From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slaves on Mount Vernon estate
Washington out on the plantation, with Mount Vernon in background, by
Junius Brutus Stearns
(1851)
There were several notable
enslaved people of
Mount Vernon
, established by
George Washington
in
Fairfax County, Virginia
prior to the
American Revolutionary War
. There is a diverse history of the African Americans from Mount Vernon.
William Costin
successfully challenged
District of Columbia slave codes
.
Oney Judge
and
Hercules Posey
were chefs at the
President's House
; with Posey the head chef.
William Lee
, who was frequently by George Washington's side, was one of the most publicized enslaved people in Colonial America.
Sarah Johnson
lived as an enslaved and a free person on Mount Vernon, who lived there over 50 years and became a farm owner and a member of the
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
.
Christopher Steele was a house servant who after working many years, escaped the plantation, but return to Washington on his death bed.
Harry Washington
was born in
Gambia
and sold into slavery as a war captive and was purchased by George Washington. During the American Revolutionary War, Harry Washington escaped from slavery in Virginia and served as a corporal in the
Black Pioneers
attached to a British artillery unit. After the war he was among
Black Loyalists
resettled by the British in
Nova Scotia
, where they were granted land. There Washington married Jenny, another freed American slave. In 1792 he joined nearly 1,200 freedmen for resettlement in
Sierra Leone
, where they set up a colony of free people of color.
Deborah Squash
was a slave on
George Washington
's
Mount Vernon
plantation before she escaped in 1781. She was one of the 3,000 blacks in the
Book of Negroes
that sailed on a British ship for
Nova Scotia
.
List
[
edit
]
- Caroline Branham
(1764?1843) was born to an enslaved woman of
Daniel Parke Custis
,
Martha Washington
's first husband. When Martha married
George Washington
, she came to live at Mount Vernon where Caroline was born. Branham had nine children, eight of whom were the offspring of her husband Peter Hardiman, a groomsman. Another child, Lucy, is considered the daughter of
George Washington Parke Custis
, Martha's grandson and Branham's slaveholder after Martha's death. Besides her household duties, she was responsible for making clothing for Washington's enslaved people. She was able to negotiate the freedom of her grandson, Lucy's son, in exchange for being interviewed by
Jared Sparks
.
Robert H. Robinson
was freed in 1746 at the age of 21.
William Costin in 1842
- William Costin
(c.?1780 - May 31, 1842) born to an enslaved woman of Mount Vernon, was an African-American activist and scholar who successfully challenged
District of Columbia slave codes
in the
Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
.
- West Ford
(c. 1784 ? 1863) was a mulatto man who was a caretaker of the estate. He arrived at Mount Vernon in 1802, was enslaved until 1805 when he was freed, and continued working there as a free man until 1860. He created an oral history of his life at Mount Vernon.
- Sarah Johnson
(September 29, 1844–January 25, 1920) was an African American woman who was born into slavery at Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate in Fairfax, Virginia. She worked as a domestic, cleaning and caring for the residence. During the process, she became an informal historian of all of mansion's furnishings. After the end of the Civil War, she was hired by the
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
, ultimately becoming a council member of the organization. She and her husband, Nathan, saved their money and bought four acres of Mount Vernon land to establish a small farm. The book
Sarah Johnson's Mount Vernon
(2008) tells her story of her life as well as the complex community of people that inhabited Mount Vernon.
Oney Judge Runaway Ad
- Oney Judge
(
c.
1773 ? February 25, 1848), also known as Ona Judge Staines, was a
mulatto
woman enslaved to the Washington family, first at the family's plantation at Mount Vernon and later, after George Washington became president, at the
President's House
in
Philadelphia
, then the nation's capital city.
[1]
At the age of 23, she absconded, becoming a
fugitive slave
, after learning that Martha Washington had intended to transfer ownership of her to her niece, known to have a horrible temper, and fled to
New Hampshire
, where she married, had children, and converted to
Christianity
. Though she was never freed, the Washington family did not want to risk public backlash in forcing her to return to Virginia and after so many years of failing to persuade her to return quietly, the family let her be.
- William Lee
(approximately 1750
[2]
?1810
[3]
), also known as Billy or Will Lee, was enslaved by George Washington and served as his personal assistant. He was the only one of
Washington's slaves
who was freed immediately by Washington's will. Because he served by Washington's side throughout the
American Revolutionary War
and was sometimes depicted next to Washington in paintings, Lee was one of the most publicized African-Americans of his time. His brother Frank was also purchased by Washington,
[4]
and he was freed in 1801 according to his will.
