented the exercise of his
influence in forming the character of the boy, too softly
nurtured under his roof, and gifted with talents which, under
sterner discipline, might have made him more available for his
own and his country's good."
So wrote Mrs. Robert E. Lee of her father, George Washington
Parke Custis [1781-1857], of Arlington, in 1859, two years after
his death. Here is, indeed, a case in which the sins of
the children are visited on the parents--and quite unjustly. If
Mr. Custis did not in his own person realize the fond wishes of
his progenitors and his descendants, at least he rendered two
services which will cause his name to shine in the history of
his country. His recollection of Washington, in the form of
newspaper articles, written as the spirit moved him during a
period of thirty years, give to posterity the most authentic,
consistent, and intimate account of the personal, family life of
Washington . . .
Therefore we may overlook the disappointment and chagrin of
his relatives that as boy and man unconquerable indolence
prevented G.W.P. Custis [1781-1857] from realizing the
great expectations centered in him . . . .
In Nov, 1796, Pres Washington wrote from Philadelphia to
young Custis, then a student at Princeton College, enclosing a
ten-dollar bill 'to purchase a gown, etc., if proper. At the
time Washington was sixty-four years old and Custis was fifteen.
. . .
Washington had no children of his own to inherit his peculiar
abilities and traits of character, but he strove to impress on
his wife's children and grandchildren those ideas and ideals
which the experience of an arduous life had instilled in him. In
these endeavours he had to content with the erratic Parke and
Custis blood . . . .
This letter gave Washington great satisfaction, but his
complacency was rudely shattered a month later by a note from
President Smith the contents of which may be inferred by the
reply thereto:
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Your favor of the 18th instant . . .
filled my mind (as you naturally supposed it would) with
extreme disquietude. From his (Custis's) infancy I have
discovered an almost unconquerable disposition to
indolence in everything that did not tend to his
amusements; and have exhorted him in the most tender and
parental manner often, to devote his time to more useful
pursuits. His pride has been stimulated and his family
expectations and wishes have been urged as inducements
thereto. In short, I could say nothing more to him now
by way of admonition, encouragement or advice that has
not been repeated over and over again.
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Custis did not return to Princeton. In March Dr. Stuart (his
mother's husband) took him to Annapolis and entered him at Saint
John's College.
In commending Custis to President McDowell,
indolence of mind was Washington's charge against the boy,
adding, "I know of no vice to which this inertness can be
attributed. From drinking and gaming he is perfectly free, and
if he has a propensity to any other impropriety it is hidden
from me. He is generous and regardful of truth." Washington
was correct as well as sincere. As Custis was at sixteen, so he
remained to the end of his days. . . .
Five weeks having elapsed without a letter
from Annapolis, the family heard disquieting rumors in
Alexandria that Custis was "devoting much time and paying
much attention to a certain young lady." Washington's
admonition was: "Recollect the saying of the wise man,
'There is a time for all things,' and sure I am this is not a
time for a boy of your age to enter into engagements which
might end in sorrow and repentance." . . .
Custis did not return to Annapolis in the
September of 17898. he was ready to go because the family wished
it; but his reluctance was so great that Washington knew the
uselessness of a further stay there. In his hopelessness the
perplexed "father of his country" sends to Dr. Stuart
this confession of futility in his dealings with his foster son:
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What is best to be done with him I
know not. My opinion has always been, that the
university of Mass. would have been the most eligible
seminary to have sent him to; first, because it is on a
larger scale than any other; and, secondly, because I
believe that the habits of the youth there, whether from
the discipline of the school, or the greater attention
of the people generally to morals, and a more regular
course of life, are less prone to dissipation and excess
than they are at the colleges south of it. . . . |
What schools could not do for young Custis,
Washington hoped the camp accomplish . . . Washington selected
Alexander Hamilton and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as
major-generals, and the latter took upon his staff young Custis,
who had already been commissioned a cornet of horse.
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posted 29 June 2008 |
