Escape from the White House to Freedom: Ona Judge

She seized freedom from President Washington’s home while George and Martha were eating dinner. She had just learned of some frightening news. And so she fled, with Washington hot on her heels. He implored her to return to her life of captivity. But Ona Judge’s negotiations fell on deaf ears. She wanted her freedom, no matter the cost.

Betty Judge, an enslaved housemaid, gave birth to a girl named Ona in April 1774 at Mount Vernon. Her father was Andrew, a white indentured servant who worked on the plantation. Ona likely lived with Betty in a small cabin near Washington’s home, doing basic chores, helping her mother with jobs in their cabin, and playing with other children.

When Martha brought Ona to George’s house in New York City, Ona left her family for the first time. It was terrifying for 16-year-old Ona to travel to New York City, where she had never been before. But New York City opened Ona’s eyes to a world she had never seen before.

Ona encountered a significant free black population for the first time. She saw unusual sights too, and tried new foods. Most important, she met new people. In June 1792, she went to the theatre. In April 1793, she saw ‘tumbling feats’ (presumably acrobats). And in June 1793, she went to see the travelling circus.

It gave Ona a taste of freedom. But Washington stood in her way.

Tempting though fleeing was, Ona knew the risks. Such an attempt would result in serious punishment. A fugitive in the eyes of the law, Ona knew she would likely spend the rest of her life on the run and would never see her family again.

The Break for Freedom

Ona’s views on fleeing changed after Martha’s granddaughter, Eliza, married Thomas Law on March 21^st, 1796. Martha declared that she intended to ‘give’ Ona to Eliza as a wedding present. As if she was an object, not a human.

It would have separated Ona from her family and the life she knew at Mount Vernon. When a reporter later asked Ona why she chose that moment to flee, Ona replied that ‘she was determined never to be her slave’, referring to Eliza.

She had a reputation among the enslaved women at Mount Vernon for being temperamental and unpredictable. Dangerous characteristics for an enslaver. Ona was also concerned about Thomas. He came with a bad reputation, too.

He landed in Philadelphia with his two illegitimate children, whom he had fathered while in India. Others harassed him with rumours about his conduct. Ona knew her situation was dire. Eliza would abuse her. And Thomas would sexually abuse her. Growing concerned over her safety in a new home with such monsters, Ona felt as if she had no choice.

She had to flee.

In the spring of 1796, Ona established contact with members of the free black community, which helped her escape. There are no records of how she found this community or who assisted her. Ona kept this knowledge a secret to ensure everyone’s safety.

On the afternoon of Saturday, May 21^st, 1796, Ona snuck out of George’s home as George and Martha ate dinner. Her companions from the free black community had already transported her possessions to the port. They were waiting for her when she arrived at the dock.

Two days later, Washington’s steward, Frederick Kitt, published an advert in the Philadelphia Gazette detailing Ona’s escape:

‘[Ona] absconded from the household of the President of the United States. Oney Judge, a light mulatto girl, much freckled, with very black eyes and bushy black hair… of middle stature, slender, and delicate[ly], about 20 years of age. She has many changes of good clothes, of all sorts, but they are not sufficiently recollected to be described.’

George placed a bounty on Ona’s head of just $10, about the price of a barrel of flour at the time. About $230 in today’s money. George was seething with rage.

He would not tolerate Ona’s escape.

The Rage of Washington

The advert that listed a $10 ‘reward’ for Ona’s capture and return emphasised the Washingtons’ shock and fury over Ona’s escape:

‘As there was no suspicion of her going off nor no provocation to do so, it is not easy to conjecture whither she has gone, or fully, what her design is.’

Yes, you read that right. The Washingtons had no idea why Ona fled. Oh, I wonder why. Let me ponder that for a moment. They believed they treated her well. I mean, they bought her six new pairs of socks a year, a rare luxury for the enslaved. They didn’t realise what Ona feared was not them but Eliza.

To avoid Washington’s contemporaries recognising her, Ona most likely left Philadelphia immediately. In one of her later interviews, she said that she escaped on a ship commanded by Captain John Bowles, who left Philadelphia for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She revealed:

‘I never told his name till after he died, a few years since, lest they should punish him for bringing me away.’

When she landed in Portsmouth, Ona found shelter with a free black family. She also found work as a household servant. While she was grateful for the labour, it was a departure from needlework and attending to Martha’s needs. She likely did the laundry, prepared meals, scrubbed the floors, and cleaned the house, all demanding tasks.

In January 1797, she married Jack Staines, a free man, and they moved into their own home. Staines was a sailor, and while the pay was reasonable, it was irregular and seasonal. To make ends meet, Ona continued to do domestic work, and they took in a boarder in one of their spare rooms.

Washington was far from happy. Ona was a fugitive. And so George made a bid to recapture Ona. Not once, but twice…

The Fight of Ona’s Life

George’s first attempt to recapture Ona came while he was still in office. He addressed a letter to Joseph Whipple, Portsmouth’s customs collector. Whipple owed his job to the Washington administration, so he grudgingly agreed to help return Ona to Mount Vernon.

He informed his acquaintances that he was looking for a reliable maid to assist his wife. Ona became aware of the probe and met with Whipple to address the situation. She grew concerned, though, when Whipple began asking intimate questions to establish her identity – questions that would not be expected in a job interview.

Ona was intelligent.

