temporary bondage, her mother did not; and
WHEREAS, At 10 years of age, Ms. Judge began her training as
a seamstress and spinner, eventually becoming Martha
Washington's most prized and valued enslaved woman; and
WHEREAS, When George Washington was elected President of the
United States in 1789, Ms. Judge, who was then 16 years of age,
was among the handful of enslaved men and women chosen to travel
with the Washington household to New York City, the site of the
nation's first capital; and
WHEREAS, When the nation's capital moved to Philadelphia, Ms.
Judge was taken to the City of Brotherly Love to continue
serving her owners, but it was also in Philadelphia that she
encountered Black Freedom; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Judge was never kept in Pennsylvania for longer
than six months at a time to avoid establishing legal residency,
because Pennsylvania law, under the Gradual Abolition Act of
1780, would have granted Ms. Judge her freedom from slavery; and
WHEREAS, When Ms. Judge learned that she was to be given away
as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's granddaughter, Ms.
Judge made a daring decision to escape with help from the Free
Black community of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, On May 21, 1796, Ms. Judge left the home of George
and Martha Washington while they were eating supper; and
WHEREAS, Although Ms. Judge was forced to live as a fugitive
for nearly 50 years in New Hampshire, this brave woman told her
story to two abolitionist newspapers; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Judge lived a difficult life trapped in
poverty's web, but she never regretted her decision to flee the
most powerful family in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Although Ms. Judge died on February 25, 1848, her
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