[music] okay. Welcome, everybody. My name is doug bradburn, on the founding director of the National Library for the study of George Washington at the beautiful mount vernon and delighted to welcome you again for a wonderful evening of conversation and history, and i also like to welcome the cspan audience out there who is recording us this evening. Great to have you back in the library. These evening book talks are special for a variety of reasons, because we get to bring exciting new historians to the eager community here, but also because its sponsored by ford, which has been a great donor to mount vernon for many, many years. As you ail know, mountain vernon ladys association does not take any government money. A completely private institution based on philanthropy and based on people coming to the estate so we depend on groups like the ford family and evidence to Mortar Company who supported mount vernon since henry ford gave the first fire engine to the estate to keep the mansion from burning down. Its an ongoing challenge and youre welcome to donate to our Fire Suppression efforts right now. Id like to welcome you all out here and before we begin the main event, i also want to mention some Upcoming Library programs, which we still have some tickets available. Great annual Martha Washington lecture featuring flora frasier and viera, excusing 18th century women as consumers on both sides of the atlantic. That will be lead by our serb senior curator here and the first of three Michelle Smith lectures coming up, featuring George Goodwin discussing bren Benjamin Franklin in london. I met him at the franklin house and he has an extremely large personality, and i think you will particularly enjoy him and his discovery of franklins life in london. Lets get to the main event right away. We are exceptionally pleased to have with us dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar from the university of delware with us today. Might have seen her featured in the New York Times and on many npr programs. This where is she belongs, talking about an important subject received her ma and ph. D from Columbia University and was in the inaugural director of the program in africanamerican history at the Library Company of philadelphia should have called you the founding director. Thats the her first book, fragile freedom, africanamerican women and emancipation in the ante bellum city, published by yale, extremely wellregarded and important study of an understudied topic up to that point them perfect person to take on the challenge to recover the story of ona judge. Lets all give erica a big round of applause. [applause] good evening, everyone. Happy black history month. Here i am. So, first, let me make offer a few thank yous, of course to doug bradburn, who invited me. Really think that theres no other place that i should be giving this talk. Can you all see me . Im vertically challenged and im going to turn this lets see. See if this is better. Better . Yes. Okay. Id also like to state thank you thank steve and emily for mening me with arrangements to arrive here. Its been a very, very busy week. This book just came out on tuesday of last week. And so im an academic, and as doug said, my first book was published with Yale University press, and this book is more of a sort of crossover trade book for a larger, more general audience, and so its a very different experience. One that has been rewarding but different and im a little tired. So, forgive me if my voice comes in and out. Ive been talking more than usual. So, tonight is such a pleasure to be here to be really where the story of ona judges life began. Right . Its mount vernon, and what ill do tonight is to talk a little bit ill read a little bit, too, from the book, and give you a little context through some slides about here we are. Im in stereo. Yay. And to givation context about ona judges life and what i wanted to do with this book. 20 years ago i was doing research on my first book about africanamerican women in the north, and i came across an advertisement for a runaway, an enslaved person who had run from the president s house in philadelphia, may 1796. And i was sort of caught up looking through microfilm at old newspapers and but this made my pause, and i said, wait. Who is this person who ran away . She was named one judge in the advertise. I thought, wait a minute, i dont know this person. And that was troubling to me because this is my area of expertise. Im supposed to know all of this stuff and i had no idea who this ony judge was, and there was something that was very sort of compelling about this advertisement. Never sort of escaped me. And i said, you know, im going to come back to this important story. Im going to try and trace this woman. I need answers. So i finished the first book, and here i am, many years later. It was a lengthy process in attempting to recover the work of the life of ona judge. This is recovery work and for those of white house do specifically africanamerican early africanamerican history, doing this kind of work in archives where the evidence is slim, factual evidence often doesnt exist because people of color, women in particular, often remained outside of the archives. And so what i will say is that theres absolutely no way i could have written this book had i not written my first book. Thats my plug for graduate students and people who are really doing the work of academics. I needed agrounding in order to be able to write this book about a woman who is really just absolutely magnificent. When you read the book youll be blown away by her life. Now, many folks here in this room, and of course at mount vernan, this is no new story. Know about ona judge and youre among a small group of people i hope there are many more who know her. Thats the expectation. Want her name to become one of those sort of household names, like a frederick douglass, lake harriet tubman, because she runs away decades before they do. Right . So the title ill give you quick story get title never caught. This is one modify first choice knows title of the book, and i presented it to some people at the publisher, and they hate it. They said, gives away the story, erica. And i said, yeah, but so does 12 years a slave. Honestly, we understand. 