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Cover image for Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
Format:
Book
Title:
Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
ISBN:
9781501126390
Edition:
First 37 Ink/Atria books hardcover edition.
Publication:
New York : 37 Ink/Atria, [2017]
Physical Description:
xvii, 253 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
General Note:
First published in hardback in 2017. Published in paperback in 2018 with different pagination.
Contents:
Betty's daughter -- New York-bound -- New York in black and white -- The move to Philadelphia -- The blacks in the family -- Life in Philadelphia -- The wedding -- The fugitive -- Slavery and freedom in New Hampshire -- A close call -- The negotiator -- Mrs. Staines -- The survivor -- Epilogue: Ona's sister : Philadelphia Costin.
Summary:
When George and Martha Washington moved from Mount Vernon in Virginia to Philadelphia, then the seat of the nation's capital, they took nine enslaved people with them. There was a Pennsylvania law requiring slaveholders to free their slaves after six months of residency in the state. Washington sought to circumvent the law by sending his slaves south every six months, thereby resetting the clock. Among the slaves to figure out this subterfuge was Ona "Oney" Judge, Martha Washington's chief attendant. Ona Judge risked everything she knew, and left behind everyone she had known her entire life, and fled north. This is the story of Ona Judge's quest for freedom and of George Washington's determination to recapture her.
Holds: