CLAIM: ROBERT EDWARD LEE INHERITED SLAVES FROM HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS AFTER HIS DEATH IN 1857
INVESTIGATOR:
John Needham
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INACCURATE
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No. Robert Edward Lee did not inherit any slaves from his Father-In-Law, George Washington Parke Curtis passed away in 1857. According to Curtis’s will, any slaves were left in the ownership of the estate of George Washington Parke Custis until the debts and assets of the estate were properly distributed and ONLY then be emancipated by the executors’ of the will but could not be held in bondage for more than five years after Curtis’s death.
FULL TEXT OF THE WILL OF GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS
In the name of God, amen. I, George Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington House, in the county of Alexandria and State of Virginia, being sound in body and mind, do make and ordain this instrument of writing as my last will and testament, revoking all other wills and testaments whatever. I give and bequeath to my dearly beloved daughter and only child, Mary Ann Randolph Lee, my Arlington House estate, in the county of Alexandria and State of Virginia, containing eleven hundred acres, more or less, and my mill on Four-Mile Run, in the county of Alexandria, and the lands of mine adjacent to said mill, in the counties of Alexandria and Fairfax, in the State of Virginia, the use and benefit of all just mentioned during the term of her natural life, together with my horses and carriages, furniture, pictures, and plate, during the term of her natural life.
On the death of my daughter, Mary Ann Randolph Lee, all the property left to her during the term of her natural life I give and bequeath to my eldest grandson, George Washington Custis Lee, to him and his heirs forever, he, my said eldest grandson, taking my name and arms.
I leave and bequeath to my four granddaughters, Mary, Ann, Agnes, and Mildred Lee, to each ten thousand dollars. I give and bequeath to my second grandson, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, when he shall be of age, my estate called the White House, in the county of New Kent and the State of Virginia, containing four thousand acres, more or less, to him and his heirs forever.
I give and bequeath to my third and youngest grandson, Robert Edward Lee, when he is of age, my estate in the county of King William and State of Virginia, called Romancock, containing four thousand acres, more or less, to him and his heirs forever.
My estate of Smith’s Island, at the capes of Virginia, and in the county of Northampton, I leave to be sold to assist in paying my granddaughters’ legacies, to be sold in such manner as may be deemed by my executors most expedient.
Any and all lands that I may possess in the counties of Stafford, Richmond, and Westmoreland, I leave to be sold to aid in paying my granddaughters’ legacies.
I give and bequeath my lot in square No. 21, Washington city, to my son-in-law, Lieut. Col. Robert E. Lee, to him and his heirs forever. My daughter, Mary A. R. Lee, has the privilege, by this will, of dividing my family plate among my grandchildren, but the Mt. Vernon altogether, and every article I possess relating to Washington and that came from Mt. Vernon is to remain with my daughter at Arlington House during said daughter’s life, and at her death to go to my eldest grandson, George Washington Custis Lee, and to descend from him entire and unchanged to my latest posterity.
My estates of the White House, in the county of New Kent, and Romancock, in the county of King William, both being in the State of Virginia, together with Smith’s Island, and the lands I may possess in the counties of Stafford, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties are charged with the payment of the legacies of my granddaughters.
Smith’s Island and the aforesaid lands in Stafford, Richmond, and Westmoreland only are to be sold, the lands of the White House and Romancock to be worked to raise the aforesaid legacies to my four granddaughters.
And upon the legacies to my four granddaughters being paid, and my estates that are required to pay the said legacies being clear of debt, then I give freedom to my slaves, the said slaves to be emancipated by my executors in such manner as to my executors may seem most expedient and proper, the said emancipation to be accomplished in not exceeding five years from the time of my decease.
And I do constitute and appoint as my executors Lieut. Col. Robert Edward Lee, Robert Lee Randolph, of Eastern View, Rt. Rev. Bishop Meade, and George Washington Peter.
This will, written by my hand, is signed, sealed, and executed the twnty-sixth day of March, eighteen hundred and fifty-five.
George Washington Parke Custis.
26th March, 1855
Witness:
Martha Custis Williams.
M. Eugene Webster.
SOURCE: Custis, George. Will of George Washington Parke Custis (March 26, 1855). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/will-of-george-washington-parke-custis-march-26-1855.
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