![]() The difference is that “Never Caught” is all true.īut Judge’s astounding, audacious story isn’t the only thing author Erica Armstrong Dunbar brings to vivid life: She also sets the tone by explaining the times in which Judge lived, and what life was like for slaves and whites alike. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a thriller as heart-pounding as the one I found in this book. Judge surely knew what was going on, but when she learned that she would be permanently gifted as a wedding present to Martha’s moody granddaughter, she could stand things no longer.Īnd so, as the Washingtons dined on a Saturday evening in May, 1796, Oney Judge slipped out the door and ran… She was undoubtedly unhappy, therefore – but couldn’t speak her mind – when the Executive Mansion was relocated to Philadelphia in 1790.īut there was a twist, for Judge and for the Washingtons: Laws in Pennsylvania mandated freedom for any slave living in the state for six continuous months, meaning that the Washingtons would shuttle their slaves between Philadelphia and Virginia to “reset” their status. It’s there, says Dunbar, where Judge most certainly tasted freedom through rare autonomy. There, the illiterate girl learned to care for Martha’s clothing, to bathe the mistress, tend her grandchildren and soothe anxieties – one of which was that Martha’s husband had been asked to be the nation’s first president, a post that Martha Washington wasn’t keen on – and neither was Judge.īut, of course, Washington did take the position, which meant a household move from Virginia to Manhattan (the site of the first Executive Mansion) for the family and a handful of slaves, including Judge. Visit megaphone.At age 10, “Oney” Judge was brought inside the Washington household, in service to Martha Washington. Support our show by becoming a premium member! ![]() She supports her work-life balance with long walks and her love of photography, which you can find here. She seeks the extraordinary in the ordinary, and reinterprets the historical narrative in both traditional and creative forms. ![]() Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality. With impeccable research, historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar weaves a powerful tale and offers fascinating new scholarship on how one young woman risked it all to gain freedom from the famous founding father.ĭr. Yet freedom would not come without its costs.Īt just twenty-two-years-old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington, who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property. So, when the opportunity presented itself, Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Though Ona Judge lived a life of relative comfort, the few pleasantries she was afforded were nothing compared to freedom, a glimpse of which she encountered first-hand in Philadelphia. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south just as the clock was about to expire. Rather than comply, Washington decided to circumvent the law. As he grew accustomed to Northern ways, there was one change he couldn’t get his arms around: Pennsylvania law required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency in the state. In setting up his household he took Tobias Lear, his celebrated secretary and eight slaves, including Ona Judge, about whom little has been written. When George Washington was elected president, he reluctantly left his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in Philadelphia, the temporary seat of the nation’s capital. A startling and eye-opening look into America’s First Family, Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge (Simon and Schuster, 2017) is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nation’s capital and reach freedom.
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