Exceptionally pleased to have with us dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar from the university of delaware with us tonight. You mate have seen her featured in the New York Times recently and not many npr programs, but this is where she belongs talking about this. She received a phd from columbia university. She became the inaugural director of the program in africanAmerican History. They should have called you the founding director. Thats the moe joouft as we say around here. Her first book, a fragile freedom, africanamerican women and emancipation in the antebellum city, published by yale, an under studied topic up to that point. And so the perfect person to take on the challenge to recover the story of owna judge. Lets all give erica a big round of applause. [ applause ] good evening, everyone. Good evening. Happy black history month. Happy black history month. Here i am. So first, let me make offer a few thank yous of course to doug brad board who invited me. I think theres no other place i should be giving this talk. Can you all see me . Im vertically challenged. Im going to turn this lets see if this is better. Better . Yes. Okay. And id also like to thank steven emily for helping 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 tradebook for a larger more general audience. And so its a very different experience. One thats 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. Its mt. 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 oh, here we are. Im in stereo. Yay. And to give you a little context about ona judges life and really sort of what i wanted to do with this book. About 20 years ago, i was doing some 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, you know, sort of caught up looking through micro fichl and old newspapers, but this made me pause. And i said, wait, who is this person who ran away . She was named onnie judge in the advertisement. 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 ownnie 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, the life of ona judge. This is recovery work. For those of us who do specifically 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. So thats my plug for graduate students and people who are really doing the work of academics. I needed a grounding in order to be able to write this book about a woman who is really just absolutely magnificent. When you read this book youll be blown away by her life. Now, many folks here in this room and of course at mt. Vernon, this is no new story. We know about ona judge, and you are among a small group of people, well actually now i hope there are many more who know her. Thats the expectation. I want her name to become one of those sort of household names, like a fredric douglas, like a harriet tubman, because she runs away decades before they do, right . So the title, ill give you a sort of quick story about the title, never caught. This was actually, of my first choices for the title of the book. And i presented it to some people at the publishers, and they hated it. And they said, gives away the story, erica. I said, yeah, but so does 12 years a slave. Honestly, we understand, right . It was 12 years, its 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. She was never free. She simply was never caught. And i think its a big distinction, and one that i wanted to make, especially as i was trying to kind of dismantle what we think about slavery in the south and the north at this moment where the nation is new. And i think thats one of the other things i 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. And 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 rain drenched the 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 Capital. It erased the putt rid 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 winder 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 midst of the promises of spring, ona judge, a young, black, enslaved woman, received devastating news. She learned that she would leave philadelphia, a city that had become her home. Judge would travel back to virginia and prepare herself to be bequeathed to her owner granddaughter. Today ill introduce one of the most under studies fugitive slaves in america. At the age of 22, judge stole herself from the washingtons. Forcing the president to show a slave catching hand. 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 normally show this next slide. You all dont need it because were here at mt. Vern oin and its actually an older slide but this is when im on the road and doing my dog and boney show. There are earlier image. 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. And so of course you all were here, so you dont need this. But today i will introduce what im calling im calling her a new american hero. A slave girl raised at mt mt. Vernon who once 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 my slave in 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, and that was freedom. In 1789, we know that washington was elected first president of the United States. Traveled to new york, the nations first capitol. And he and marthay washington would take with them seven slaves from mt. Vernon. This is a sketch of federal hall, 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. She was unhappy about the move. 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 traveller. The teenager knew only mt. Vernon and its surroundings. And had never traveled far from her family and loved ones. For judge, the move must have been similar to the 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 and 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 place 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 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 mostpowerful man in the country. Mrs. Washington and ona judge may have shared similar concerns. But, of course, only Martha Washington was allowed to express discontent. And sorrow. Martha washington was unhappy and everyone knew it, including her frightened slave. 