3. Ona Judge, a Story of One Mount Vernon Slave
Ona Judge became Lady’s Maid to Martha Washington. Martha, who didn’t have the same conflict about slavery as her husband and didn’t mind confrontation, treated the slaves a bit differently than George. Other than taking care of Martha, Ona’s main job was to sew. She would sew whatever Martha needed, such as new dresses and other clothing.
This particular slave would have worn a simpler dress than Martha, a cap on top of her head to cover her hair, and an apron over her dress. In 1796, Ona ran away from the Mount Vernon mansion. While Washington put an advertisement in for her return, no one ever captured Ona. She ran off to New Hampshire, where she lived out the rest of her life hidden from the world of slavery. Today, Ona’s story is in a new book called Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.