Martha Washington was an extraordinary woman. She grew up with a slightly better than average lifestyle. Then she became a wife, mother and then a widow. Martha also became one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. She then became the wife of George Washington and became the first first lady. She lived to the age of seventy and outlived her husband and many others. Martha Washington also took part in the American Revolution and helped her husband during the war. He did all this and much more. Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731 to Frances Jones Dandridge and Colonel John Dandridge. She was the eldest of seven brothers and sisters 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 education traditional for young women of her time. This included domestic skills and the arts rather than science and mathematics. The skills he 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 was also one of the richest men in Virginia. Their first child, 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 had reached the age of five. His second son, John Parke Custis, was... center of paper... played a role in the success of the war although he may not have had it directly. Martha Washington is primarily known as George Washington's wife, but she was much more than that. Works Cited “Martha Washington.” 2013. The Biography Channel website. November 16, 2013. "Martha Washington | Summary of Martha Washington: A Life." Marthawashington.us, 2013. Web. 17 November 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, Massachusetts: Judith Sargent Murray Society and Curious Traveler Press, 1998.Sklar, Kathryn Kish. "Washington, Martha Custis." Student of the world book. Book of the World, 2013. Web. 14 November. 2013.