Long before the image of a grandmother in a ruffled cap, Martha Washington was a 26-year-old widow who inherited 17,000 acres and enormous wealth. This episode traces her path from eldest of eight children in a Virginia family to the manager of five plantations who negotiated directly with London merchants after the death of Daniel Parke Custis.

Her marriage to George Washington was a partnership built on routine and respect that helped carry both through the loss of all four of her children. During the Revolution she spent winters in army camps, copying documents and organizing officers’ wives to supply the troops. As the first presidential spouse she invented the role from scratch, while also pursuing the escaped Ona Judge, a contradiction the episode examines directly.

• How Martha kept control of the Custis estate and bargained with London merchants
• Why her marriage to George was a merger of wealth and rising reputation
• Her winters at Cambridge and Valley Forge and her role at headquarters
• The Friday drawing rooms, the 9 p.m. rule and homespun fashion as political tools
• Why she burned her letters with George and freed his enslaved people early