Custis, John, 1678-1749

John Custis (August 1678 – November 22, 1749) was an American planter, politician, government official and military officer who sat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. A prominent member of the Custis family of Virginia, he utilized his extensive landholdings to support a career in horticulture and gardening.

Born into a slaveholding family who resided in Northampton County, Virginia, Custis was sent to London at a young age to study the tobacco trade under Micajah Perry. He returned to his grandfather's plantation at Arlington in 1699 to familiarize himself in the management of slaves. In 1705, he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, sitting there for a year. Custis married Frances Parke, the eldest daughter of Daniel Parke, in 1706.

In 1714, his father John died, passing control of the family estates to Custis, which included two plantations and numerous slaves. His wife died two years later, and in 1717, Custis moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. Custis purchased the White House plantation in 1735, arranging for his son and heir Daniel to manage it. Daniel Custis would be the first spouse of Martha Dandridge. She, after Daniel's death, would marry George Washington.