After fulfilling his four-year work contract at Mount Vernon, Andrew Judge moved off the plantation to start his own farm. 248-50.. The History and Traditions of a Classic Dessert, Lindsay M. Chervinsky Beginning in 1789, she worked as a personal servant to First Lady Martha Washington in the presidential households in New York City and Philadelphia. Published in The Liberator in 1846. Vernon as a slave, when Martha accepted the hand of George Washington to marry him as her second husband in 1759. In April 1774, one of Martha Washington’s enslaved housemaids, Betty, gave birth at Mount Vernon to a daughter named Ona Judge. (Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1977), pp. But when Whipple arrived at the docks to ensure Ona boarded the ship at the agreed upon time, she never arrived.18. READ MORE: The Massive, Overlooked Role of Female Slave Owners, In the spring of 1796, when she was 22 years old, Judge learned that Martha Washington planned to give her away as a wedding gift to her famously temperamental granddaughter, Elizabeth Parke Custis. Later, Ona Judge claimed that after Washington’s death, the family never bothered her again. She also secured work as a domestic servant. She has written several books, including the award-winning middle grade novel Drizzle. Ona Judge, a young enslaved woman in her 20s, has recently received some terrifying news. So said former slave Ona Judge during an interview in 1845, long after she had obtained her freedom, and long after her owners, George and Martha Washington, had tried to get her back. In April 1774, one of Martha Washington’s enslaved housemaids, Betty, gave birth at Mount Vernon to a daughter named Ona Judge.1 Ona’s father was Andrew Judge, a white indentured servant who was employed on the estate. To help make ends meet, Ona continued her domestic work and they took in a boarder in one of their extra rooms.17, Washington made two concerted attempts to re-enslave Ona. In fact, as Erica Armstrong Dunbar writes in her book, Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, Oney would have been in the minority as a enslaved woman in Philadelphia; fewer than 100 slaves lived within city limits in 1796. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. With an active and growing free black community of some 6,000 people, Philadelphia had become the nation’s leading hotbed of abolitionism. 1846 interview with Ona Judge Staines. A judge has just recommended that Erika Jayne‘s estranged husband Thomas Girardi face criminal investigation over embezzlement claims as his assets, as well as the assets of his law firm, Girardi Keese, were also frozen. How many weddings have been held at the White House? … They believed they had treated her like a daughter and felt betrayed by her departure. ONA, WV (WOWK) – If we’ve learned anything so far this holiday season, it is that the spirit of “community” runs deep in the tri-state. Betty was lucky to be able to keep her son Austin with her with the move to Mt. Judge holds attorney husband of RHOBH star Erika Jayne and his law firm in contempt after he misappropriated $2M in funds meant for the families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash. Frustrated, Washington wrote directly to Whipple asking him to return Ona by force.19 A quiet abolitionist, Whipple was deeply uncomfortable with this sort of violence. She found lodging within the free black community, which was accustomed to aiding fugitive slaves, and supported herself doing domestic work, one of the few opportunities available for women of color. Her husband died only seven years after their marriage and she could not afford to support her three children, two of whom pre-deceased her. Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar is a very informative and interesting read. On May 21, 1796, she slipped out of the mansion while the president and first lady were eating their supper. George Washington to Joseph Whipple, 28 November 1796. Much like George’s enslaved manservant, coachmen, and postilions, these individuals wore fancy livery because their uniforms needed to reflect the president’s wealth and status; Ona’s clothing was an extension of Martha’s status. Market Square in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1853. One of the latest examples of this happened at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Ona, West Virginia. He complained that they were unreliable and lazy, yet George seemed to like and trust Andrew. After a five-day journey, Judge disembarked in that coastal city, where she would begin her new life. MasterChef judge Melissa Leong has announced her separation from husband Joe Jones, after almost four years of marriage. South Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1903. Trying to act discreetly, Washington got in contact with Joseph Whipple, the collector of customs in Portsmouth and the brother of famed Revolutionary General William Whipple. Ona probably attended this church to hear Reverend Samuel Haven's sermons. “Improving upon this direction of her husband, Mrs. Washington, ... Martha actively tried to recapture her enslaved maid Ona Judge after Judge ran away in Philadelphia. But New York City, and then Philadelphia, offered new opportunities.4 Ona encountered a sizable free African-American community for the first time, saw interesting sights, tasted different foods, and