19 Facts About Oney Judge

Oney Judge fled to New Hampshire, where she married, had children, and converted to Christianity.

Oney Judge's mother, Betty, was a slave, and her father, Andrew Judge, was a white English tailor working as an indentured servant at Mount Vernon.

Oney Judge had a half-brother, Austin, born before 1757 ; a half-brother Tom Davis and a half-sister Betty Davis ; and a half-sister Delphy.

When she was around 10 years old, Oney Judge was brought to live at the Mansion House at Mount Vernon, likely as a "playmate" for Martha Washington's granddaughter Nelly Custis.

Oney Judge eventually became the personal attendant or body servant to Martha Washington.

Oney Judge held that he remained a resident of Virginia, and should not be bound by Pennsylvania law regarding slavery.

Oney Judge continued to rotate the President's House slaves in and out of Pennsylvania throughout his presidency.

Oney Judge was careful never to spend six continuous months in Pennsylvania himself, which could be interpreted as establishing legal residency.

Oney Judge fled as the Washingtons were preparing to return to Virginia for a short trip between sessions of Congress.

Oney Judge is of middle stature, slender, and delicately formed, about 20 years of age.

Oney Judge was secretly placed aboard the Nancy, a ship piloted by Captain John Bowles and bound for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

At Wolcott's request, Joseph Whipple, Portsmouth's collector of customs, interviewed Oney Judge and reported back to him.

In New Hampshire, Ona Oney Judge met and married Jack Staines, a free black sailor.

In freedom, Oney Judge Staines learned to read and became a Christian.

Interviews with Oney Judge Staines were published in the May 1845 issue of The Granite Freeman and the January 1847 issue of The Liberator, both abolitionist newspapers.

Oney Judge described the Washingtons, their attempts to capture her, her opinions on slavery, her pride in having learned to read, and her strong religious faith.

Oney Judge Staines remained a dower slave all her life, and legally her children were dower slaves, property of the Custis estate, despite the fact that their father, Jack Staines, was a free man.

Oney Judge's daughters predeceased her by more than a decade, and it is not known what happened to her son.

Oney Judge Staines died in Greenland, New Hampshire, on February 25,1848.