12 years, going to end at some point. With never caught, this is really a history of how a woman who was a fugitive never found freedom. Never free. Simply was never caught. Think its a big distinction and one i wanted to make as i was trying to kind of dismantle what we think about slavery in the south and the north at a moment when the innings in is new. I think thats one of the other things that was really trying to do with this book, was to allow us to see what the early days of this new country looked like through the eyes of the enslaved. Onas life gives us that opportunity to look at early virginia, new york, pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. And we get to sort of follow her life and look at how this nation is changing, how its grappling with the issue of slavery, all of these very kind of central issues to this new nation, and this time were doing it through a young black woman who made the choice to run away. So, as i said ill read a bit. I will talk and well look at a few slides, and well walk together on this journey of onas life. Spring range rents therefore streets of philadelphia in 1796. Weather in the city of brotherly love was often fickle at this time of year, vacillating between extreme cold and oppressive heat. But rain was almost always appreciated in the nations capitol. It erased the putrid smells of rotting food, animal waste, and filth that permeated the cobblestone roads of this new nation. It reminded philadelphians that the long and punishing winter was behind them, spring rain cleansed the streets and souls of philadelphians. It ushered in optimism and hope and a feeling of rebirth, and in the n the midst of the promises of spring, ona judge, a young black, enslaved woman, received devastating news. She learned that she would leave philadelphia, city that had become her home. Judge would travel back to virginia and prepare herself to be bequeathed to her owners granddaughter. Today ill introduce one of most understudied fugitive slaves in america. The age of 22, judge stole herself from the washingtons, forcing the president to show a slave catching hand as. As a fugitive, judge would test the president s will and his reputation. The most important man in the nation, heralded with winning the american revolution, could not reclaim this enslaved woman. Ona judge did what very few others could do. She beat the president. Judge was never caught. Now, i know normally show this next slide. You dont need it because were here at mount vernon but this is when im on the road and doing my dog and pony show. This is one there are of course earlier images, but i always try to give this image so that people have an idea of what the Mansion House where she was for such a long period of her life, for a good 16 years. So of course you all we are here so you dont need this. But today i will introduce what im calling im calling her a new american hero, slave girl, raised rat mt. Vernon, who on exposed the ideas of freedom, was compelled to pursue it at any cost. This was a woman who found the courage to defy the president , the wit to find allies, to escape, to outnegotiate, to run, to survive. Her story at this point we can tell is really the only existing lengthy account of a fugitive once held by the washingtons, at least told from her mouth to interviewers. It is perhaps the only fugitive account from any slave in 18th 18th century virginia. Judges life exposes the sting of slavery, the drive of defiance. She guarded what would become sort of freedom for her every day of her life. Never regretting her decision to fight for what she believed to be her right. That was freedom. In 1789, we know that was as elected first president of the united states. Traveled to new york, the nations first capital, and he and Martha Washington would take with them seven slaves from mt. Very mt. Vernon this is a sketch of federal haul where president washington would take the oath of office in new york so he would take eventually martha would make her way up to new york shift was unhappy about the move and she made that known to everyone. But she went. And they took seven enslaved people with them from mt. Vernon, and ona judge was one of them. She would be taken from her mother, betty, and her other siblings, and im going to read a bit from the book. To give you an idea of what that moment must have been like. The young ona judge was far from an experienced traveler. The teenager knew only mt. Vernon and its surroundings, and had never traveled far from her family and loved ones. Forjudge, the move must hear been similar to dreaded auction block. Although she was not to be sold to a different owner she was forced to leave her family for an unfamiliar destination, hundreds of miles away. Judge would have no choice but to stifle the terror that she felt some to go on about the work of preparing to move, folding linens, packing Martha Washingtons dresses, and personal accessories, and helping with the grandchildren. These were all things that ona judge would be involved in. They were the tasks at hand and it wasnt her mace to complain or question. Judge had to remain strong and steady. If not for herself, then for her mistress, who appeared to be falling apart at the seams. Like judge, Martha Washington had no choice about the move to new york. Her life was at the direction of her husband, who was now the most powerful man in the country, mrs. Washington and ona judge may have shared similar concern, but of course only Martha Washington was allowed to express discontent. And sorrow. Martha washington was unhappy, and everyone knew it, including her frightened slaves. The president s nephew, robert lewis, would also soon be made aware of it when he arrived at the estate on may 14th. Things were in disarray, lewis who was washington razz secretary between 1788 and. 91 bass chosen to escort his aunt and her grandchildren to new york but