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 served as washingtons secretary between 1789 and 91 was chosen to escort his aunt and her grandchildren to new york. But was surprised and a bit concerned when he arrived to find a frenzied and hectic 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 16th, 1789, as an emotional moment for the slaves and the first lady. Quote, after an early dinner and making all necessary arrangements, in which we were greatly retarded, it brought us to 3 00 in the afternoon when we left mt. V. The servants of the house and a number of the field negros made their appearance to take to take leave of their mistress. Numbers of these poor wretches seemed greatly agitated, much affected. My aunt, equally so. Betty, ona judges mother, must have been one of those agitated slaves. Not only was she losing her 16yearold daughter, but she was also losing her son austin, who would serve as 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. If 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. The washingtons would travel to new york and would really their their visit there was relatively brief. They would leave for philadelphia in november of 1790 when the site of the Nations Capital 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 head south, actually, to philadelphia. We dont have an image. Let me see if we go forward. Nope. Okay. Well, the image is there. Pretend that you see the president s house. Which was it was a lithograph, an image of a lithograph, from the president s house. Right now, for those of you who will familiar with philadelphia, if you go to the liberty bell and constitution hall, the house is actually right there. Ill tell you this is sort of 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 kind of the visual with 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, onas still there. Like, she just wont let me go. She follows me everywhere. February, 1796 brought a palpable ease. A thick tension prompted ona judge and her enslaved companions to tread lightly around george and Martha Washington. Enslaved men and women always moved about their days with caution. Not knowing what events could sour or sweeten an owners mood. For the slaves who resided within the same walls as their owner, life could be akin to walking through fields embedded with land mines. The smallest of matters, such as the accidental breaking of a dish or inconvenientlytimed bad weather, could alter the disposition of an owner. Although the president did not earn the reputation as being a violent or physically extremely punishing slave owner, he did, on occasion, lose his temper. Ona judge maneuvered through her 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 more thartha washing closest body slave. All 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. And so its important to realize that this relationship between mistress and slave and enslaved person at least in terms of ona judge, it was a very kind of intimate relationship. Not necessarily in the best of ways. But ona was around Martha Washington constantly, helping her with the most intimate 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 towards her grandchildren for hope and enjoyment. 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. Lets 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 step grandchild, informing her grandparents of her intention to marry. Eliza wrote of her engagement to thomas law. A british businessman who had came to america only recently before, 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 turned into an engagement. Elizas father was deceased. And, in some ways, George Washington stood in as one of the 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. And its interesting, when we read some of the letters john ada adams writes about this kind of interesting situation. This relationship that elizas entering into. There were questions about who this thomas law was. And he writes writes home about the situation. Neither george, nor Martha Washington, knew about the seriousness of the relationship between eliza and law. And there was much to be concerned about. With this union. Law arrived in america with two of his three children. Both of whom were the offspring from a relationship with an indian woman. They were biracial. His biracial children and his age, most certainly, raised the eyebrows of the washingtons. They were also concerned that he might decide to go back to england squ england and could take eliza with him. Ona judge watched her owners feel their way through the dramatic events of 1796. Martha washingtons concerns must have turned to optimism because, by the end of the months, she began to publicly announce the upcoming matrimony. She sort of moved through her fear, her concern, her anger for not knowing about this. And began to sort of think about this union in the most positive way possible. Ona judge had no idea that the acceptance of the marriage by both george and Martha Washington would begin the unraveling of her life. So eliza married thomas law on march 21st, 1796. And the marriage signalled the beginning of major changes for the washingtons and for their slaves. Judge, most certainly, knew that her time in philadelphia was limited. By the march wedding of eliza, close family knew that George Washington would not run again for president. This was no secret in the executive mansion. And eventually, all of their lives would change once they returned to mt. Vernon. The idea of reconnecting with loved ones in virginia must have given some of the slaves in the executive mansion reason to celebrate. But judge had lived in the north for seven years. And the thought of returning to mt. Vernon did not settle well. A return to mt. Vernon was a reminder to judge and her enslaved companions that they were considered the property of another person. And after living in a free northern city, this was a difficult concept to swallow. For ona judge, however, the uncertainty vanished as her fate was revealed. And i think its important to realize that ona judge comes to philadelphia as a teenager. Shes 17 16, 17 years old. And she spends these kind of formative years in philadelphia, watching free, black philadelphia grow. She watched richard alan build mother bethel around the corner just about. She saw free black men and women selling pepper pot soup on the streets. They were