[5]
- Hercules Posey
(1748 ? May 15, 1812) was an African American enslaved by the
Washington family
, serving as the family's head chef for many years, first at Mount Vernon in Virginia and later, after George Washington was elected president of the newly formed United States of America, in the country's then-capital city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania at the
President's House
, working alongside
Oney Judge
. Sometime in 1797, Posey absconded and fled to
New York
, where he lived until his death in 1812. He was legally
manumitted
upon Washington's death in 1799, though his children remained enslaved by Washington's wife,
Martha Washington
.
Detail from
The Washington Family
by
Edward Savage
(1789?96). This servant probably is either
Christopher Sheels
or
William Lee
.
[6]
- Christopher Sheels
[7]
(born
c.
1774
,
[8]
Mount Vernon, Virginia ? year and place of death unknown), was an enslaved house servant at George Washington's plantation, Mount Vernon. As a teenager, he worked as Washington's
"body servant"
in the presidential households in
New York City
, 1789?90, and Philadelphia, 1790?91. In September 1799, Washington foiled an escape attempt by Sheels from Mount Vernon. Three months later he was present at the former-president's deathbed.
- Deborah Squash
(born ca. 1763?1765) was a slave on
George Washington
's
Mount Vernon
plantation before she escaped in 1781. She went to
New Amsterdam
, which was the headquarters for the British during the
American Revolution
. At the end of the war, she was one of the 3,000 blacks in the
Book of Negroes
that sailed on a British ship for
Nova Scotia
.
- Harry Washington
(
c.
1740?1800
) was born in
Gambia
and sold into slavery as a war captive, then purchased by George Washington. During the American Revolutionary War, Harry Washington escaped from slavery in Virginia and served as a corporal in the
Black Pioneers
attached to a British artillery unit. After the war he was among
Black Loyalists
resettled by the British in
Nova Scotia
, where they were granted land. There Washington married Jenny, another freed American slave. In 1792 he joined nearly 1200 freedmen for resettlement in
Sierra Leone
, where they set up a colony of free people of color.
Gallery
[
edit
]
Media related to
Slavery at Mount Vernon
at Wikimedia Commons
1830 engraving of a map of Mount Vernon, General Washington's estate and mansion, that was originally drawn by Washington. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong (February 16, 2015).
"George Washington, Slave Catcher"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
February 16,
2015
.
- ^
"William "Billy" Lee"
.
American Battlefield Trust
. 2017-11-02
. Retrieved
2020-11-18
.
- ^
"William (Billy) Lee"
.
George Washington's Mount Vernon
. Retrieved
2020-11-18
.
- ^
Crackel, Theodore J. (2008),
Papers of George Washington
, Charlottesville:
University of Virginia Press
- ^
Smith, Craig Bruce (2018).
"Status of Slaves in Washington's Will"
.
Brandeis University
. Archived from
the original
on 4 May 2018
. Retrieved
30 May
2024
– via Mountvernon.org.
- ^
"Enslaved Persons of African Descent in the President's House"
.
The President's House in Philadelphia
.
Philadelphia
,
Pennsylvania
:
Independence Hall Association
(US history.org). 2017.
Archived
from the original on August 28, 2017
. Retrieved
2017-08-28
.
- ^
Washington, George.
"From George Washington to Roger West, 17 September 1799"
. Retrieved
November 5,
2017
.
Sometime ago the Servant who waits upon me, named Christopher (calling himself Christopher Sheels)
- ^
Washington, George.
"Staff Notes (From George Washington to Roger West, 17 September 1799)"
. Retrieved
November 5,
2017
.
Christopher, or Christopher Sheels as he was sometimes called, was a young dower slave about twenty-four years old at this time.
Further reading
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Individuals
by continent
of enslavement
| Africa
| |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
Ottoman Empire
| |
---|
North America:
Canada
| |
---|
North America:
Caribbean
| |
---|
North America:
United States
| |
---|
South America
| |
---|
|
---|
Non-fiction books
| |
---|
Fiction/novels
| |
---|
Young adult books
| |
---|
Essays
| |
---|
Plays
| |
---|
Documentaries
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|