Syphax family

The Syphax Family is a prominent American family. A part of the African-American upper class, the family is descended from Charles Syphax and Mariah Carter Custis Syphax, a great-granddaughter of First Lady Martha Washington.^[1]

History[]

East front of Arlington Mansion in 1864. Charles and Maria were married in the mansion.

Mary Custis Lee (1808–1873), Maria's half-sister.

The Syphaxes are an illustrious Virginia clan that once owned land in Arlington County, Virginia, land that later became part of Arlington National Cemetery. The family is descended from Martha Washington (1731–1802), wife of President George Washington (1732–1799).^[2] The family, considered aristocratic in African-American society, traces its origins to Mariah Custis, the mulatto daughter of George Washington Parke Custis (1781–1857), grandson of Martha Washington. Mariah’s mother was Ariana Carter, one of Custis's house slaves.^[3]

When Mariah Custis asked her father for permission to marry Charles Syphax, one of his slaves, he freed them both, held a wedding for them in his Arlington mansion, and gave them fifteen acres^[a] of his Arlington estate. Mary Custis (1808–1873), Mariah's white half-sister, was to marry the Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870).^[5] Mariah and Charles had ten children, several of whom achieved important political positions from the 1850s onward.^[4]

Several of the Syphax descendants were Catholic.

Notable members[]

• William Syphax: The eldest son of Charles and Maria, William rose to hold the twin offices of the chief messenger of the Interior Department and the superintendent of Black schools in the District of Columbia. After his family's property was confiscated following the Civil War, he successfully petitioned for it to be restored to them by way of an Act of Congress. The head of the group that founded the first high school for African Americans, William "was described as a man of 'dauntless courage and unwavering integrity' who 'dared to demand what was due his race, fearing no man regardless of position or color.'"^[6]
• Douglas Syphax: A grandson of Charles and Maria, Douglas would serve in the U.S. military with distinction.
• Theophilus John Syphax: A son of the preceding, T. John Syphax went on to live his life as a White man under the assumed name of Theophilus John McKee.
• Charles Sumner Syphax: A prominent mathematician, Charles served as a dean of Howard University.
• Charles Sumner Syphax II: A son of the preceding, Charles II worked as a physician after graduating from the University of Michigan in 1924.
• Charles Sumner Syphax III: A son of the preceding, Charles III became one of the earliest African-American developers in Detroit.
• Mary Gibson Hundley: An educator and civil rights activist, Mary won a precedent-establishing case against restrictive residential covenants in the Jim Crow era.
• Julian Dixon: A U.S. congressman, Julian sponsored the attempt to impeach Ronald Reagan in the wake of the U.S. government's invasion of Grenada.

See also[]

• Quander family
• Vaughan family

References[]

Sources[]

• Graham, Lawrence Otis (1999-12-22). Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class. HarperCollins. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-06-098438-0. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
• Graham, Lawrence Otis (2007-07-03). The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty. HarperCollins. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-06-098513-4. Retrieved 2013-01-05.

Notes[]