sbrentrepreneurs. And it wasnt necessarily easy but she saw freedom. She could almost feel it, taste it, smell it. She would go to the circus, go to the theater. These are things she would never have been able to do. In virginia. And then with the marriage of eliza, she realizes that her fate, or at least her fate was revealed. This marriage and change of life circumstances would cut judges residency in philadelphia short. Unlike the other slaves at the executive mansion, ona would not return to philadelphia from her annual summer sojourn to mt. Vernon. Judge would not be around to witness the president s final months in office. Martha washingtons deep concern for her granddaughter trumped any relationship that she may have forged with judge. Sensing that eliza had entered into a marriage for which she was unprepared, the first lady made a decision. And, of course, the term first lady isnt used at this moment. Its not used until later on in the 19th century. But i do use it as part of this narrative that ive offered. The first lady made a decision. That would help her granddaughter navigate through the transition of marriage. She would give ona judge to eliza custas. Although judge had earned the top spot among Martha Washingtons personal slaves, there was no way for judge to amass enough personal or emotional capital to convince her owner to change her mind. Judges fate was now in the hands of eliza custaslaw. A woman who was approximately the same age squfand was known having a difficult, sometimes volatile, temper. I always show this image because i think it sort of gives us an idea of eliza. She was a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes i think maybe she got a little bit of a bad rap. But her family wrote about her her temper. And this would have been something that ona judge was familiar with. A shift to the household of the irritable and volcanic eliza custislaw would most likely doom judge to a life of poor treatment and uncertainty. And she simply couldnt let that happen. Im going to read another passage from the book. To give you an idea of what that moment was like for her. Judge knew what the future held should she not heed the advice of her free, black associates. She supposed if she went back to virginia, she would never have the chance to escape. Once she learned that upon the decease of her master and mistress, she would become the property of a granddaughter of theirs by the name of custis, she knew that she had to flee. She imagined that her work for the laws would begin immediately, not after the death of her owners. Prompting a fierce clarity about her future and her dislike for eliza custislaw. In her interview at the end of her life, she said, quote, she was determined never to be her slave. Her decision was made. She would risk everything to avoid the clutches of the new mrs. Law. Judge was well informed and knew that her decision to flee was far more than risky. But still, she was willing to face dogsniffing kidnappers and bounty hunters for the rest of her life. Yes, her fear was consuming. But so, too, was her anger. Judge could no longer stomach her enslavement. And it was the change in her ownership that pulled the trigger on judges fury. She had given everything to the washingtons. For 12 years, she had served her mistress faithfully. And now, she was to be discarded like the scraps of material that she cut from Martha Washingtons dresses. Any false illusions she had clung to had evaporated. And judge knew that no matter how obedient or loyal she may have appeared to her owners, she would never be considered fully human. Her fidelity meant together. Nothing to the washingtons. She was their property. To be sold, mortgaged, or traded with whomever they wished. The beast that slept in every slaves soul was awakened. Confronting a future with eliza law coaxed the hunger for freedom out of the recesses of judges mind. And now, she was willing to fight for what she, clearly, believed to be her right. Her decision to run was just the beginning of her liberation. The waiting was difficult. For nearly two weeks, judge had to calm her nerves and suppress her anger, as allies completed the planning for her escape. She could not raise suspicions. So judge worked in tandem with the rest of the household as they made the necessary preparations for a lengthy trip back to mt. Vernon. Judge later stated, quote, whilst they were packing to go to virginia, i was packing to go. I didnt know where. For, i knew that if i went back to virginia, i never should get my liberty. Judge kept her plans a secret. Making certain not to share information with anyone who lived in the executive mansion. She knew that fearful or jealous slaves were often responsible for foiled fugitive escapes. She decided to rely on the assistance of free blacks, who resided outside of the walls of the president s home. Not only did ona judge have to pack her things to leave, she also had to determine when she would escape. Although the executive mansion possessed more slaves and servants than did most northern residences, judge was the first ladys preferred house slave. And had to be available at all times for whatever reason. There was only one duty from which she was exempt. Meal preparation. The famed hercules and a kitchen staff prepared all the meals served to the president and the first family. Judge sometimes received a bit of free time during the afternoon meal and the evening supper. As other servants or slaves were assigned to serve the washingtons. The president sometimes entertained dinner guests. Extending the festivities into the evening and inviting guests to retire to the parlor to enjoy a bit of wine. And additional conversation. This would be the only moment that judge could use to her advantage. And when the moment arrived, she gathered her steely nerves and fled. On saturday, may 21st, 1796, ona judge slipped out of the executive mansion while the washingtons ate their supper. She disappeared into the Free Black Community of philadelphia. Although we have judge makes this decision to leave, i think one thing that i want people to understand about the lives of fugitiv fugitives is to remember that the plan to escape, to leave, was almost always