Erica Armstrong Dunbar - Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washingtons Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition

PRAISE FOR NEVER CAUGHT: THE WASHINGTONS RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THEIR RUNAWAY SLAVE, ONA JUDGE (37 INK/ATRIA BOOKS, 2017)

A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST IN NONFICTION

There are books that can take over your life: Try as you might, you cant seem to escape their mysterious power. Thats the feeling I had when reading the tour de force Never Caught . ESSENCE

A crisp and compulsively readable feat of research and storytelling. USA TODAY

A story of extraordinary grit. PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

A gripping story of courage... Never Caught shows freedom is more important than anything else. What makes Never Caught uniquely interesting and important is that this is one of the rare narratives from [the perspective of] a black woman slave. It also shines light on the dark corners of American history and the First Family, the Washingtons. WASHINGTON BOOK REVIEW

A startling, well-researched narrative that seriously questions the intentions of our first president. KIRKUS REVIEWS

ALSO BY ERICA ARMSTRONG DUNBAR

A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City

AND BY KATHLEEN VAN CLEVE

Drizzle

ALADDIN

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Aladdin hardcover edition January 2019

Text copyright 2017, 2019 by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

This young readers edition is adapted from Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, published in 2017 by 37 Ink/Atria Books.

Jacket and map illustration copyright 2019 by Shadra Strickland

Photographs and transcription on : Washingtons Runaway Slave, Granite Freeman , May 22, 1845. Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

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Jacket designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Angela Navarra

Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia

The text of this book was set in Bembo Std.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dunbar, Erica Armstrong, author.

Title: Never Caught, the story of Ona Judge : George and Martha Washingtons courageous slave who dared to run away / by Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve.

Description: Young readers edition. | New York : Aladdin, [2019] |

Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages 9-13.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018043941 (print) | LCCN 2018044888 (eBook) |

ISBN 9781534416192 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534416178 (hc)

Subjects: LCSH: Judge, OneyJuvenile literature. | SlavesUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature. | Fugitive slavesUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature. | African American womenBiographyJuvenile literature. | Washington, George, 1732-1799Relations with slavesJuvenile literature. | Washington, Martha, 1731-1802Relations with slavesJuvenile literature. | SlaveryPennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaHistory18th centuryJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC E444 (ebook) | LCC E444 .D86 2019 (print) |

DDC 306.3/62092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043941

For my favorite young and young adult readers:

Leah Grace Armstrong and Christian Andrew Dunbar

E. A. D.

And for my favorite readers, young and old:

Emory, Jackson, and Emerson Van Cleve

K. V. C.

Dear Reader,

I am delighted that your eyes have met these words! You are about to encounter a story of bravery and heroism that will make you think differently about everything you have learned regarding American history. This is a book about a young woman who, in the face of great difficulty, did what no one imagined possible. You are about to meet Ona Judge, a young enslaved woman who was the human property of two of the most well-known people in the history of the United States. Ona was enslaved by George and Martha Washington.

I use the word enslaved a lot throughout this book. It is a word that reminds us that millions of people were brought to America against their will from Africa and, later, the Caribbean. These people were enslaved. That is, they were forced to become slaves. It was an act that was placed upon them by others. When you look up the word slave in the dictionary, it says the following: a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. To be a slave in the United States usually meant that you would spend your entire life in bondage. Enslaved men and women were not allowed to legally marry. (But they did fall in love and pick their own husbands and wives.) It was illegal to teach southern slaves how to read or write, and for hundreds of years, millions of black people were sold away from their families, beaten, whipped, and sometimes killed.

Theres no way to ease into the topic of American slavery. Slavery was brutal. Slavery was immoral. Slavery was an unjust system that kept black people at the bottom of societys social ladder. While all of this can be uncomfortable to read about and discuss, we must do so. If we want to build a better present and future, we must recognize and understand the problems of the past. Young readers are exactly the people who need to know this history. This book is for readers who are in elementary and middle school, and it will prepare them for history in high school and beyond. I also wrote this book for teachers. Teachers are champions! It is my wish that more historians will write for young readers so that teachers can have a variety of books for their classrooms.

Onas story tells us what it was like to be enslaved when this nation was first founded. Her life begins as a slave on the Washingtons Mount Vernon estate in Virginia and ends with her living as a free woman in New Hampshire. Ona lived a long life and experienced many tragedies. But she also found love and joy in the midst of great despair.

Ona was a survivor.

It gives me great pride to introduce Ona Maria Judge to a world of younger readers. I hope that everyone who reads these pages will find strength in Onas courage.

Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Please note: There were many documents used in the writing of this book. These documents, called primary sources, often include words that are spelled incorrectly and phrases that are grammatically incorrect. I have decided to alter some of the quotes so that they are easier to read.