299_7-2012.pdf

George Washington Parke Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh in 1804 and they lived in Arlington House for the rest of their lives. They were buried together on the property. On June 30, 1831, Custis' only child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married her childhood friend and distant cousin, Robert E. Lee. Between 1841 and 1857, Lee was away from Arlington House for several extended periods, serving in the Mexican war under General Winfield Scott, and as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

After his father-in-law died in 1857, Lee returned to Arlington to join his family and to serve as executor of the estate.

Under the terms of her father's will, Mary Anna Custis Lee was given the right to inhabit and control the house for the rest of her life. Custis' will also stipulated that upon Mary Anna's death, full title would pass to her