strategic and planned. It wasnt typically a whim or emotional. And in the case of ona judge, we have this same thing in effect. Her escape would be careful and calculated. She knew the moment that she walked out of the president s mansion, that her status as a trusted house slave for the most powerful American Family would immediately come to an end. No longer would judge be the favored slave of her mistress. Instead, she would be a fugitive. On may 23rd, 1796, frederick kit, the household stuart to George Washington placed an ad if the philadelphia gazette. Actually, a week after her disappearance, there were at least two newspapers, clay pools daily american advertiser, which we have up here, as well as the philadelphia gazette. Not the pennsylvania gazette. This is when i tell my students you cant believe everything you see on wikipedia because for the longest time, the ad was attributed to the pennsylvania gazette. That was incorrect. It was the philadelphia gazette. And for a week, they ran advertisements to attempt to recapture ona judge. In the philadelphia gazette we have this ad that describes ona judge. Announces to the world that she had defied the president. From one of the ads, absconded from the household of the president of the United States on saturday afternoon. Oni judge, and i contend that they use she was called oni and written about as oni judge here at mt. Vernon, in philadelphia, and new york. I believe it was the diminutive of her name. But in this newspaper, oni judge, much freckled with very black eyes and bushy, black hair. She is of middle stature, slender, and delicately made. About 20 years of age. And the language changingses a little bit in some of the tw advertisements. This one offers a 10 award which was about the cost of a barrel of flour at that time. This advertisement offers the award. And its very clear. They say this 10 will be paid to anyone, white or black. This is written in the first ads that appear. Subsequently, that language was taken out, which i thought was interesting. But clearly, this was a play to the Free Black Community, who may have seen, witnessed, or knew something about onas escape. Frederick kits ad in the philadelphia gazette alerted slave catchers to judges probable escape route. The delaware river. In his advertisement, kit sent a strong warning to anyone who worked on the docks of philadelphias busy port. Stating, quote, but as she may attempt to escape by water, all matters of vessels are cautioned against admitting her into them. Kits assumptions were correct. For judge did escape the city by boat. A combination of preparation, assistance from the black community, steely nerves, pushed the trusted enslaved woman to begin her life anew. As a fugitive. And its at this point in the in the book where i sort of move into this transition from ona judge as an enslaved woman in virginia and then new york and philadelphia. To becoming a fugitive. And her life changes instantly the moment she walk os out of tt door. And it begins on her voyage to New Hampshire. Ill read just a bit. The crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean hurled saddles and candles from one side of the storage hull to another. The smell of molasses and coffee was thick. Nauseating passengers who were unaccustomed to sailing with bowls on his frequent trips between philadelphia, new york, and portsmouth. Transportation in the 18th century was never easy and traveling by sea could be dangerous. Old and poorly inspected ships slipped in and out of cities with torn sails and weathered caulking, hoping to make it to the next port without incident. Ona judge had never before sailed on such a ship. A singlemasted sloop that could carry up to 75 people depending on the size of the cargo. These vessels were designed to haul freight from one coastal town to the next. But ship captains, like bowles, earned extra money by allowing passengers to ride along. Any sea faring voyages that judge might have taken with the washingtons would have been close to enjoyable. Short river crossings and relatively luxurious vessels were what judge had kcome to know. But she had turned her back on all of that. Now, on board the nancy, ship was minimal. Space was minimal. And travelers lodged themselves wherever there was room. Once again, the fugitive found herself sleeping in tight quarters. But this time, it was with strangers. Some who were traveling home to visit with family and friends. And others, who like judge, were leaving behind a difficult past for the possibilities of a new future in portsmouth. The unsettled sea likely forced judges stomach to turn somersaults, sending her to look for refuge from nausea above deck. The wind would cool her fleshed and sweaty forehead, offering temporary relief from sea sickness. Surely, other passengers suffered the same way. Hanging their bodies over the sides of the sloop. Releasing the content of their stomachs into the atlantic. Every morning when the sun lifted, lifted itself above the horizon, judge would have looked out across the ocean, thankful to have survived another day away from her owners. But still, she was terrified. For five days, judge contained her fear. She could not appear too nervous, as passengers were already throwing quick and curious glances toward the lightskinned black woman who traveled alone. She knew that the washingtons were looking for her. And that, by now, her name and a bounty probably appeared in many of the philadelphia newspapers. She wondered how much of a reward was attached to her recapture. A thought that sent her eyes to scan the strangers on board. Surely, none of the washingtons agents had made it to bowles ship before it left dock street. But she wouldnt know this for certain until the nancy reached New Hampshire. The beautiful, expensive clothing that she wore to serve the washingtons was packed away. And instead, judge would have dressed in inconspicuous clothing. Allowing her to hide in plain sight. She was a hunted woman and would try to pass not for white but as a free, black, northern woman. Ona would have to fight to stay free. The washingtons would pursue her for years. Up until, really, three months before the president died. So for years, ona