met new people. In 1845, Ona Judge was interviewed by an abolitionist newspaper. In September 1798, he sent his nephew, Burwell Bassett, to bring Ona Judge Staines back. Washington’s term ended on March 4, and he returned to Mount Vernon without her. Because of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 which Washington signed into law in Philadelphia (probably in his private office barely a dozen feet from where Oney slept), she lived the rest of her life as a fugitive. As the first lady’s bodyservant, Judge helped dress her mistress for special events, traveled with her on social calls and ran errands for her. With a free black population of some 360 citizens and virtually no enslaved workers, Portsmouth was different from any place Judge had ever known. Safe for the time being, she started building a life in Portsmouth, and married Jack Staines, a free black sailor, in early 1797. She probably did the laundry, cooked meals, scrubbed floors, and cleaned the home—all physically demanding labor.16 In January 1797, she married a free man named Jack Staines and they moved into their own home. When Law arrived in Philadelphia, he brought his two illegitimate children that he had fathered while in India and he was plagued by rumors about his character. Reuters. Vernon. Jack Staines was at sea at the time, but Ona managed to escape to the neighboring town of Greenland, where she and her infant daughter hid with a free black family, the Jacks, until Bassett left Portsmouth, empty-handed. She was never caught and would spend the remainder of her life in New Hampshire In August 1799, Washington made one more attempt to find and recapture Ona Judge. When he was just 11 years old, George Washington inherited 10 slaves from his father’s estate. There are seven enslaved people that go, only two women, and Ona’s one of them. Ona Judge was the daughter of Andrew Judge who was from England. While the newspapers did not print the interviews verbatim, the quotes are rare examples of a formerly enslaved person describing their experiences in their own words. Though the gesture was far from meaningless, it didn’t go far enough. “Runaway Advertisement,” Frederick Kitt, Philadelphia, 24 May 1796. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and sons. Andrew Judge, Ona’s father, was also an expert at sewing. Her mother, Betty, was a “dower slave,” part of the estate of Martha’s first husband; her father, Andrew Judge, was a white indentured servant who had recently arrived in America from Leeds, England. After his election, John Adams resided in the same house in Philadelphia, before moving into the White House in Washington, D.C. on November 1, 1800. Benjamin Chase. Explore the Timeline. Her two daughters, Eliza and Nancy, were sadly forced into indentured servitude; both died before their mother. He recommended that Washington secure a lawyer’s services and direct future letters to “the Attorney of the United States in New Hampshire.”20, With Whipple unwilling to assist further, Washington turned to Burwell Bassett Jr., Martha Washington’s nephew. After she fell into a fearful silence, Whipple confessed that he had received instructions from President Washington, but that he was eager to help her and would try and negotiate her eventual manumission. Betty was lucky to be able to keep her son Austin with her with the move to Mt. Whipple owed his position to the Washington administration, so he reluctantly agreed to help send Ona back to Mount Vernon. The South Church is pictured, where Ona Judge was married in 1797 to Jack Staines. Watcher in the Woods is the next gripping installment of #1 bestselling Kelley Armstrong's riveting Casey Duncan series.. When Washington headed to New York City in 1789 for his inauguration as president, Oney was one of only a handful of enslaved people the couple took with them. Ona Judge Staines lived with her husband and their three children until Jack’s death in 1803. Philadelphia's father is unknown, but in 1807 she was freed from slavery and married William Costin, an abolitionist and free man, who was the son of an enslaved woman, Ann Dandridge, and whose father was possibly John Parke Custis, Martha Washington's son. Her friends in the free black community had already carried her belongings to the port and they were waiting for her when she arrived at the docks.10 Two days later, Frederick Kitt, Washington’s steward, placed an advertisement in the Philadelphia Gazette chronicling the details of Ona’s escape: Absconded from the household of the President of the United States. "Interview with A Slave of George Washington." There are no records of how she was introduced to this community or who helped her, and Ona kept this information secret to protect everyone’s safety. (Credit: Martin Falbisoner/Creative Commons). She revealed, “I never told his name till after he died, a few years since, les they should punish him for bringing me away.”15, Once she arrived in Portsmouth, Ona found lodging with a free African-American family. Ona Judge was born as a slave into George and Martha Washington's household. The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Given Ona’s enslaved status, any white man could sexually assault her without punishment and she may have feared for her safety in a new household with a disreputable owner.9. 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