"Considering the prominence of her owner, the laws of the time and the dangerous trek to New Hampshire, a place where she could discreetly live freely, the act carried remarkable risk. Nevertheless, she slipped out of the President's House undetected while the first family dined. The house, then located at the intersection of 6th and Market streets in Philadelphia, served as the first executive mansion. It stood mere feet from Independence Hall, where the nation adopted its lofty language regarding freedom."
"Prior to her escape, Judge served as a chambermaid in the President's House. She spent years tending to Martha Washington's every need: bathing and dressing her, grooming her hair, laundering her clothes, organizing her personal belongings, and even periodically caring for her children and grandchildren. Being a chambermaid also included grueling daily tasks such as maintaining fires, emptying chamber pots and scrubbing floors."
""I had friends among the colored people of Philadelphia, had my things carried there beforehand, and left Washington's house while they were eating dinner.""
Ona Judge escaped slavery on May 21, 1796, leaving the President's House in Philadelphia while the first family dined. She had served as a chambermaid to Martha Washington, performing intimate and exhausting domestic labor including bathing, dressing, grooming, laundering, and cleaning. Living in Philadelphia exposed her to a visible community of free Black residents and friends who aided her by carrying her belongings ahead. The Washingtons were preparing to return to Virginia, and Judge chose the dangerous route to New Hampshire to live discreetly and freely despite considerable personal risk.
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