had to try and figure out how to remain never caught. Lets see if we have im going to show a few of the kind of archival tidbits that i was able to pull while i was working on this project for for nine years. The researching and writing really took almost a decade. And during my process of of researching, i kind of spanned this moment where digitization was just starting. So newspapers, thank goodness, are digitized now. And it sort of sped things up as we went along. But this is one of the newspaper papers that i looked through early on in my project. And this is another one of those, ooh, jump for joy moments when you actually find what youre looking for in the archives. And of course, this is a announcement. A marriage announcement. In this town, mr. John stains to ms. Oni judge. Her name was spelled differently or incorrectly so took me a while to find this. But what i find so incredible about this, a couple things. One, this is january of she hasnt been gone, what, seven or eight months or so. And in that time, she is able to find a husband. And not only did she find a husband, but she didnt go by an alias when she reported or got married and had to report to the paper about this this marriage. Now, this is also another note for graduate students and scholars who are happy about digitization. Just to see this image is important, right . We see this is a a sort of act of her life, her resistance maybe. But if you pull out the whole page of the newspaper, and of course i dont have that slide here, but the on the front page of this newspaper was George Washingtons announcement to the fair people of New Hampshire. Thanking them for his for for being good citizens, as he prepared to depart. And so whats hilarious to me is we have George Washington making this statement to the great people of New Hampshire. And in the column next to it is his slave just ran away or marthas slave just ran away. So looking at the entire document gives you a better sense for the kind of resistance we see coming from ona judge. Whether she knew it. Whether she meant to be that much of a of a sort of resisting person, we dont know. Ona judge would make her way to freedom or relative freedom. She would live out her days in and around greenland, New Hampshire. And she evaded washingtons slavecatching acquaintances for the entirety of her life. She managed to build a family for herself. She married. She had children. She worked as a domestic to the end of her days. And although she endured the trials of poverty and fugitive status until her death, judge moved forward. Her life was a difficult one. But freedom was worth it. And ill show you my last slide of the evening. Is a little bit of one of the first interviews that ona judge grants. Im not going to tell you everything about New Hampshire because you know you got to buy the book and you know you got to read the book. So i dont want to give everything away. But remember, the book is called never caught. So we know theres going to be some tension and drama while shes in New Hampshire. But this article that came from the granite freeman which was an abolitionist newspaper, appeared in may of 1845. And it was, at this point, ona judge was in her early to mid70s and she granted an interview. And i wouldnt necessarily call ona judge an abolitionist. Im not sure that she saw herself as such. She simply was asked to tell her story and, you know, one thing that ive noticed is i spend time with my own mother. And ive spent time with my my grandparents. The older you get, the more likely you are to say whats exactly on your mine. Without much filter. And i think we have a bit of that here with ona judges interviews. She explains why she ran away, how she ran away, and why it was important. But also, that she didnt regret it even though her life was terribly difficult. She never regretted it. She would spend nearly 50 years as a fugitive. And the children that she had were also fugitives because slavery followed the Apron Strings of the mother. So the stakes were even higher once ona went to New Hampshire and attempted to be to remain never caught. For 50 years, she was a fugitive in hiding. But im certain that she never wanted to be forgotten. With the publication of this book, everyone will now know her name. Thank you. [ applause ] so i think were going to do some q and a. And we have two microphones stationed at either side of the room. Thank you for a fascinating talk. Were you able to talk to the sentence and get any oral histories . Okay. Great question about descendants and oral histories. So how do i say this without giving away part of the story . The descendants, directly related to ona judge, dont exist. But there are descendents connected to her half siblings. And theres been some correspondence between the library and some of those folks who claim to be descendants. I actually, purposefully, chose not to go to bark up that tree. Although, maybe thats a second project. I dont know. But what we do have is a record of some of her half siblings and what happens to them once ona ona leaves. And one of her siblings, a sister whose name was philadelphia, is i know, interesting so philadelphia is actually forced to take onas place. And she goes to work for eliza custislaw. And is you know, you got to buy the book. I dont want to tell you everything. But so theres a chapter, an epilogue at the end, that explains i think really sort of poignantly, how we have two examples of women in the early 19th century who were trying to find freedom. We have ona doing it as a fugitive. And as youll see in the book, we have her sister attempting to do it in other ways. So it gets us back to this issue of women attempting to to fight for their freedom. But there is a story there. Philadelphia marries a man named william accostin and becomes sort of a really relatively wellknown family in washington, d. C. And ill just go ahead and tell you that philadelphia does find her freedom. Her freedom. