Oney Judge
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Oney (Ona) Judge, born about 1773, was a slave at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, in Virginia. More is known about her than any other Mount Vernon slave because she was interviewed by two abolitionist newspapers in the 1840s. Read both interviews at: http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/slaves/oneyinterview.htm
The daughter of Betsy, an enslaved seamstress, and Andrew Judge, a white English tailor, Oney was moved into Mount Vernon's main house at about age 10, probably as a playmate for Martha Washington's granddaughter Nelly Custis. Oney eventually became Martha Washington's personal attendant or body servant.
Oney was among 7 slaves brought to New York City in 1789 to work in the first presidential residence, and, following the transfer of the national capital to Philadelphia in 1790, she was among 9 to work in The President's House. Oney's half-brother, Austin, also worked in the presidential households. Pennsylvania had begun a gradual abolition of slavery in 1780, and prohibited non-residents from holding slaves in the state longer than 6 months. (At the end of that period, the enslaved could demand their freedom under state law.) Washington rotated the President's House slaves out of state to prevent their establishing legal residency, itself a violation of Pennsylvania law, but the President's actions were never challenged.
In May or June 1796, after learning that the First Lady had promised her as a wedding present to another granddaughter, Oney made escape plans. With the aid of Philadelphia's free-black community, she slipped away one night while the Washingtons were eating dinner. Her friends hid her until they found a northbound ship, which took Oney to New Hampshire.
By September, Oney was discovered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Washington considered having her abducted and returned by ship — Portsmouth's collector of customs, Joseph Whipple, interrogated Oney and reported back to the President — but the plan was abandoned after Whipple warned that if news of it became public there would be a riot on the docks. Following Washington's retirement, his nephew, Burnwell Bassett Jr., traveled to New Hampshire to convince Oney to return. She refused, and the nephew's attempt to kidnap her was unsuccessful. She met and married a free-black sailor, Jack Staines, and had 3 children by him.
Following Oney's escape, her younger half-sister, Delphy, became the wedding present for Martha Washington's granddaughter. Oney was a "dower" slave, owned by the estate of Martha Washington's first husband, and not one of the 124 Mount Vernon slaves freed following George Washington's death in 1799. Instead, the 153 or so "dowers" were inherited by Martha Washington's grandchildren following her death in 1802. Legally, Oney's children also were "dower" slaves, even though their father was a freeman, and they had been born and lived their entire lives in New Hampshire. Staines and all 3 children predeceased Oney.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by Washington, made it a federal crime to assist an escaped slave, and allowed slavecatchers into every U.S. state and territory. Because of this law, Oney Judge Staines spent the last 52 years of her life as a fugitive.
She died in Greenland, New Hampshire on February 25, 1848.
Oney Judge's story has been the inspiration for recent works: TAKING LIBERTY by Ann Rinaldi (2002 novel); THE ESCAPE OF ONEY JUDGE by Emily Arnold McCully (2007 children's book); A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS by Thomas Gibbons (2007 drama).
