Custis, Mary Ann Randolph

Mary Custis was the only child of and Mary Lee Fitzhugh. It is believed that she was born in 1808, but according to documents, the day of her birth is October 1, 1807. She was born on the in Clark County, where her mother stayed while traveling.

Her father was a grandson of Martha Custis Washington from her first husband, Daniel Parkis, so Mary grew up in the highest aristocratic circle of her time. When George died, his father was adopted into the Washington family and grew up in Mont Vernon, which affected him and his daughter.

Mary was a descendant of several aristocratic surnames of the South, including Kastis Park, Fitzhugh, Dandridge, Randolph, Rolf and Gerard. Her paternal great-grandfather, Benedict Calvert, was the son of Maryland Governor Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, allegedly from the illegitimate daughter of the British monarch George I. Maternally, she came from .

Mayor Kastis received an unusually good education for that time. She was interested in history, literature and philosophy, studied Greek and Latin. She also did drawing, for which she had good abilities. Her education was also influenced by life in Arlington, where many relics related to the personality of George Washington were kept. Her father knew many stories about his relatives, and many famous people came to listen to his stories. Mary Custis had to chat with people like John Marshall and the Marquis of Lafayette . This developed her interest in politics and culture ^[1] .

Another frequent guest in Arlington was second lieutenant Robert Lee , who graduated from West Point in 1829 and in July of that year decided matters related to the death of his mother. He often visited Kastisov, with whom he had been familiar all his life, since he was their relative through Randolph. According to Douglas Freeman : “She was 21 years old when Robert returned from West Point ... She was a fragile, fair-haired girl. She was aristocratic, although not beautiful. Her nose was a little long and her chin was a little too pointed, but she had lively, bright eyes and a slight smile ” ^[2] .

In the summer of 1830, Robert Lee returned from the Savannah and began to visit Arlington more often. From time to time, he accompanied Mary Ann to , her mother’s possessions in Frederiksberg. “When Mary left for Chet, Lee also came there, and when they sat under a tree on the lawn, he told her everything that makes any groom eloquent. Rappahanok flowed beneath them, the spiers of the small town of Frederiksberg were visible behind him, and a ridge of hills stretched out beyond the city: one of them was covered with forest, and on the other a small manor was visible. Even as a soldier, Lee would have shuddered at the thought that the day would come when he would stand on top of one of these hills with a spyglass and try to look at the tree through gun smoke ^[3] . ” Father Mary had nothing against Lee personally, but knew about the difficult financial situation of his family and did not want his daughter to connect her fate with a man who has nothing but a second lieutenant's salary. Mother Mary was more supportive of her daughter's choice. In the fall (probably in September), Lee came to Casties at the moment when Mary was reading Walter Scott's novel to her parents. Mrs. Casti said: “Mary, Robert must be tired and hungry. Go to the dining room and give him lunch. ” Mary and Robert went into the dining room, where at the sideboard he proposed to her and received consent ^[4] . Father reluctantly agreed to the marriage. The wedding was appointed on June 30, 1831 in Arlington ^[3] .

After the war, Mary Ann went with her husband to Lexington, where he received the post of president of Washington College. In Lexington, she began to write memoirs. During this period, she changed her attitude towards African Americans - after all her blacks abandoned Arlington. She continued to paint, donating money from sales to Confederate veterans. But in Lexington, she was not happy: "I cannot take root in this land," she said, "I am too old for that." She steadfastly suffered the death of Robert Lee in 1870. According to her will, the general was buried in Lexington, in the family chapel ^[1] .

A visit to Arlington in 1873 and the death of her daughter Agnes on October 15, 1873 became too much for her. She died on November 5, 1873, and was buried near her husband in a chapel in Lexington.

Lee and Mary Custis had seven children, three boys and four girls ^{[5] [6]} :

1. George Washington Castis Lee (1832-1913). Confederate Army Major General and Adjutant to President Jefferson Davis . Not married.
2. Mary Castis Lee (1835-1918). Single.
3. William Henry Fitzhugh Lee (Rooney Lee) (1837-1891). Major General of the Confederate Army. Twice married. From his second marriage (with Mary Tabb Bolling) he had 5 children, the eldest was Robert Edward Lee III (1869-1922)
4. Annie Carter Lee (June 18, 1839 - October 20, 1862). Died of typhoid. Single.
5. Eleanor Agnes Lee (1841 - October 15, 1873). Died of tuberculosis. Single.
6. Robert Edward Lee (1843-1914). He served as a captain in artillery. Married twice, left children from a second marriage.
7. Mildred Child Lee (1846-1905). Single.

• DeButts, Robert EL, Jr., ed. “Mary Custis Lee's 'Reminiscences of the War.'” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 109: 301-325.
• Perry, John. Lady of Arlington: The Life of Mrs. Robert E. Lee. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 2001.

• Virginia Encyclopedia Article
• Douglas Freeman. Marriage Date of treatment November 5, 2016.
• Biography on the Arlington Museum website
• Mary Anna Custis Lee and the Civil War
• The Life of Mary Custis Lee
• Correspondences of Mary Anna Custis Lee during the American Civil War