Charles Syphax

CHARLES SYPHAX

Charles Syphax was the son of a free black itinerant Alexandria street preacher and an enslaved woman from Mount Vernon. He was enslaved at the Mount Vernon estate and was transferred to Arlington House when Martha Washington died, one of fifty-seven enslaved people who came to Arlington from Mount Vernon with George Washington Parke Custis in 1802. He was about 9 years old. The enslaved people owned by the Custis family ended up moving not only to Arlington House, but also Tudor Place and Woodlawn. The separation at Mount Vernon was a heart-wrenching time; enslaved people who were emancipated in George Washington’s will were separated sometimes from family and friends who were enslaved to Martha Washington’s estate – the majority of the people enslaved at Mount Vernon. At Arlington House, Charles Syphax oversaw the dining room and was the unofficial leader of the Arlington enslaved community. The Syphax Family

Genealogy

The Syphax Family