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit more on the Free Black Community in philadelphia that the ways that they might have been planning for to assist her. Thats a great the question is a great question about the the fill the community of free blacks in philadelphia and how they came to her aid. I think one of the important things about this story, this history, is that it highlights the importance of networks, right . And in particular, in communities, free people of color. Philadelphia in the 1790s was the epicenter of free black life. It outpaced new york. Gradual the gradual end of slavery began in 1780 in pennsylvania with the gradual abolition null that stated you could only be held as a slave for up to 28 years. And we saw some elongation of that in some instances. But really, where ona judge lived was very close to many free blacks. And so we have thousands of of free blacks living in and around philadelphia. One thing thats important to note is that ona judge never names names. And she cant right . She cant do that for fear of reprisals. That those who helped her they broke the federal law. They could be imprisoned or fined. And so she just simply referred to them as free people of color or colored people of philadelphia. A couple of historians, including myself, believe that richard alan, known for creation of mother bethel and philadelphia was likely involved in some way or another in her escape. He was known for assisting fugitives. And interestingly enough, in the account books held at the philadelphia executive mansion, a week before ona runs off, its noted that she was given money to buy new shoes. Smart. Right . Youre gonna run away, you need new shoes. But one thing to remember is that richard alan, he was a chimney sweep. He served the household of the president. He would clean out the chimneys there. Perhaps they interacted. Were not certain. And he also had a shoe shop in his home. He was a sort of jack of all trades. And so some of us, including rich newman, who wrote the biography on richard alan, believed there was, at the very least, some kind of connection between her and richard alan. But we also see i mean, outside of philadelphia, outside of seeing this growing free black population, who clearly helped her. She says it. The only person she names is john bowles, who was a shipmaster. And i was able to, because she named his name, he was she made it very clear in her article in her interview that she was only naming his name because she knew he was deceased. So that he wouldnt get in trouble. But it was very clear that following the the ship reports that pulled into the port of philadelphia. His ship was in philadelphia at exactly the time that ona judge ran away and made it back to portsmouth at the beginning of june. So and thats how i sort of figured out that the ship was called the nancy. By looking at ship advertisements. So clearly, the Free Black Community was involved with her and with her fugitive of her becoming a fugitive. The same holds true in New Hampshire. And shes very clear that she gets help and assistance from the freeblack population in New Hampshire. Now, the population was tiny. So when she arrives in portsmouth, there are more people in mt. Vernon than there were in portsmouth. Still may be. I dont know. Portsmouths a lovely city. Absolutely gorgeous. But when i first realized she went to portsmouth, i was like why portsmouth . And then i realized she couldnt go to new york. She was a known entity. She was a face that was recognizable. Perhaps the same was true for boston. She said she didnt really know, in her interviews, where she was going. So its likely those free black people who helped her, they didnt tell her. For fear of, you know, problems that perhaps she would tell the plan. Perhaps she would be found out. So she actually doesnt know where shes going until she disembarks. And once she gets to New Hampshire, she finds a Free Black Community there who harbors her. Who gives her housing and food and helps her find work. And really keeps her safe every time one of washingtons agents or family members came after her. They always sheltered her, harbored her, hid her. And so i think the other part of what this book does is show the importance of a Free Black Community in the 19 end of the 18th and early 19th century. A few years ago, i read a wonderful Childrens Book to my daughter about oni judge. Were you part of that project . No. I i know the the if it was diane turner, shes written a a Childrens Book. I wasnt a part of that. But i know her work. And im glad that those i think there are two Childrens Books about about ona judge. And now, theres some interest about a kind of youngadult version so im working on that. Stay tuned. In the slide you have up there right now, it says oh, you did have up there it says something to the effect that she didnt remember what year it was . And im kind of surprised at that. You would think it would be burned in her memory. Yeah. I think it it would be burned in ones memory. But, here, ill let you sneak in. And ill come off and just talk louder. I think we also have to think about the importance of history and memory. And what, especially an interview at the end of ones life, although that was she gave us pretty good details. She does say, look, i cant remember the year. And i dont even think thats too difficult. Oh, youre coming back. Thank you. Thanks. I dont think thats too difficult, you know, to sort of wrap our minds around because i know, personally, i cant remember what happened last week let alone, you know, what year things happened in. And i think she wanted to provide an interview that was as credible as possible. But she didnt lie. And in some ways, i kind of appreciate that she doesnt. That she says i cant remember, i dont know. And i think about that. You know, 50 years as a fugitive at a time when as a fugitive and remember, she could not read or write. And she doesnt become literate until the end of her life. So i think its sort of possible, very possible, that she doesnt remember. And so i appreciate the honesty. Did the pursuit of ona judge continue after the washingtons passed away . So she says no. Shes never states that anyone else from marthas side of the family came after her. When we think about we know that Martha Washington, in her will the estate, rather, was transferred to her gla grandchildren. So technically, ona judge would have belonged to one of them now, ive looked