(soft music) - Ona Judge was born at
Mount Vernon around 1774. She was the daughter of
Betty, an enslaved seamstress. Based on Judge's last name,
her father may have been Andrew Judge, a white, English
tailor whom Washington hired from 1772 to 1784. Ona was later described
as a light, mulatto girl, much freckled and almost white. At age 10, she became Martha
Washington's personal maid. Like her mother, Judge
was skilled at sewing. Washington once referred
to her as the perfect mistress of her needle. Also like her mother, Judge
and her younger sister Delphy, belonged to the Custis estate. Upon Martha Washington's death, they would pass on to her heirs. When George Washington was
elected president, 15 year old Judge traveled to the executive
residence first in New York, then in Philadelphia. Judge continued her daily work
waiting on Martha Washington, helping her bathe and dress,
cleaning and mending her clothing, organizing
her personal belongings, and anything else her mistress wanted. But in the bustling capital
city of Philadelphia, life was dramatically
different from Mount Vernon. In an effort to appease, or
distract, from the temptation of gradual Abolition laws of
Philadelphia, Judge received nominal cash wages. And on several occasions,
money to go see a play, the circus, and the Tumbling Feats. Washington account books
note purchases for her gowns, shoes, stockings, and bonnets. The city's large, free black
and quaker abolitionist communities also offered
the young woman new ideas, connections, and opportunities to escape. On May 20, 1796, as the
Washington's prepared to return to Mount Vernon for
the summer, Judge fled. She recalled in 1845, "Whilst
they were packing to go up "to go up to Virginia,
I was packing to go. "I didn't know where, for
I knew that if I went back "to Virginia, I should
never get my liberty. "I had friends among the
colored people of Philadelphia "had my things carried
there before hand, and left "Washington's house while
they were eatin' dinner." Two days later, an
advertisement was placed in the Philadelphia Gazette and
the Universal Daily Advertiser, announcing that she had absconded
from the President's house and offered a $10 reward for her capture. After leaving the Washington's household, Judge secured passage on the Nancy, a ship bound for
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Even in New Hampshire, Judge was not safe. Just a few months after
arriving, she was recognized on the street by a friend of Martha Washington's granddaughter. Word of the escapee's whereabouts
reached the Washington, who enlisted the help of Joseph Whipple, a custom's collector. He found Judge and tried
to convince her to return. Judge replied that she would
readily return, but only if the Washington's promised to
free her after their deaths. Otherwise, she said, "She
should rather suffer death "than to return to slavery and
liable to be sold or given to "any other person." When Washington learned of
Judge's request, he was furious. Washington told Whipple to keep trying, but Judge continued to refuse. In 1797, Judge married Jack
Staines, a free black sailor. The couple had three children,
Eliza, Will, and Nancy. Washington would try
again to recapture Judge in August of 1799, and
again, she would not return to slavery. After Washington's death
in December of 1799, Judge said, "The family
never troubled me anymore." She nevertheless remained a fugitive. The Custis estate could
legally recapture her, and her children, at anytime. In an interview later in life,
Judge revealed that she had two reasons for running away. First, she wanted to be free. And second, she had overheard
that she would soon be given to Martha Washington's
eldest granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law, who was
known to have a fierce temper. Judge was determined, she
recalled, never to be her slave. By the 1840s, legally, Judge
was considered a pauper and received support
from Rockingham County. Her husband and three
children had predeceased her. One interviewer asked if
she was sorry she'd left the Washington's and Judge
responded, "No, I am free. "And have, I trust, been made
a child of God by the means." (soft piano music)
How scared must she have been to have sought freedom from the President of the United States yet stated in America Wikipedia entry