![]() Though Martha had some control over these dower slaves, she did not own them outright, the estate did, and so, she could neither free nor sell them. 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. īetty had been among the 285 African slaves owned by Martha Washington's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis (1711–1757). Delphy, born to Betty about 1779, lived until December 13, 1831. 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). Though Judge was predominantly of European heritage, she was born into slavery under the premise of partus sequitur ventrem. Her mother, Betty, was a slave, and her father, Andrew Judge, was a white English tailor working as an indentured servant at Mount Vernon. Judge was born about 1773 at Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington and his family. Life of George Washington: The Farmer by Junius Brutus Stearnes ( c. Though she was never freed, the Washington family did not want to risk public backlash in forcing her to return to Virginia and after years of failing to persuade her to return, the family stopped pressing her to go back. She fled to New Hampshire, where she married, had children, and converted to Christianity. 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. Despite its altruistic intentions to help found a colony free of slavery in West Africa, the Hankey ended up transporting mosquitos infected with yellow fever to the United States, leading to a devastating epidemic that had ripple effects throughout the Atlantic World.Ona " Oney" Judge Staines ( c. 1773 – February 25, 1848) was an enslaved woman of mixed races 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. His book, Ship of Death: The Voyage that Changed the Atlantic World (Yale, 2013), uncovers the long-forgotten story of a small British Ship, the Hankey. Smith is Professor of History at Montana State University, where his research focuses on poorer people and runaway slaves in early America as well as the experience of everyday life. Smith will also discuss his role in helping to spearhead the innovative digital humanities project-“ Mapping Historic Philadelphia: Recreating Life in America’s First City”-that uses GIS to locate Philadelphia’s lesser-known inhabitants during the 1790s.ĭr. In this keynote lecture kicking off the APS Library & Museum Conference, “The Power of Maps and the Politics of Borders,” Dr. Smith uses mapping to explore the lived realities of inequality, resistance, and their possible solutions in early national Philadelphia. Because of her escape and the prominence of the household from which she fled, much more is known about Ona Judge’s life in slavery than other enslaved people in late-eighteenth-century Philadelphia. Despite George and Martha Washington’s attempts to recover her, Judge lived the rest of her life free in New Hampshire, marrying a freed person John Staines and starting a family. ![]() On May 21, 1796, Ona Judge, an enslaved young woman serving as personal servant to Martha Washington, escaped from the President’s Mansion in Philadelphia and boarded a ship bound for New Hampshire in search of freedom. “Ona Judge Staines and Martha Washington: Mapping Inequality, Resistance, and Solutions in Early National Philadelphia” is the keynote to the Fall 2019 APS conference " The Power of Maps and the Politics of Borders." Live stream the conference beginning 6:00 p.m. ![]()
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