Enslaved People at the President's House

Enslaved People at the President's House. . , The nine enslaved people who lived and worked at the President's House during the Washington presidency were integral parts of the complex life in the household. They did not simply react to events; they were dynamic participants in the daily life of the family and the city. President Washington knew and trusted his enslaved house staff enough to buy them tickets for the circus and theater and to let them venture out into the city's markets on their own. These outings allowed the staff to observe the lives of free blacks living in the city and offered opportunities for communication with Philadelphia's active abolitionist community., Austin, the half-brother of Ona Judge, worked as a postillion (a horseman) and a stable hand. He died on December 20, 1794 after a fall from a horse, leaving a wife and five children., Christopher Sheels became Washington's personal attendant as a teenager after his uncle, who was with the general throughout the Revolution, became incapacitated. A literate man, Sheels attempted to escape in 1799 but was unsuccessful. His fate after Martha Washington's 1802 death is unknown., Giles wasa driver,postillion, and stable hand. He returned to Mount Vernon in 1791 after being injured in an accident during Washington's tour of the southern states. He died before 1799., Hercules was the chief cook during Washington's stay in Philadelphia. He was celebrated for his mastery of his craft and exacting standards for kitchen workers. Accounts differ about his flight to freedom, but Hercules fled from bondage in 1797. Hercules would have been legally freed by the terms of Washington's will, but his wife and children remained in bondage, as they were Martha Washington's dower slaves., Joe (Richardson) is mentioned in 1795 records as "Postillion Joe," although his time in Philadelphia is uncertain. He was married to a woman freed (along with their children) after Washington's 1799 death whereupon the family took the name Richardson., Moll was nursemaid to Martha Washington's two grandchildren. Moll had served as nursemaid to Martha's children before joining Martha Washington at Mount Vernon upon Martha's marriage to George., Ona/Oney Judge was, like her mother, a talented seamstress. She became Martha Washington's personal maid as a teenager. In 1796, Judge escaped to New Hampshire, where she lived until her 1848 death. In New Hampshire, she married a free black sailornamed Jack Staines and had three children, all of whom died before her., Paris was a young stable hand. He was returned to Mount Vernon in 1791 for "unsatisfacotry behavior" and died in 1794., Richmond came to Philadelphia at the age of 11 with his father, Hercules. Although his father was not a dower slave, his mother was, making making Richmond and his sisters dower slaves by association. He worked as a scullion in the kitchen for a year but returned to Mount Vernon.