Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition

Ona begins to establish a life in which she can support herself financially, though she must still rely on her host family for housing and most of her basic needs. Unfortunately, Portsmouth is the home of Senator John Langdon, who works closely and socializes with the president. One day, Ona spots his daughter, Elizabeth, on the street. Ona walks quickly past Elizabeth, not making eye contact, but later Elizabeth realizes whom she saw and informs her father, who writes to Washington.

Ona’s escape, the text states, places George Washington in a difficult position. As he prepares to end his career, he wishes to avoid becoming embroiled in a public, political battle. However, the decision whether or not to pursue Ona will cause some to side with him and others to turn against him as slavery begins to further divide north from south. Similarly, as someone who prefers a strong, central government (a Federalist) over state control, George has already set himself up to make enemies. Because Ona escaped while George was president, he feels it’s acceptable for him to use the resources of the office to secure her return. He writes to the secretary of the treasury with instructions on how to aid him in Ona’s capture: Joseph Whipple, a customs officer, is to be engaged to track Ona down and place her on a ship. In doing this, George would be blatantly ignoring the due process law, which allows Ona the right to appear before a judge to determine Washington’s legal claim.

Joseph Whipple comes from a prominent family that freed its enslaved people after the Revolutionary War. Whipple feels conflicted when asked to aid the president but finally agrees. After inquiring around town about Ona garners no leads, Whipple lures her to him by advertising for a house servant position.

During the interview, Ona realizes she is trapped. Whipple admits to her, however, that he wants to help her maintain her freedom. He proposes returning her to the Washingtons and then helping Ona obtain her freedom after they die. Ona agrees with this proposal and then leaves.

Whipple arranges for Ona to board a ship for Philadelphia two days later, but she tricked him and has no plans to return to the Washingtons. Duped, Whipple writes to Secretary Wilcott, requesting that the president take legal action on his own, thus removing Whipple from being placed in the middle of the situation. Whipple asks Wilcott to advise the president to pursue gradual emancipation of all enslaved people. Angered, George writes to Whipple directly, insisting it is an insult to compromise with an enslaved person and requesting Whipple discreetly place Ona on a Virginia-bound ship.

Christmas arrives, and Ona experiences the holiday as a free person. She applies for a license to wed Jack Staines, a free Black sailor. A job as a sailor earns a reasonable amount of money for a Black man. Whipple, however, learns of Ona’s plans to marry, and, after he informs the county clerk of Ona’s legal status, the request for a license is denied. Unthwarted, the couple travels to the nearby town of Greenland, where they are married. Sometime during the following year (1798), Ona gives birth to a daughter she names Eliza. Because Ona is still a fugitive, Eliza can legally be taken into custody as well.

In 1799, George is retired and lives in Mount Vernon. He renews his mission to claim Ona by enlisting the help of his nephew Burwell Bassett, whom he sends to New Hampshire to meet with John Langdon. George refuses to negotiate with Ona about her freedom, insisting it would establish a “dangerous precedent” (200).

Bassett discovers that Langdon freed all his enslaved people and now opposes the institution entirely. When Langdon will not help him, Bassett goes directly to Ona’s home. He tells her what George instructed: that she will not be punished if she returns. He stresses that she will no longer live in poverty, but Ona refuses.

Bassett, upon leaving Ona, is likely upset by Ona’s belief that she is equal to him and deserving of freedom. He returns to Langdon, expressing his plan to take Ona by force and reminding Langdon of his obligation to abide by the Fugitive Slave Law. Bassett gathers a group of people to aid him in forcibly removing Ona from her home. However, Ona is informed of his plans and flees to a farm in nearby Greenland.

On December 2, 1799, George becomes ill and then dies on December 14. Before his death, he revises his will, commanding that all 123 of his enslaved people be freed once Martha dies. Because his enslaved people intermarried with those owned by Martha, he cites not wishing to break up families as the reason for his not freeing his enslaved people upon his own death. He gives his valet, William Lee, however, the choice to be freed immediately.

In the time that follows, Martha grows fearful that the enslaved people will harm her in order to obtain their freedom, so she frees George’s enslaved people herself in 1801.

The remainder of Ona’s life is full of challenges. She bears two more children, but Jack dies in 1803. Ona moves into the home of a free Black woman named Phillis, who owns a home given to her by her former enslaver. She lives there with her own husband and children. Ona continues to work to help support the combined household, remaining on after Phillis’s death in 1804. Ona’s two daughters must eventually perform field work, while her son, William, seeks out employment as a sailor as Jack was. Ona, however, never hears from him again.

The lives of the women remain difficult; neither of Ona’s daughters marry, and both die of illnesses in adulthood, with Ona outliving them both. By her fifties, Ona is a Christian and knows how to read. When she is 73, she agrees to an interview by an abolitionist newspaper, no longer fearful of being forced to return to slavery. She dies just before turning 75.

After Ona flees, Martha Washington is angry, regarding Ona’s actions as a personal affront. She is still without a wedding gift for her niece, Eliza, and therefore chooses Ona’s younger sister, a 17-year-old named Philadelphia, to “give” to Eliza. This is never known to Ona. Philadelphia later legally marries William Costen, a free man of mixed race who is actually a relative of Martha’s. Further, when Martha dies, Ona and Philadelphia’s family and offspring are not split apart by her grandchildren, who inherit all her enslaved people. After Eliza and Thomas Law divorce, Thomas Law frees all his enslaved people, as he slowly comes to agree with the arguments by abolitionists. Philadelphia, then, is legally free. Further, her husband, William Costen, buys enslaved people of his own only so he may free them. Ona and her sister thus both become instrumental in the freedom movement.