She passed away at the age of 75, on February 25, 1848, in Greenland, New Hampshire.“A brilliant work of US history.” - School Library Journal (starred review) Together they had three children: Nancy, Eliza, and Will. Oney Judge married John Staines on January 8, 1797. During an interview with the Granite Freeman, an abolitionist newspaper, when asked if she regretted leaving the comfort of the Washington estate for her near-poverty conditions, she responded with, “No, I am free, and have, I trust, been made a child of God by the means”. Upon the death of George and Martha Washington, her ownership, along with that of her children, transferred to the Custis estate forcing Judge to live the lived the rest of her life as a fugitive slave. Realizing the insanity of this plan, the Langdons warned Judge of her fate.įleeing to Greenland, New Hampshire with her family, Judge remained there until her death. When she denied his request, he told the Langdons that he intended to kidnap both Judge and her daughter. Bassett first approached Judge, who had since married and had a child, to request she return. The nephew, Burwell Bassett, Jr., was given instructions to obtain Judge by force. George Washington refused to accept this response and requested the aid of Martha’s nephew who was visiting Portsmouth.
With the Washingtons unwilling to promise this, Judge stayed in New Hampshire.
#ONA JUDGE DEATH FREE#
Judge promised to return to the Washington household if they would guarantee her that she would be free upon their deaths. George Washington sent his men to retrieve his property, bypassing the Fugitive Slave Act’s law requiring him to provide proof of ownership in front of a court prior to chasing her. During her time in Portsmouth, Judge taught herself to read and write, and embraced Christianity.Įlizabeth Langdon, a family friend of the Washingtons, spotted Judge in Portsmouth and reported her location. Judge then boarded a ship called the Nancy headed for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On May 21, 1796, under the ruse of preparing for yet another trip to Mount Vernon, Judge packed her things and walked out while the family was eating dinner. This rotation denied Judge her freedom.Īfter learning of Martha Washington’s plans to give her to Elizabeth Custis (Martha’s granddaughter), Judge was determined to flee since Martha’s plan prevented Judge from being declared free upon their deaths. To skirt this law, Washington had his slaves return to Mount Vernon under the guise of visiting family just short of every six months.
This act proved a hardship for the President as it stated that any slaves that had been brought into the state and had lived there for six consecutive months would automatically become free citizens. While out in town, she encountered a large community of free African Americans thanks in larger part to Pennsylvania’s Gradual Abolition Act.
She could walk the town on her own, running errands or exploring in her free time, and was even given money by the Washingtons for entertainment purposes. While in Philadelphia, Oney Judge experienced a much broader freedom than most enslaved people. When George Washington was elected President, the family followed him to New York (the nation’s capital at the time), and then onto Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when the capitol was relocated. Born at Mount Vernon, the Washingtons’ Virginia plantation, around 1773 (exact date not known) to an indentured servant named Andrew Judge and a slave name Betty, Ona “Oney” Judge was raised as a slave and began serving as the personal attendant to Martha Washington at the age of 10. As a former slave in George Washington’s household, Ona “Oney” Judge is best remembered for her escape to New Hampshire.
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