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referred to the family's "distress" and described "This sudden, and unexpected blow" as having reduced Martha "to the lowest ebb of Misery". Given the extremely hot weather, Patsy needed to be buried the following day. A coffin was built overnight by a carpenter from
Alexandria; a funeral service was read at Mount Vernon by Reverend Lee Massey, rector of Truro Parish; and Custis was buried "in an old brick vault close to the river".
273:] both and seems to be getting well very fast". On June 26, 1761, she wrote that she had given Patsy mercury and that it had "worked twice". There are no records of other episodes until January 1768, when she suffered a violent seizure as she was approaching the age of 12. At that time, Patsy fell to the floor while her mother and stepfather were having tea. Dr. William Rumney, a retired surgeon from
376:, after dinner when she went to her room to retrieve a letter from Jacky, who was attending college in New York. Eleanor heard a noise coming from Patsy's room to find her in the midst of a seizure – which Washington described as "one of her usual Fits" – after which she was moved into her bed. Within two minutes, wrote Washington, Patsy was dead "without uttering a word, a groan, or scarce a sigh".
40:
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that resulted in elevation of body temperature", but suggested that the latter was more likely. As circumstantial evidence, they pointed out that "the periods of increased seizures spanned over several months"; that "the remedies prescribed to her during these episodes were aimed at the treatment of seizures and not fever"; and that "she seemed to have protracted
392:
noted that the
Washingtons' correspondence and diary entries from 1760 and 1770 described Patsy's "fits and fever". Authors DeToledo, DeToledo, and Lowe raised that it was unclear "whether Patsy had a febrile illness that increased her predisposition for seizures or whether she had prolonged seizures
358:
In 1770, Washington kept a record of Patsy's seizures in the margins of his almanac. Between June 29 and
September 22 that year, Washington logged 26 seizures, with as many as two in one day. He used notation such as "very bad fit", "1 fit", and "1/2 fit", which may have represented partial seizures.
284:
From 1768 onward, her seizures became more frequent and more violent, requiring her mother to look after her full time, and Patsy herself wrote in 1769 that some activities were difficult for her. Rather than keeping her seizures secret, the
Washingtons were open about them, which was unusual at the
371:
The weather in
Virginia was volatile in the summer of 1773, with snow on June 11 and "exceedingly hot" temperatures on June 17. According to George Washington, at a family gathering at Mount Vernon on June 19, Patsy "rose from Dinner about four o'clock in better health and spirits than she appeared
379:
Patsy Custis died at around five o'clock on June 19, 1773, at the age of 17. In a letter to her brother Jacky, George
Washington wrote, "yesterday removed the Sweet Innocent Girl into a more happy and peaceful abode than any she has met with in the afflicted Path she hitherto has trod." Washington
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The
Washingtons consulted at least seven physicians to treat Patsy, and tried a wide range of treatments. Between February 1768 and June 1772, she was treated regularly for her seizures by Dr. Rumney, who came to Mount Vernon at least ten times. Her other primary physician was Dr. John Johnson of
252:
Washington wrote that his role as a stepfather was to be "generous and attentive", and family friends viewed both Martha and George as indulging parents. Patsy herself was a wealthy heiress, with a share of the Custis estate managed by
Washington in a guardian account. He recorded purchases of a
239:. Her eldest brother Daniel Jr. had died at the age of three, before she was born, while her sister Frances died in 1757 at the age of four; both had died of unknown causes. Her father died on July 8, 1757, possibly from a virulent throat infection.
362:
In 1772, Dr. Johnson wrote to Martha
Washington that he believed Patsy's condition would improve through "regular moderate exercise", "temperate living", and keeping her body "cool and open" by taking "Barley Water and light cooling Food".
409:, noting that "patients with refractory epilepsy are more likely to die of SUDEP." He argued that her death may be "one of the first well-documented, witnessed descriptions of SUDEP, unwittingly penned by George Washington."
249:, age four, stepchildren of George Washington. As the Washingtons entered into public life together, Martha Washington came to be known by her formal name, while her daughter and namesake was known as "Patsy".
404:
that "It is exceedingly uncommon for patients with epilepsy, regardless if they had a seizure or not, to be dead within 2 minutes of appearing normal." In
Doherty's assessment, Custis's death was a case of
442:
Some writers have suggested that Patsy's "fitts & fevours" in 1760 were unconnected with epilepsy, given the lack of other records expressing concern, or referring to visits by doctors. See Brady, p.
359:
Despite the increase in the number of seizures, the Washingtons encouraged Patsy to keep up her routine activities as much as possible, including playing music and singing for guests at Mount Vernon.
211:
Analysis of George Washington's diary entries describing Patsy Custis's seizures and the treatments she received have led modern medical historians to conclude that the cause of death was SUDEP, or
269:
began around the age of five or six. On September 26, 1760, Martha Washington wrote in a letter that "my dear little girl is much better she has lost her fitts & fevours [
372:
to have been for some time." Family letters written by others who were present have provided additional details. Patsy was having a quiet conversation with her brother's fiancée,
245:
began courting Martha, who had become one of the wealthiest women in Virginia, in 1758. They married on January 6, 1759, making Patsy, age two, and her brother
351:" would alleviate seizures, but it soon became evident that it did not work. In the summer of 1769, the Washingtons took Patsy to the "healing" waters of
979:
347:
On February 16, 1769, the Washingtons paid blacksmith Joshua Evans to put an "iron ring" on Patsy's finger, based on an English folk belief that a "
215:. Her death is considered one of the first well-documented descriptions in history of SUDEP by a witness, who happened to be George Washington.
