George Washington with his wife and her two grandchildren, born to children from her first marriage. From left, Martha Washington's grandson George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington, Martha's granddaughter Eleanor 'Nelly' Parke Custis, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, and a family servant. George Washington, 1732 - 1799. American statesman and soldier who served as the first President of the United States, From a print published in 1798 after a painting by Edward Savage.