Oney Judge - Presented by Alex Ford. Oney Judge was one of the slaves to work for President and Lady Washington, first in the New York City capital and later in Philadelphia. When Oney learned that Martha Washington intended to offer her slave as a wedding present to her granddaughter, and that Oney’s transfer back to the south was imminent, Oney made a plan and carried it to fruition in 1796 by escaping north to New Hampshire. Oney Judge Staines lived as a fugitive for 52 years. Oney never regretted leaving the Washingtons, quoted as saying, “No, I am free and have, I trust, been made a child of God by the means.”

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