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for her, as well as payment for music lessons. Every year, he ordered a new doll for her, dressed according to the latest fashions in London.
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355:, which did not help her, although it resulted in an introduction to Dr. Johnson through his brother whom they met at the warm springs.
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716:"Epilepsy and Sudden Death: Notes from George Washington's Diaries on the Illness and Death of Martha Parke-Custis (1756–1773)"
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in the 1770s. Other doctors who treated her included Hugh Mercer of Fredricksburg, George Steptoe of Westmoreland County,
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time, and tried to help Patsy live the same kind of life as other girls her age, entertaining friends at
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Matschke, J.; Glatzel, M; Püschel, K.; Andresen, H. (2010). "Todesfälle bei Patienten mit Epilepsie".
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20:
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Scorza, F. A.; Cysneiros, R. M.; de Albuquerque, M.; Scattolini, M.; Arida, R. M. (January 2011).
277:, prescribed "12 powders of unidentified composition, a vial of 'Nervous Drops' and a package of
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tortoiseshell comb, gold earrings, a silk coat, black-and-white satin pumps, a pet parrot, and a
539:"The sudden death of Patsy Custis, or George Washington on sudden unexplained death in epilepsy"
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980:"A Cryptic Record of a Family Tragedy: The Unhappy Progression of Patsy Custis's Epilepsy"
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at the age of 17, fifteen years before he was elected as the first
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Stepdaughter of George Washington and daughter of Martha Washington
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324:, powders, "nervous drops", "a large juleep", Peruvian bark or
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641:
1005:"IV-C. Martha Parke Custis's Estate Account, c.November 1761"
591:"Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: an important concern"
317:
204:, who died one year after she was born. She was called "
714:
DeToledo, J. C.; DeToledo, M. B.; Lowe, M. R. (1999).
858:
Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine
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312:Patsy was regularly prescribed herbal remedies and
281:". Her condition had improved by the next morning.
400:In 2004, neurologist Michael J. Doherty wrote in
1038:
806:. New York: Viking. pp. 48, 65, 78–79, 86.
223:Martha Parke "Patsy" Custis was born in 1756 at
397:, suggesting that convulsions were prolonged".
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184:(1756 – June 19, 1773) was a stepdaughter of
74:, New Kent County, Virginia, British America
93:, Fairfax County, Virginia, British America
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260:
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978:Chase, Philander D. (November 28, 2018).
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940:. Appleton, Wisconsin. February 22, 1971
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934:"Washington's Stepchild Was Epileptic"
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537:Doherty, Michael J. (August 1, 2004).
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852:Mason Knox Jr., J. H. (June 1933).
804:Martha Washington: An American Life
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424:Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
407:sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
309:, William Pasteur, and Arthur Lee.
213:sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
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1009:National Archive – Founders Online
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732:10.1111/j.1528-1157.1999.tb01608.x
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828:"Daniel Parke Custis (1711–1757)"
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48:, 1772. This painting is kept at
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607:10.1590/S1807-59322011001300008
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231:. She was the fourth child of
194:president of the United States
170:George Washington Parke Custis
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235:(née Dandridge) and Colonel
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555:10.1016/j.yebeh.2004.03.010
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573:– via ScienceDirect.
164:Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis
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1067:Custis family of Virginia
656:10.1007/s00194-009-0651-y
314:antispasmodic medications
247:John "Jacky" Parke Custis
158:Martha Parke Custis Peter
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802:Brady, Patricia (2005).
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332:of unknown composition,
1062:Burials at Mount Vernon
543:Epilepsy & Behavior
402:Epilepsy & Behavior
388:In 1999, an article in
384:Retrospective diagnosis
316:including valerian and
261:Epilepsy and treatments
225:White House Plantation
72:White House Plantation
832:Encyclopedia Virginia
472:"Martha Parke Custis"
46:Charles Willson Peale
1077:Deaths from epilepsy
1034:Martha Parke Custis
152:Elizabeth Custis Law
897:The Washington Post
762:"Martha Washington"
342:bleeding treatments
334:factitious cinnabar
237:Daniel Parke Custis
202:Daniel Parke Custis
182:Martha Parke Custis
125:Daniel Parke Custis
32:Martha Parke Custis
19:For her niece, see
601:(Suppl 1): 65–69.
1072:Washington family
984:Washington Papers
938:The Post-Crescent
726:(12): 1835–1836.
243:George Washington
233:Martha Washington
208:" by her family.
198:Martha Washington
190:epileptic seizure
188:who died from an
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103:Mount Vernon
91:Mount Vernon
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50:Mount Vernon
44:Portrait by
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1052:1773 deaths
1047:1756 births
1041:Categories
451:References
349:cramp ring
338:decoctions
275:Alexandria
219:Early life
906:408650104
720:Epilepsia
390:Epilepsia
303:Annapolis
148:(brother)
139:Relatives
917:ProQuest
902:ProQuest
870:44437340
748:31081769
740:10612354
664:29453157
625:21779724
571:21485281
563:15256201
413:See also
330:plasters
326:cinchona
299:Maryland
279:valerian
267:epilepsy
229:Virginia
172:(nephew)
616:3118439
595:Clinics
166:(niece)
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430:Notes
367:Death
322:ether
206:Patsy
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991:2022
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808:ISBN
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