Oney Judge: Escape from Slavery and the President's House
A LETTER FROM DUCHESS The first president of the United States George Washington and his wife Martha owned Ona Oney Judge The Washingtons lived in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Many students forget that Philadelphia was the nation’s first capital One of the goals of this book is to explain the role that free black people played in Philadelphia Enslaved black people such as Judge escaped slavery and were sometimes assisted by other black people Judge did not want to be enslaved by Martha Washington or her granddaughter Eliza Judge was a brave woman Not only did she free herself she escaped the president of the United States I did not learn about Judge myself until 2015 So my hope is that this book introduces you to a lesser-known American hero who deserves to be remembered and read about Join me on a journey that tells the story of the promise of freedom
A display in Philadelphia Pennsylvania tells Oney Judge’s story
CHAPTER ONE
ESCAPING SLAVERY President George Washington and his wife Martha sat down for dinner in the presidential mansion The date was May 21 1796 It seemed like an ordinary day The presidential mansion was in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Washington and his family lived there part-time At the time Philadelphia was the capital of the United States Washington was the nation’s first president Soon he and his family would travel to Mount Vernon in Alexandria Virginia for the summer The Washingtons had another home there Today an exhibit stands on the site of the former presidential mansion in Philadelphia Pennsylvania where the Washingtons lived
