Ona Judge: A Woman Who Escaped Slavery
Women's History
•
5m 38s
Ona Judge Staines was enslaved and forced to work as Martha Washington's personal servant until she escaped from the President's Mansion in Philadelphia. Much is known of Judge's life in comparison to other people enslaved by the Washingtons as a result of newspaper interviews she gave in 1845 and 1847, as well as George Washington’s frustrated attempts to recover her after she self-emancipated.
In this video, African American Projects Coordinator Brenda Parker shares the story of Ona Judge, and how she ran away from the Washingtons to attain her freedom.
Up Next in Women's History
-
Talking With An Enslaved Housemaid At...
Caroline Branham was one of George Washington's housemaids at Mount Vernon. Part of Branham's role on the estate was cleaning and maintaining the rooms in the Mansion. She was also the person who first discovered Washington was ill shortly before he passed. In this video, join one of our interpre...
-
Six Weeks a Nurse: An Interview With ...
Sarah Elizabeth Simcox’s Civil War story reveals love, loss, and resilience—leaving home to find her wounded husband to a hospital, nursing soldiers, and enduring widowhood after his death in Confederate prison. Here's her story.
