Narrator/Advertiser (23:10)
In May of 1789, Martha, Nellie and Washy, George's nephew who was named Robert Lewis, and several of the Washington's enslaved people began their 11 day journey from Mount Vernon to New York. Think about how long travel took during this time period when the United States was first founded, elections for president were held in November, and then you were not sworn in until March. And some of that was to accommodate for how long it took to get places. If it took 11 days to get from Virginia to New York, that's a long time. That's something that you have to account for when you're setting dates for things. Along their journey, they were celebrated at every turn. Their carriages wove through crowded streets, fireworks were set off, church bells rang in their honor. And the first family began George's presidential tenure at number one Cherry street but it quickly became apparent that the house was too small. In February of 1790, they moved into the stately Alexander Maycomb House. But it wasn't long before the Washingtons made a third move. Under the July 1790 Residents act, the national capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia. And it was there the Capitol sat for a decade while the permanent national capital was being constructed in the District of Columbia. It was here, in the Presidential house in Philadelphia, that Martha Washington hosted regular Friday evening receptions open to members of Congress. They hosted visiting dignitaries and men and women from the local community. For the duration of Washington's presidency, the presidential household functioned with a staff of about 25 people, some of whom were workers that earned a wage, Some were indentured servants, and many were enslaved servants. Slavery was legal in New York, and a few of the enslaved people who made the journey from Mount Vernon were William Lee, Christopher Shields, Gilles Paris, Austin Mall, and Ona Judge. Ona Judge was often referred to by the Washingtons as Oni, and she had been born at Mount Vernon around 1774. She was the daughter of an enslaved seamstress named Betty and Andrew Judge, who was a white British tailor who worked for George. Ona was said to be light skinned and freckled. So like many other enslaved people of mixed race, she was given a position in the household and at 10, she became Martha Washington's personal maid. Ona, her mother, and her younger sister Delphi technically belonged to the Custis estate and so would pass to Martha's heirs, not George's. Upon her death when Washington was elected President, 15 year old Ona traveled with the family, settling with them first in New York and then in Philadelphia. Life was very different in the city than it was at Mount Vernon, and Ona, who held a very visible position in the household, was often given pocket change from George or allowed to take on tasks outside the home for payment. She saw plays and the circus and found her way to the city's large free black and Quaker abolitionist communities. This gave her new ideas and Solid connections and opportunity. On May 21, 1796, as the Washingtons made preparations to return to Mount Vernon for the summer, Ona judge escaped. Later, she recalled, while they were packing to go to Virginia, I was packing up. I didn't know where. I knew that if I went back to Virginia, I would never get my liberty. I had friends among the colored people of Philadelphia. I had my things carried there beforehand, and I left the Washington's house while they were eating dinner. Ona, with her light skin, her high quality clothing and her refined manner from working in the presidential house, was able to pass as a free woman and secure passage on a ship bound for New Hampshire. George and Martha were stressed. They did not understand why she would run away. Martha felt like Ona had been one of her own children. But of course, enslavement still meant that Ona was owned and had no personal agency. No matter how well she was treated by the Washingtons, Ona would evade the Washington's attempts to recapture her and return her to their household over many decades. George didn't want to use force or violence as his public abolitionist ideals collided with his personal life As a slave owner, Ona learned to read and write, and she married a free black man. They had three children together. And although she lived a near penniless life, laboring harder than perhaps she did when she worked in the Washington household, she never regretted her decision. She said, I am free and have, I trust, been made a child of God by the means. In 1797, George retired from the presidency and the Washington family returned to Mount Vernon to resume a quieter life. After riding his horse on the grounds of Mount Vernon one chilly December day, George returned home entertaining guests with Martha until late. But a small congestion in his throat became a severe infection and he died on December 14, 1799. With Martha by his side, she was too grief stricken to attend his funeral, and after his death, she left their bedchamber for good and moved to a small, plain room on the third floor of the mansion. The room was directly over her granddaughter Nellie's bedroom. Nellie had married not long after the family moved back to Mount Vernon and gave birth to her first child three weeks before George died. The baby's presence during the somber days of widowhood were comforting to Martha, and she spent much of her time with Nellie and the baby, whose name was Francis. Less than three years after the death of her second husband, Martha died at the age of 70 after an illness that had kept her in bed for weeks. Both George and Martha's final resting place is in a family tomb on the grounds of Mount Vernon. In her 1802 will, Martha bequeathed the only slave she owned directly, a man named Elish, to her grandson, choosing to not follow her husband's example by freeing those she enslaved. The Custis Estates 150 enslaved people were divided amongst Martha's four grandchildren. During her lifetime, Martha was never given the title of first lady as we know it. Instead, she was called Lady Washington, and she was held in high esteem as George's worthy partner. But she's our first lady and I hope you'll join me for the next several weeks as we take a look at the lives of all of the First Ladies to come. It's going to get interesting. I'll see you soon. Thank you so much for listening to.