was surprised and a bit concerned when he arrived to find a frenzyes and frequent tick scene. Lewis wrote, quote, everything appeared to be in confusion, end quote. The manifestation of mrs. Washingtons conflicting feelings. Robert lewis described the departure which finally took place on may 16, 1789, as an emotional moment for the slaves and the first lady, quote, after an early dinner and making all necessary arrange. S, and which we were greatly retarded, it brought to us 3 00 in the afternoon when we left mount v. This servants of the house and a number of the field negroes made their appearance to take leave of their mistress. Numbers of the poor wretcheds seemed greatly agitated. Much affected. My aunt equally so. Betty ona judges mother, must have one of the agitate slaves. She was lowes losing her daughter also losing her son austin who was one of the washingtons waiters. Austins wife, charlotte and their children, would have joined in the mourning. Betty watched her children leave mt. Vernon, a reminder of what little control slave mothers had over the lives of their children. I she found any comfort in that day, it would have been that brother and sister were traveling together. Austin was older and male and could look out for his younger sister. Still, betty knew that her relationship with her children would never be the same. Washingtons would travel to new york and would really their visit there was relatively brief. They would leave for philadelphia in november of 1790 when the site of the nations capitol changed again. Ona would go with the washingtons and she would be one of nine enslaved people who traveled to philadelphia. So were going to go head south, actually to philadelphia. Hmm. We dont have an image. See if we can go forward. Pretend you see the president s house. Which was a lithograph, an image of a lithograph from the president s house, which actually right now for those who are familiar with philadelphia, if you go to the liberty bell and constitutional hall, the house is actually right there. And ill tell you this is an aside. When i was watching kind of all the preelection coverage and there was a speech given by former president barack obama and hillary clinton, it was smack in the middle of this courtyard at independence hall, and im watching the visual with the crowds and what have you, and off to the right was where the actual president s house stood, and i thought, wow, here we are, im watching this moment, and off to the righthand side ona is still there. Just wont let me go follows me everywhere. February, 1796. Brought a palpable unease to the executive mansion in philadelphia. A thick tension prompted ona judge and her enslaved companions to tread lightly around george and math that washington. Enslaved men and women always moved about their days with caution, not knowing what events could sour or sweeten an owners mood. For slaves neglect same wall as their owner life could be akin to walk through fields imbedded with land mines. This smallest of marys, such as the extental breaking of a dish, or inconveniently timed bad weather, could alter the dissituation of an ore. Although the president did not earn the reputation as being a violent or physically punishing slave owner, head did on occasion lose his temper. Ona judge maneuvered through he daily tasks at the president s house with a smooth watchfulness, perhaps attending to Martha Washington with extra care as she helped her dress for the day. For seven years, judge had served her mistress well up north. She became martha a washingtons closest body slave. All 0 who knew the washingtons on a personal level were familiar with judge, for she often accompanied her mistress on social calls. Since moving to new york and then philadelphia, the first ladys life was filled with socializing and public events. So its important to realize this relationship between mistress and slave enslaved person, at least in terms of ona judge, was very intimate relationship. Not necessarily in the best of ways but ona was around Martha Washington constantly, helping her with the most intimate of responsibilities, dressing, bathing, combing hair, and she was around she heard everything that went on in the executive mansion. Judge understood her mistress. She knew just how much Martha Washington loved her grandchildren. She had outlived every single one of her children fathered by her first husband. Martha washington had no choice but to look to her grandchildren for hope and joint, and although she was only 27 years old when she married George Washington, their marriage never yielded offspring. After the death of her son, john, martha and George Washington welcomed two of his small children into their home, raising them up through adulthood and i think thats a really interesting thing to think about, the kind of intergenerational relationship or community that was actually there from the beginning with the first president. Hope we have a picture. We do. Judge must have witnessed the shock and concern of her owners after they read through the mail on february 6th. The president received a letter from eliza, his 19yearold stepgrandchild, until her grandparents of her intention to marry. A liza wrote of her engagement to thomas law, british businessman who came to america in 1794, and became involved in Land Development in and around the federal city. Law met eliza, who was 20 years his junior, and a romance turn into an engagement. Elizas father was deceased and in some ways George Washington stood in as one thief sort of appropriate surrogates to approve or reject the marriage proposal. The news must have sent the executive mansion into a tailspin. Although this was very personal family business, everyone who lived within the walls of the president s house knew exactly what was happening. Its interesting, when we read the letters john adams writes about this kind of interesting situation, this relationship that eliza is entering into. There were questions about who this thomas law was, he writes home about this situation. Neither george nor Martha Washington kn