Oney Judge, an enslaved servant in
George Washington's presidential mansion, escaped to freedom from
Philadelphia on May 21, 1796.
Philadelphia served as the national capital for ten years, 1790-1800, while Washington, D.C. was under construction. President Washington held nine enslaved Africans as servants in the President's House, which was located at Sixth and Market Streets. The new building for the Liberty Bell partially covers the footprint of Washington's slave quarters.
Judge fled after learning that Martha Washington intended to give her away as a wedding present. Agents for Washington tracked her down in New Hampshire, but she refused to return to Mount Vernon, and successfully evaded an attempt to kidnap her.
She married and had three children, but remained a fugitive until her death in Greenland, New Hampshire on February 25, 1848.
Judge gave two interviews to abolitionist newspapers in the 1840s. When asked if she regretted leaving the Washingtons, she replied: "No, I am free, and have, I trust been made a child of God by the means."