Martha Washington was an extraordinary woman. She grew up in a slightly above average lifestyle. She then became a wife, mother, then widow. Martha also became one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. She later became the wife of George Washington and became the first first lady. She lived to be seventy and managed to outlive her husband and many others. Martha Washington also participated in the American Revolution and aided her husband throughout the war. She did all that and more. Martha Dandridge was born June 2, 1731, to Frances Jones Dandridge and Colonel John Dandridge. She was the eldest of seven siblings to come. Martha was born in New Kent County, Virginia, on the Chestnut Grove Plantation. She grew up among other plantation families in the Tidewater region of eastern Virginia. Martha received no formal education; however, she received the traditional education for young women of her time. This included domestic skills and the arts rather than science and mathematics. The skills she learned were those needed to run a household. Unlike other young women of her time, Martha learned to read and write as a child. She also had several hobbies; such as: horse riding, sewing and dancing. Martha Dandridge married Daniel Parke Custis on May 15, 1750, at the age of eighteen. Daniel was supposedly twenty years older than her and he was also one of the richest men in Virginia. Their first son, Daniel Parke Custis, was born on September 19, 1751. Then their daughter, Frances Parke Custis, was born in April 1753. Martha's son, Daniel, died in 1957; his daughter, Frances, died in 1757. Neither of them had reached the age of five. His second son, John Parke Custis, played a role in the success of the war, although it may not have been directly so. Martha Washington is primarily known as the wife of George Washington, but she was much more than that. Works Cited “Martha Washington.” 2013. Biography Channel website. November 16, 2013. "Martha Washington | Summary of Martha Washington: A Life." Marthawashington.us, 2013. Web. November 17, 2013. .*Murray, Judith Sargent. Bonnie Hurd Smith, ed. From Gloucester to Philadelphia in 1790: observations, anecdotes, and thoughts from the 18th-century letters of Judith Sargent Murray. Cambridge, Mass.: Judith Sargent Murray Society and Curious Traveler Press, 1998. Sklar, Kathryn Kish. “Washington, Martha Custis.” Student of the world of books. World Book, 2013. Web. November 14. 2013.