through the inventory of the enslaved for all those grandchildren. Shes not noted anywhere on those lists. And in some ways, i kind of think, well, they just sort of gave up. But its a sort of fascinating story because her grandchildren really sort of moved in separate ways about slavery. We know George Washington parcustis becomes involved in the colonization society. Eliza custislaw, some of her slaves are emancipated. So its almost like a different story that we move into in the 19th century. It sort of captures this transition between the end of the 18th and early 19th century. I found a record of it and ona did not mention the possibility of being an attempted capture by any of the grandchildren. So i think thats an important point. But she was pursued for at least three years. Right . We know that from the moment that she runs away until the death of George Washington, shes pursued. And so one of the things i think we have to remember is even though there wasnt a sort of physical attempt to capture her, she knew that she was still their property. And as long as slavery existed in the United States, she was never not she was always at risk. And so i do think its important to note that the grandchildren did not appear to go after her. Maybe some document will fall out of a desk somewhere and tell me a different story. And if that happens, im im excited, not worried. But she clearly always knew that she was a fugitive. And that was a fear that rang true to her and her children. Thank you. Over here. Erica, really good work youve done here. Ive got a question for you. So does ona give any insight into George Washingtons planning of the capital city . Does she give anything into the insight dealing with its layout based on gambit societies and the rest . Do you have any information that would talk about that . I wish she had. I wish. But she didnt. You know, she and we have, really, just two interviews from her. And the information that she gives about washington, George Washington, and Martha Washington, really revolved around religion because it was clear that she became very ona became very religious at the end of her or during her life as a fugitive. Went to churches there where she learned. She became literate. Were not certain if she could write or not but at least could read. So she talked more about religion. She talked about the desire to not go to the granddaughters. She talked about the fact that she never regretted this decision. But she didnt give us the kind of intricacies of what was going on. And i i find that kind of fascinating because think about it. She lived with them for so long, like, she knew everything, right . She was there. She witnessed the difficult moments. But she never went there. She didnt give up that kind of personal information. She takes a few jabs at the washingtons. But, you know, give her a break. She was a slave. She was a fugitive. She has the right to, you know, put in some jabs. She she questioned whether or not George Washington was really religious. She said i never really saw him pray. He went to church but he didnt pray. So i think thats a different kind of understanding about religion from her viewpoint. But she doesnt give us those intricacies. But whats so i do talk a little bit about banniker in the book but just as a way to give context for what the early era of the United States looked like and he is part of that. I find it interesting that you started your research on a bounty announcement. That you really werent looking for at the time. And then you you hit the jackpot by finding finding the interview. And i was wondering, was that part of your, you know, a long process when you did that . Or what led you to find the report of the interview . Yeah. Thats a jackpot. I do, as a historian, i think i can say that i dont know if i would call it a jackpot. I just feel like this kind of e recovery work is so important. And to have this story out for a large audience is the same. I didnt necessarily know. So ill be honest here, and im doing it on cspan. But ill be honest here. I did not know if i would actually be able to find enough to write a book about ona. Like, there were Childrens Books. There was maybe there were a chapter here or there in a couple of sort of important biographies on washington. But no sort of book about her. And i when i first started the research, i was like, what . Why am i why is there nothing on her . Thats kind of crazy. And then i realized how long it took to do this research and i realized why there was nothing, no kind of monograph dedicated to her because the materials are slim. And thats another reason why i said before that i couldnt have done this had i not written a fragile freedom, which taught me sort of everything about early philadelphia and new york and sort of allowed me to ground this book in those communities of free people. In the kind of atmosphere of the streets. And also, what slavery looked like in philadelphia and in new york. And then, of course, portsmouth. So at first, i didnt know if i would be able to do to write a whole book. And then as time kind of kept moving, i realized i can and she deserves it. What can you tell us about onas husband . And i think i noticed in the wedding announcement that the last name, her last name, was spelt with a g at the beginning rather than a j. And i was wondering whether that was an attempt to maintain some anonymity and secrecy . Yeah. So the question was about her husband, jack stains, who also went by john stains sometimes. What i was able to find out about him was he was a free, black man. He was a sailor. A seaman. And that was a very sort of typical Employment Opportunity for black men. Because opportunities were few and far between, black men typically had to look to the seas to earn a living. And, you know, it was sometimes it was sporadic money but you would get all your money at once and that was kind of the jackpot moment where you brought home your earnings. And it was also very dangerous work. The minute you left portsmouth or philadelphia or what have you and sailed to other locations, your freedom was always in jeopardy. So to think about you know, ona knew she was marrying a sailor and she knew that