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Hancock Custis

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Hancock Custis
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing Accomack County, Virginia
In office
1710–1712
Serving with Richard Drummond
Preceded byJohn Wise
Succeeded byTully Robinson
Personal details
Born
Died1728 (1729)
SpouseMary
ChildrenSons John Custis VV, Southey, Levin, and Theophilus;
Daughter Leah
Parent(s)John Custis III, Margaret Michael
RelativesJohn Custis IV, Henry Custis (brothers)
OccupationPlanter, Politician

Hancock Custis (d. 1728) was a planter who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, the elected lower house of the colonial Virginia General Assembly from Accomack County, Virginia[1] in 17101712.

Early life and family

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Coat of Arms of John Custis
Arms of George Washington Parke Custis

Hancock Custis was the middle of the three surviving sons born to the former Margaret Michael and her husband, Colonel John Custis III.[2] His elder brother John Custis IV married Francis Parke, and moved to Williamsburg, having served in the House of Burgesses and the Virginia Governor's Council.[3] His younger brother Henry Custis The family also included sister Elizabeth (who married cousin Thomas Custis and died circa 1717) and Sorrowful Margaret (the name reflecting that her mother died following the birth, though she herself died in 1750).[4] James B. Lynch Jr, The Custis Chronicles: The Years of Migration (Camden, Maine: Picton Press 1992 ISBN=0-929539-70-2) p.189

Hancock Custis's brother, Major John Custis IV, became the father of Daniel Parke Custis, first husband of Martha Washington.[2] Major John Custis named one of his sons "Hancock."[5]

Personal life

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Hancock Custis married the widow Mary Littleton's will, which was proved May 7, 1728, mentions his wife Mary.[2][6] Hancock and Mary Custis's children were sons John, Southey, Levin and Theophilus and daughter Leah, who married Levin Gale.[2][7]

Career

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Planter

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Hancock Custis inherited a farm at King's Creek from his uncle, Adam Michael.[8]

Legislator

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Hancock Custis' public career, like those of his father and eldest brother, included legislative service. Accomac County voters elected Hancock Custis as one of their representatives in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1710, but he did not win another term.[9][10]

Death

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Hancock Custis died between the date of his signing the last codicil to his will, August 17, 1727, its admission to probate on May 7, 1728.[11]

References

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  1. Accomack County was spelled "Accomac" until 1940. Accomac, Virginia is the county seat of Accomack County.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harrison, William Welsh. 'Harrison, Waples and allied families: being the Ancestry of George Leib Harrison of Philadelphia and of his wife Sarah Ann Waples'. Philadelphia: Private printing by Edward Steen & Co., Inc., 1910. OCLC 2650208. Retrieved March 1, 2013. pp. 9798.
  3. Harrison, 1910, p. 96.
  4. James B. Lynch Jr, The Custis Chronicles: The Virginia Generations (Camden, Maine: Picton Press 1997 ISBN=0-89725-221-7) pp.19, 89-90.
  5. Harrison, 1910, p. 106.
  6. Nottingham, Stratton. 'Wills and Administrations: Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1800'. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999. Originally published 1931. ISBN 0-8063-1589-X. Retrieved March 1, 2013. p. 93.
  7. Altough Hancock Custis's will and codicils identify Leah as his daughter in law but he also identifies her husband Levin Gale as his son-in-law. Nottingham, 1999, p. 93.
  8. Wise, Jennings Cropper. 'Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695); his ancestors and descendants'. Richmond, VA: Bell Books and Stationery Co., 1918. OCLC 5094827. Retrieved March 2, 2013. p. 99.
  9. Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 65
  10. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Volume 1. New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. OCLC 229136302. Retrieved February 16, 2013. p. 220.
  11. Harrison, 1910, p. 98.