William Lee (valet)
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William Lee, also known as Billy or Will Lee, was an American slave and personal assistant of George Washington. He was the only one of Washington's slaves who was freed immediately by Washington's will. Because he served by Washington's side throughout the American Revolutionary War and was sometimes depicted next to Washington in paintings, Lee was one of the most publicized African-Americans of his time.
The man holding the horse in John Trumbull's George Washington, painted in London in 1780, possibly represents Lee and was painted from memory five years after Trumbull served on Washington's staff.
A French engraving, circa 1780, showing General Washington holding the Declaration of Independence. The black man with the horse is not identified but may represent Lee.
George Washington Parke Custis
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George Washington Parke Custis was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was a stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew up at Mount Vernon and in the Washington presidential household.
Salt print of Custis, circa 1856
John Parke Custis, c. 1774, by Charles Willson Peale
Eleanor Calvert, c. 1780, possibly by John Ramage
Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art "The Washington Family" by Edward Savage, painted between 1789 and 1796, shows (from left to right): George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington, Nelly Custis, Martha Washington, and an enslaved servant (probably William Lee or Christopher Sheels).