“Never Caught- The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

“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 Judge’s indenture and Andrew Judge worked at Mount Vernon for a few years alongside Betty, a talented weaver and seamstress. Andrew Judge was a tailor and sewed George’s most well known blue uniform.

  Ona Marie Judge was unique in that she had both a middle and a last name which was not the norm for slaves and should make tracing her life easier. Being given the last name of “Judge” indicates that Andrew Judge was Ona’s father but since slaves were not generally given last names or taught to read or write, much slave history is handed down orally or by following clues such as those found in naming traditions.

  Ona Judge became Martha’s body or personal slave and Martha (and George) both took it as a personal affront that she would run away. They just couldn’t understand it. But, from the perspective of a personal or house slave the work is 24/7, something the Washington’s were so accustomed to that they never seem to have given a thought about it. Slaves who didn’t work and live “in the house” at least had some time off.

  George and Martha were remarkably callous about the lives of even their most familiar and intimately known slaves, even as they claimed to consider them “a part” of their extended family.

  For example, George and Martha enjoyed a play and decided to give tickets to the show to a few of their favored slaves to enjoy. The play was a humorous one about two scalliwags who lost had their fortunes and so wanted to marry wealthy women and avoid working. That George and Martha thought their slaves, who could not marry or earn money, would enjoy the show is baffling.

  As another example, when Ona’s mother Betty died, George wrote “It is happy for old Betty, and her children and friends, that she is taken off life’s stage; her life must have been miserable to herself, and troublesome to all those around her.”

  Another interesting fact was that George wanted Ona back so that he wouldn’t have to pay Martha’s estate for her loss. George seemed to always have cash-flow problems.

  This callousness on the part of the Washington’s to what their slaves might be thinking or feeling is likely what led Ona to escape. Because the law in Philadelphia required all slaves to be set free following 6 months of residency, the Washington’s were careful to take only their most trusted slaves with them there, were forced to take all of their slaves out of the area every 6 months to avoid being required to free them, and also had to hire both black and white staff locally to make up for the loss of help from the hundreds of slaves they already did own. The Washington’s tried to keep the news of this 6 month legal requirement from their slaves but of course they would have found out from the Washington family's local hires, who often shared sleeping quarters in Philadelphia. Additionally, Martha Washington planned to give Ona Judge away to her grand daughter as a wedding gift. This granddaughter was “difficult” and was also marrying a man with two “half-breed” children from his time in India, putting Judge at risk of abuse from multiple fronts.
(You may have known this already but I did not: female slaves were not allowed to refuse sexual advances from white males. I was shocked at how many slave owners sired children with slaves, the children then becoming slaves themselves. Every new slave added to the slave owner’s wealth even it the child was your own offspring!)

  There is very very little about the escape itself. It seems it was planned and that Ona sent her things out ahead of time and then just walked away during the brief downtime she had during a Washington family meal (when other slaves were serving).
 
  One thing I found frustrating about this book was how often the author had to presume what Ona Judge did, thought, felt, or how she may have acted or reacted to situations in her life. Initially, I was a little suspicious that Dunbar may have taken quite a bit of liberty in telling Judge’s story, but after giving a careful review of the supporting notes, Bibliography, and the list of primary and secondary sources the author used, I think Dunbar has done a credible job of researching and representing Ona Judge if not through actual information but through inference via her research.

  On the other hand, something seems off to me about this book and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Too often sentences include disqualifiers such as “probably”, “it is unclear but”, “it is likely that”,  or “Judge may have thought”. I don't think this is a criticism of the author as much as it is a highlight of how little is really known about Ona Judge as a person.

  I’m also a bit confused about some of the citations provided: some clearly state “murky source” or “missing records”, and the two abolitionist news interviews conducted with Ona Judge late in life seem to be attributed to three different authors, two of whom have remarkably similar names and the other two are sometimes identified as “Rev.” and sometimes not. Also the citations skip 14-17 which may just be an editing error (plus a few typos).

  But overall, this is a highly interesting read from the perspective about the life of one slave to one of America’s most well-known and revered families. Highly recommended!