Ona Judge: The Woman Who Bested George Washington

How a young woman outsmarted and outlasted the wealth and power of the first United States President

Not Ona Judge, but she may have looked a little bit like this beautiful woman. Photo by vision perspective from Pexels

Absconded from the household of the President of the United States on Staurday afternoon, ONEY JUDGE, a light Mulatto girl, much freckled, with very black eyes, and bushy black hair — She is of middle stature, but slender, and delicately made, about 20 years of age.
— Advertisement posted in the Philadelphia Gazette on May 23, 1796.

It takes daring, determination, and desperation to resist the most powerful person in the country. Especially when the law is firmly on his side and you are young, illiterate, and leaving everything you know. In the David and Goliath battle between the first President of the United States and a slender young woman, Ona Marie Judge was the unlikely victor. Her prize? Freedom.

Up until the moment, she slipped away from their household, George and Martha Washington considered Ona one of their most trusted enslaved people. She was Martha’s personal servant, dressing her, mending her clothes, brushing her hair, catering to her every need and whim.

For years she slept in the bedroom of their grandchild, ready to jump up and tend to his needs at a moment's notice. She went everywhere with Martha…