After she became silent, Whipple admitted that he had received instructions from George. But Whipple was anxious to assist her and would try to negotiate her eventual release. Whipple owed everything he had to George. Yet he put it all on the line for Ona.

Looking for an escape route, Ona decided to meet Whipple at the docks and return to Virginia. But when Whipple came to the docks to guarantee Ona boarded the ship on schedule, she never arrived.

On October 4^th, 1796, Whipple informed his superiors he had failed to secure Ona. Frustrated, George wrote to Whipple, requesting him to recapture Ona by any force necessary. Whipple, a modest abolitionist, was uncomfortable with such violence. He suggested that Washington hire a lawyer and address future letters to ‘the Attorney of the United States in New Hampshire’.

With Whipple refusing to help, George went to Burwell Bassett Jr., Martha’s nephew. A family member was ideal for this unsavoury mission, which George sought to keep under wraps. Here’s the thing: George Washington spoke in public of the evils of enslavement. He supported the gradual abolition of slavery, something he said in speaking tours throughout the 1790s. All while he was on the hunt for Ona. He was a duplicitous bastard.

When he arrived in Portsmouth, Bassett settled into Senator John Langdon’s home. Bassett then approached Ona’s home and knocked on the door. When Ona opened the door, holding her one-year-old daughter, Eliza, she might have recognised Bassett from her time at Mount Vernon. In any case, she soon discovered why he was visiting Portsmouth. Bassett ‘used all the persuasion he could’ to convince Ona to return to Virginia, but Ona ‘utterly refused to go with him.’

If you want me, you will have to use force.

Bassett told Ona that the Washingtons would release her when she returned to Virginia, to which she answered, “I am free now, and choose to remain so.”

As your typical conservative white Southerner, Bassett was used to black people doing as he asked. He returned to Langdon’s house to regroup after Ona refused to cooperate. Washington had given him orders to take her by force and carry her back if necessary.

But Ona had an unusual ally in her corner.

The Last Stand

Langdon’s family had a long history of enslavement, so Bassett expected the Senator to back him. Despite not being abolitionists, Landgon’s family emancipated those they enslaved and rehired them as paid workers. Langdon, against the odds, was on Ona’s side. And so he hatched a plan. He was to get Bassett absolutely hammered.

And that’s what he did. The two men drank into the night, enjoying much merriment. What Bassett did not know was that Langdon had tipped off Ona. Get out of town. NOW! I’ll keep Bassett busy with booze. It might come as no surprise to learn that this worked on a conservative white Southerner.

After receiving the letter to get out of town, Ona hired a horse and carriage to transport her to Greenland, New Hampshire, where she hid. This was the last time Ona heard from her enslavers, as George Washington died shortly after. In Ona’s words, the Washingtons ‘never troubled me any more after he was gone.’

A few years later, Ona had a second daughter, Nancy, followed by a son. In 1803, Jack Staines passed away, and Ona moved in with Jack’s family to share household expenses. In the 1830s, both of Ona’s daughters died, and she became more involved in her religious community and the abolitionist movement.

In late 1845 and early 1846, Ona conducted two interviews with abolitionist publications in New Hampshire. Ona used the chance to express her feelings against the institution of slavery, claiming that she ‘never received the least mental or moral instruction, of any kind’, while she was with the Washington family.

She also criticised the Washingtons’ piety, claiming that she never saw or heard any evidence of ‘piety and prayers’ while enslaved. As she put it:

“Card-playing and wine-drinking were the business at his parties and he had more of such company Sundays than on any other day.”

The press used these words to criticise the institution of enslavement and the associated atrocities.

Ona Judge died on February 25^th, 1848 in Greenland, New Hampshire, as a free woman. She was 75.

Escape from the White House to Freedom

On May 21^st, 1796, Ona ‘Oney’ Judge fled her enslaver President George Washington while he was having dinner with his family.

Yes, George Washington was an enslaver. He was one of 12 Presidents of America who enslaved individuals. Pennsylvania abolished slavery in the 1780s but George used loopholes to maintain enslaved people in Philadelphia.

When he discovered that Ona had gone, he placed an advert in a newspaper demanding her capture. He offered a $10 ‘reward’, equal to the price of a barrel of flour at the time. Yet he never recaptured her. Her drive to escape slavery outweighed any regrets about leaving. As one interviewer mentioned:

“When asked if she is not sorry she left Washington, as she has laboured so much harder since, than before, her reply is, ‘No, I am free, and have, I trust been made a child of God by the means.’”

George returned Ona to Virginia now and again to avoid Pennsylvania legislation that could have granted Ona her freedom. Does this make George a hypocrite? Possibly. But he truly saw her as a member of the family. That doesn’t forgive what he did, but it does complicate matters.

Regardless, Ona fled George knowing her future with Eliza was nothing but trouble. It took bravery not just to flee but to stand up against George’s merciless minions. Despite being a fugitive, she was able to live as a free woman for most of her adult life with her children and husband. She outlived him and two of her daughters but spent her final few years as an abolitionist and campaigner for equal rights.

All things considered, George Washington wasn’t quite the ‘American hero’. Ona’s story is a testament to what it takes to stand against such tyranny. Even though it meant she never saw her mother again.

Ona’s story really is one of triumph over hardship.

“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 coloured people of Philadelphia, had my things carried there beforehand, and left Washington’s house while they were eating dinner.”
– Ona Judge.

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Post UB: What do you think of Ona Judge’s daring escape, reader?