Martha Washington’s enslaved maid Ona Judge made a daring escape to freedom – but the National Park Service has erased her story from Philadelphia exhibit

Ona Judge was one of 9 people George Washington owned when he lived in the President’s House in Philadelphia.

By: Timothy Welbeck, Temple University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 11, 2026

Words: 1,225

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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By Timothy Welbeck, Temple University

On the evening of May 21, 1796, Ona Judge made the daring decision to free herself.

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 …

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