Oney Judge

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Life of George Washington: The Farmer by Junius Brutus Stearnes (circa 1853)

Oney Judge (also Ona ) (* circa 1773 - February 25, 1848 in Greenland, New Hampshire ) was a slave on George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia . From 1789 she was a servant in Washington's presidential household, in 1796 she fled to freedom and all attempts to bring her back into slavery were in vain. She is the most famous of the Mount Vernon slaves as she was interviewed twice by abolitionist newspapers in the 1840s .

childhood

Oney was the daughter of Betty, an enslaved seamstress, and Andrew Judge, a white tailor who worked as a wage slave on Mount Vernon. Oney came to the mansion when she was about 10 years old, likely as a playmate for Martha Washington's granddaughter Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis ( Nelly ). Eventually she became Martha Washington's personal servant.

In the President's household

She and seven other slaves: Austin, Giles, Paris, Moll, Christopher Sheels, and William Lee were brought to New York City in 1789 to work in the first presidential household. After the household moved to the new capital Philadelphia in 1790 , three slaves were added to the presidential budget : Hercules , Richmond and "Postilion" Joe Richardson (Joe's wife took the name Richardson after her release by George Washington, while Joe himself, as a "dowry" slave of Martha Washington, not released). Austin was Oney's older half-brother and her boss for 15 years.

Pennsylvania had begun the abolition of slavery in 1780, banning non-residents from keeping slaves within the state for more than six months. In addition, the Gradual Abolition Act gave slaves a legal power to free themselves. Washington argued (privately) that its presence in Pennsylvania was based solely on the fact that Philadelphia was the temporary seat of the state and that state law did not conform to it. In a letter to his attorney Edmund Randolph , he saw it as useful to rotate the slaves who worked in the presidential budget in and out of the state to prevent this 6-month rule from taking effect. He made sure never to be in Pennsylvania for six months straight and continued to argue that he was a resident of Virginia. This rotation was in violation of Pennsylvania law, but the President's actions had no legal consequences.

The escape

According to an 1845 interview, Oney escaped to freedom in May or June 1796 after learning Martha Washington had promised to give her to one of her granddaughters, Elizabeth Parke Custis Law , for the wedding:

"Whilst they were packing up to go 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 beforehand, and left Washington's house while they were eating dinner. "

Oney was hidden by free black friends from Philadelphia after her escape. She boarded a ship "The Nancy" sailing north . In September she reached Portsmouth , New Hampshire . Washington was considering kidnapping her and bringing her back by ship. Portsmouth "Customs Officer" Joseph Whipple interrogated them and reported them to the President. The kidnapping scheme was abandoned after Whipple warned that if the public found out about the kidnapping, rioting could break out on the docks.

After Washington's tenure ended in 1797, Martha Washington's nephew Burwell Bassett Jr. traveled to New Hampshire to persuade Oney to return. She refused and his attempt to kidnap her failed. She married the free black sailor John Staines. They had three children: Eliza, Nancy and Will.

After Oney's escape, her younger sister Delphy (* 1779) became the wedding gift of Martha Washington's granddaughter. Delphy and her children were released in 1807.

Never free

Oney was a "dowry" slave as she had been part of the property of Martha Washington's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis . That is why she was not released into freedom like the 124 "Washington slaves" after his death in 1799, at his last will. In fact, after Martha Washington's death in 1802, the approximately 153 dowry slaves in Custi's possession were divided among their grandchildren. By law, Oney's children were also "dowry" slaves, even though their father was a free man and they were born in New Hampshire. Staines and all three children died before her.

With the slave escape law of 1793 there was a legal possibility for the slave owners to get their property back. A right that they were guaranteed by the "slave flight clause" (Article 4, Paragraph 2) of the American Constitution. The law was passed by an overwhelming majority by Congress in 1793 and signed into law by Washington. This made it a criminal offense to help a slave escape, it was above all state laws that might have given refugee slaves shelter, and it allowed slave hunters in all US states and territories.

By that federal law, Oney Judge Staines lived the last 52 years of her life as a fugitive. She died in Greenland , New Hampshire on February 25, 1848.

Commemoration

On February 25, 2008, the 160th anniversary of her death, Philadelphia celebrated the first "Oney Judge Day" next to the Presidential House on 6th Market Street. The ceremony included speeches by historians and activists, a proclamation by Mayor Michael A. Nutter, and a memorandum by the city council.

Oney Judge's story inspired numerous works:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The February 18, 1786 Mount Vernon slave census lists "Oney" as Betty's child and "12 yrs. Old". Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds., The Diaries of George Washington , vol. 4, (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia), p. 278
  2. ^ Two 1840s interviews with Oney Judge
  3. ^ The President's House in Philadelphia
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act (1780)
  5. ↑ Enslaved minors were legally freed, but required to work as indentured servants until they attained their majority.
  6. ↑ 1845 Oney Judge interview [1]
  7. ↑ Notes on the letter from G. Washington in the Encyclopaedia Virgina https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Letter_from_George_Washington_to_Burwell_Bassett_Jr_August_11_1799
  8. ↑ Delphy is listed as "6 yrs. Old" in the February 18, 1786 Mount Vernon slave census. Jackson & Twohig, Diaries , vol. 4, p. 278.
  9. ^ Last Will and Testament of George Washington
  10. ^ The numbers of "Washington" and "dower" slaves come from the 1799 Mount Vernon slave census. ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The names of the "dower" slaves inherited by each of the Custis grandchildren have never been published, creating an obstacle for genealogists. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / gwpapers.virginia.edu
  11. ^ The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
  12. ↑ City Honors Washington's Slave
personal data
SURNAME Judge, Oney
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION George Washington's slave girl
DATE OF BIRTH 1773
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1848
Place of death Greenland, New Hampshire