Upstream of the Herd

“Never Caught- The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar   I just finished this fascinating account of the life of Ona Judge, a slave or “bondwoman”, owned by Martha Custis Washington. While very little is really known about Ona Judge this author, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, has managed to write a very interesting book about her life and her escape from George and Martha Washington.   Ona Judge was an enslaved woman born after the marriage of Martha Custis Washington and George Washington. Each party brought approximately 150 slaves to the marriage union. Martha had inherited her slaves from her first husband, who had died. These “dower” slaves would legally remain her separate property even after her marriage to George.   Ona Marie Judge was born to one of Martha Washington’s dowers, Betty, and a white Englishman, Andrew Judge, who arrived in the US under an indenture agreement. George Washington bought Andrew Ju...

I just finished "Peace Like A River" by Leif Enger (2001) and really enjoyed it-- which surprised me as I believe it is considered a "spiritual" book and I'm not generally interested in "spiritual books”. This book is written from the perspective of 11-year old Reuben Land about his motherless family falling on hard times. The father, Jeremiah, is very religious, as is Rueben. Rueben lists what he sees as several miracles his father has caused or been a part of throughout the story. The younger child in the family is a daughter named Swede, 9, and the oldest son is Davy, 16. The family was harassed by two school bullies of Davy’s and Davy shoots and kills them in the family home. Davy is tried and sentenced to prison but escapes jail that night. The family then acquires an Airstream trailer and goes to look for Davy, apparently using a bit of divine guidance (with a little human assistance) to do so.  The characters are intere...