8/17/2023 0 Comments Ona judge death![]() ![]() Ona realized that she if she were to go back south to the plantation she might never gain her liberty and thus decided to escape from the Executive Mansion. Towards the end of Washington's second term, the President decided to spend his summer recess back on Mount Vernon. When the seat of government shifted from New York to Pennsylvania a year and a half later, the entire household slaves included, moved again to Philadelphia. Soon Ona's circle of friends greatly expanded and many of these new acquaintances were free-blacks who answered the slave's questions about liberty, self-sovereignty, and how to escape. While the women of the Republican Court entertained Martha in their receiving rooms, their household servants entertained Ona in the kitchen with refreshments, gossip, and stories. Several times a week Ona accompanied the First Lady on her visits to the wives of other legislators and political leaders. As Martha's bodyservant, Ona's new tasks included helping her mistress dress and powder for official receptions, traveling with her on social calls and outings, and executing daily errands. The First Lady decided to graduate Ona from the sewing circle to the boudoir and appointed the young girl to the rank of her personal attendant. The 15-year-old Ona had no choice but to leave the plantation-abandoning all her family and friends-and accompany her owners to their new residence. In fact, Ona's contribution to the household was so significant, that George Washington once described her as being a "perfect Mistress of her needle."Īfter Washington's election in 1789, he and Martha left for the inauguration in New York City with seven slaves from Mount Vernon. Following in her mother's footsteps, the young slave became a particularly talented seamstress and this ability earned the respect of her masters. George Washington on Plantation Assigned to the Mansion House, Ona spent her days on arduous domestic tasks like spinning thread, weaving cloth, churning butter, turning tallow into soap, dipping candles, washing laundry and preparing food. According to Virginia law, children born to slave mothers were considered property of the slaveholder, so even though Judge obtained his freedom after his contract expired, his daughter no such legal claim. Betty was a "Dower Negro," that is she belonged to the estate of Martha's first husband Daniel Parke Custis, and after the Washington nuptials in 1759, moved to Mount Vernon with her mistress. Ona's mother, a slave named Betty, was an expert at textiles and spent much of her time spinning thread, weaving cloth, and tailoring clothes for both the Washingtons and her fellow bondspeople. Judge gained his freedom after fulfilling his four-year contract at Mount Vernon and eventually moved off the plantation to start his own luck at farming. Her father, Andrew Judge, was a white indentured servant from Leeds, England who arrived in America in 1772. However, through his inventories, letters, and diary entries, the histories of slaves can be recreated. Since Washington did not keep vital statistics for his slaves, Ona's exact date of birth is not known. Despite these attempts, Ona eluded Washington and eventually settled in Greenland, NH. The President, upon learning of her whereabouts, penned several correspondences and solicited help from friends and family in order to retrieve her. George Washington's slave escaped VirginiaĪ Thirst for Complete Freedom & Her Escape from President Washingtonĭuring the fall of 1796, George Washington's final months in office, Ona Judge Staines, a slave belonging to the First Family, escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia (equivalent to today's White House) and made her way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her amazing story is told her by researcher Evelyn Gerson for When Ona (Oney) Judge, Martha’s body slave, escaped from Mount Vernon in 1796, she came to Seacoast, New Hampshire. F irst lady Martha Washington enslaved more Africans than any woman of her time. ![]()
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