William Costin

William "Billy" Costin
Born	Abt 1780
Died	May 31, 1842
Citizenship	Free slave
Known for	Early civil rights
Home town	Mount Vernon, Virginia U.S.
Spouse(s)	Philadelphia "Delphy" Judge

William "Billy" Costin (c. 1780 - May 31, 1842) was a free African-American activist and scholar who successfully challenged District of Columbia slave codes in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.

Little is known of Costin’s upbringing. His enslaved mother was Ann Dandridge Costin, and his father was reputedly her master John Dandridge, making him the half-sister of Martha Dandrige (who as a young widow later married George Washington, the future president.)

Ann Dandridge Costin was said to be of African and Cherokee descent. Native American slavery had ended and she should have been free under Virginia law via her maternal ancestry, but the slave colony put priority on African ancestry. While Ann and several of her children lived at the Mount Vernon plantation owned by George Washington on the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, there is no evidence her son William lived there. He may have lived nearby with other family.

Costin’s legal status as "free" or "enslaved" is debated by historians, as is the identity of his father. He may have been the son of Martha Washington's brother, William Dandridge, or of Martha's son, John Parke ("Jacky") Custis. He would thus have qualified as either Martha's nephew or grandson.

Around 1800, Costin moved from Mount Vernon to Washington City, what later became known as Washington, D.C. About that time, he married Delphy Judge, whom Martha Washington had given to her granddaughter Elizabeth Parke Custis Law as a wedding present in 1796. She and her children were manumitted in 1807 by Thomas Law, Elizabeth's husband. (see below).

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