he would be away for long periods of time. So so that kind of protection that many looked for, at least through marriage, in terms of having a male, a husband, or spouse who could help, especially a free person, wasnt always at play. For ona, she spent a lot of time alone. At first, when i was working on the book, there were some there were notes that he kind of disappeared from her family. Like, he just kind of fell off the face of the earth. And so it took me a long time trying to track down what happened. And so i didnt bring an image of this. But i had another one of those moments when i found a death notice for him in the New Hampshire gazette. And it said, jack stains, a man of color, died this day. Because at first, i wondered, well, did he die at sea . Did he leave ona judge . You know, was there marital tension that made him run off . And we know that shes alone after 1804. Why is that . But that kind of that little death announcement and the fact that they offered one for him, as a black man, was also significant. So i was able to to find that. Piece that together about him. I dont know anything about his beginnings. I just know that he was a free, black man. He married ona. They had children. And that their marriage was relatively short before he died. And once again, kind of leaving ona to fend for herself in many ways. You know, i wish this could be a story where it was its triumphant in that she stays away, right . Shes never caught. But life was really, very difficult. And it was the same way for ona as it was for many of the free and enslaved and fugitives who were living in New Hampshire. Were passing the mic down. Thank you for all this wonderful information. My question is, as a fugitive, was there any physical description of her . Yeah. Yeah. So there were actually, well, aside from the advertisement, we get a description of her as a young woman. So she is about 22 when she runs off. And and it it kind of confirms what we think, or what i know, about her background. It described her as lighter complected with bushy hair. Later on, there were several accounts by local folks in portsmouth, who wrote their kind of recollections of life. And she made it into you know, eventually she becomes known in portsmouth as, oh yeah, the slave who ran away from washington. So people would come to the cottage where she lived. And she was you know, she was pretty poverty stricken. And sometimes theyd give her a dollar. And she would tell them about her stories. And so i have seen her describ as from very, very light complected, almost white, to clop copper colored. And so so there are descriptions about her. None about her children but about her. So we do have an idea. Of course, unfortunately, no image. But once again, as a fugitive, you wouldnt want people to necessarily know what you look like or at least to keep talking about it. Could we get one more . Theres one in the back. Thank you. We, just this past weekend, were fortunate enough to go to the black history museum. And while we spent the afternoon, we only made it through a few floors. You need sneakers for that place. Yes. If we go back, will there be any mention of ona judge . Or yes . So i i went and gave a talk at the National Museum of africanAmerican History and culture last week, when the book came out. I wish there was, you know, a lot on her. But, no, there isnt. Except for that i went and gave a talk. So, you know, the exhibit can change and maybe that will happen. But they definite one thing thats great is that theyre carrying the book in the bookstore. So, you know, it might not be in the exhibit but you can at least buy the book in the bookstore. And i think that also has to do with a lack of the material culture connected to to ona because, as i said before, she was a fugitive. She left very little behind in terms of a trace. Whereas, if you go to that magnificent museum, you know, theres Harriet Tubmans shawl, silk shawl. Theres nat turners bible. You know, so we have these remnants from other very sort of famous, enslaved people. We dont really have anything in the way of material culture that can be produced. However, i will say, you know, this exhibit here made it happen. They still you know, without the material culture piece, there is definitely an engagement with ona judge. And shes shes represented. So i hopefully, that will make it into that grand building in d. C. Well, erica, thank you so much. And lets get a round of applause. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you. That was that was really fantastic. Dont fantastic. Youre not allowed to go yet. Come on. Were going to require her to stay and sign everybodys books. Youre going to buy multiple copies. I do appreciate what you said about the exhibit here, because, you know, when we have the slavery conference, it had just been open a week. Right. And i was very curious to see how the scholars would respond to it. Do you want to say anything else . I know we have some of the people involved in the exhibit here. Yes. Its a stunning exhibit, first digitally, and a lot packed in. And i think it sort of signals a moment from mt. Vernon thats very important. Slavery is a difficult topic. And to throw yourself into it and connect the first president with the contradictions, the hypocrisy and sort of looking at him as a man and his ideas changing about slavery over time, im super appreciative that that definitely makes it into the exhibit. So i actually have only heard sort of positive comments about the exhibit. If you havent seen it, you definitely should, and ona is there. Ona is there. Thank you very much. Give another big round of applause. We need a chair. Thank you, cspan. Good night, everybody. You can buy books right out the door there and join stephen right over there. All right. Youre watching American History tv, all weekend every weekend on cspan 3. South of amarillo in canyon, texas, up next we take you inside as we hear the story of kansas citys influence on the development of amarillo. I think people around here know about the ranching history. This particular history is more about american regional story that hasnt been told. Its almost l
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