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Ona "Oney" Judge Staines (c. 1773 – February 25, 1848) was an enslaved biracial woman who was owned by the Washington family, first at the family's plantation at Mount Vernon and later, after George Washington became president, at the President's House in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital city. In her early twenties, she absconded, becoming a fugitive slave, after learning that Martha Washington had intended to transfer ownership of her to her granddaughter, known to have a horrible temper. She fled to New Hampshire, where she married, had children, and converted to Christianity. Though she was never formally freed, the Washington family ultimately stopped pressing her to return to Virginia after George Washington's death. Early life Judge was born about 1773 at Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington and his family. Her mother, Betty, was a slave, and her father, Andrew Judge, was a white English tailor working as an indentured servant at Mount Vernon. Though Judge was predominantly of European heritage, she was born into slavery under the premise of partus sequitur ventrem. She had a half-brother, Austin, born before 1757 (father unknown); a half-brother Tom Davis and a half-sister Betty Davis (fathered by white indentured weaver Thomas Davis); and a half-sister Delphy (father unknown). Delphy, born to Betty about 1779, lived until December 13, 1831. Betty had been among the 285 African slaves owned by Martha Washington's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis (1711–1757). Custis died without a will and so, his widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, received what was called a dower share of the estate, which meant, until her death, she was entitled to use of a third of her deceased husband's wealth, which included at least 85 slaves. Though Martha had some control over these dower slaves, they were owned by the estate, so she could neither free nor sell them. After Martha wed George Washington in 1759, Betty traveled with her to Mount Vernon, along with then-infant Austin. Under the legal principle of partus sequitur ventrem, incorporated into Virginia colonial law in 1662, because Betty was a slave and property of the Custis Estate, that meant that Austin, Ona and Delphy were also owned by the Custis Estate. Upon the completion of his indenture, Andrew Judge settled in Alexandria, Virginia, some 11 miles away, and did not maintain contact with his illegitimate family. When she was around 10 years old, Judge was brought to live at the Mansion House at Mount Vernon, likely as a "playmate" for Martha Washington's (family of George Washington) granddaughter Nelly Custis. She eventually became the personal attendant or body servant to Martha Washington. In an interview in 1846, Ona said she had received no education under the Washingtons, nor religious instruction. With the aid of Philadelphia's free black community, Judge liberated herself in 1796 and lived as a fugitive slave in New Hampshire for the rest of her life. More is known about her than any other slave on the Mount Vernon plantation because she was twice interviewed by abolitionist newspapers in the mid-1840s. The presidential households In 1789, Washington took seven enslaved Africans, including Judge, then 16, to New York City, which was then the nation's capital, to work in his presidential household; the others were her half-brother Austin, Giles, Paris, Moll, Christopher Sheels, and William Lee. Following the transfer of the national capital to Philadelphia in 1790, Judge was one of nine enslaved persons, two of whom were female, Washington took to Philadelphia to work in the President's House, together with Austin, Giles, Paris, Moll, Hercules Posey, Richmond, Christopher Sheels, and "Postilion Joe" (Richardson). Gradual Abolition Act With the 1780 Gradual Abolition Act, Pennsylvania became the first state to establish a process to emancipate its slaves. However, no one was freed immediately. The process was to play out over decades and not end until the death of the last enslaved person in Pennsylvania. The law immediately prohibited importation of slaves into the state, and required an annual registration of those already held there. But it also protected the property rights of Pennsylvania slaveholders. If a slaveholder failed to register his slaves, they would be confiscated and freed; however, if a slaveholder complied with state law and registered them annually, they would remain enslaved for life. Every future child of an enslaved mother would be required to work as an indentured servant to the mother's master until age 28, after which the child would be free. A slaveholder from another state could reside in Pennsylvania with his personal slaves for up to six months, but if those slaves were held in Pennsylvania beyond that deadline, the law gave them the power to free themselves. Congress, then the only branch of the federal government, was meeting in Philadelphia in 1780, and met there until 1783. Significantly, Pennsylvania exempted members of Congress from the Gradual Abolition Act. A 1788 amendment to the state law closed loopholes, such as prohibiting a Pennsylvania slaveholder from transporting a pregnant woman out of the state so the child would be born enslaved, and prohibiting a non-resident slaveholder from rotating his slaves in and out of the state to prevent them from establishing the six-month Pennsylvania residency required to qualify for freedom This last point would affect the lives of Judge and the other people enslaved in the President's household. In March 1789, the U.S. Constitution was ratified, creating a federal government with three branches. New York City was the first national capital under the Constitution; it had no laws restricting slaveholding. In 1790, Congress transferred the national capital to Philadelphia for a ten-year period until the permanent national capital in Washington, D.C. on the banks of the Potomac River was completed in 1800. With the move of the national capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., there was uncertainty about whether Pennsylvania's slavery laws would apply to officers of the federal government. By a strict interpretation, the Gradual Abolition Act exempted only slaveholding members of Congress. But there were slaveholders among the officers of the judicial branch in the Supreme Court and in the executive branch, including the President of the United States. Washington stated privately that his presence in Philadelphia was solely a consequence of the city being the temporary seat of the federal government. He held that he remained a resident of Virginia, and should not be bound by Pennsylvania laws regarding slavery. Attorney General Edmund Randolph, an officer of the executive branch, misunderstood the Pennsylvania law and lost his personal slaves after they established a six-month residency and claimed their freedom. Randolph immediately warned Washington to prevent the President's House slaves from doing the same, ad.... Discover the Diana Rubino Piper Huguley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Diana Rubino Piper Huguley books.