Description:

Custis George

Archive comprised of 4 ALSs dated between August 9, 1834 and October 13, 1834, all inscribed and signed by George Washington's adopted son George Washington Parke Custis (1781-1857) as "George W. P. Custis". The letters, mostly bifold on plain cream stationery paper, are in mixed condition. The average size of each sheet is 7.875" x 9.5".

 

This archive illuminates George Washington Parke Custis's finances. It shows how, although he successfully received a $4500 loan from the Bank of the Metropolis in Washington, D.C. in August 1834, that he was unable to pay an unexpected $500 curtail on the loan in October 1834. All four letters were written from Arlington House, and are addressed to then Acting Secretary of the Navy John Boyle (1777-1849), who seemed to have some influence on the board of the Bank of the Metropolis.

 

The first letter, a 3pp ALS with integral address leaf dated August 9, 1834, is in good condition and contains Custis's initial request for the $4500 loan. Custis wrote: "Having a very particular occasion for a sum of money at this time, I have to ask of your kindness, to assist me in affecting a loan … I have only to [wo]rk for 3 renewals of this moderate sum, which shall be faithfully paid …" Custis assured Boyle that he had excellent credit, and that there was almost no risk involved in the loan. He further promised "a Bond, or lien, upon any or all of my personal property…which in Slaves, plate + valuables, is of a very large amount, + as personal property is far more available than real Estate."

 

The second letter, a 2pp ALS with integral address leaf dated August 12, 1834, is in fair to good condition with loss to the central hinge and scattered stains. Within it, Custis thanked Boyle for securing his loan.

 

The third letter, a 1pp ALS with integral address leaf dated August 16, 1834, is in good condition and originally enclosed a lien on Custis's property.

 

The last letter of the archive, a 3pp ALS with integral address leaf dated October 13, 1834, is in near fine condition. Custis wrote to Boyle that an unexpected curtail on his loan was very inconvenient. He wrote: "The Season is particularly unpropitious for Farmers as Some (deriving ? my revenues from my Estates in the South) to command monied funds, it being the time of the crops being gathered in, and not yet disposed of in market." Custis's wheat and cotton crops would soon be liquidated in the Richmond and Baltimore markets, but until then, his hands were tied. Custis's explanation is somewhat dubious, however, as his passing reference to another loan issued from the Bank of Alexandria suggests that the time of year did not have anything to do with his insolvency.

 

George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of First Lady Martha Washington (1731-1801) and the adopted son of 1st U.S. President George Washington (1732-1799). Custis inherited a large Virginia plantation overlooking the Potomac River in 1802, and there constructed Arlington House, a Greek Revival mansion, between 1803-1818. Although as a planter Custis relied on slave labor, he also advocated for black colonization in West Africa.

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