Christopher Sheels was a long-time house servant of Washington's who made escape plans in 1799 that were unsuccessful. He was one of four enslaved people present at Washington's deathbed.Harry Washington was born inGambia 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 theBlack Pioneers attached to a British artillery unit. After the war he was amongBlack Loyalists resettled by the British inNova Scotia, where they were granted land. There Washington married Jenny, another freed American slave. In 1792 he joined nearly 1,200 freedmen for resettlement inSierra 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 theBook of Negroes that sailed on a British ship for Nova Scotia.
Caroline Branham (1764–1843) was born to an enslaved woman ofDaniel 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 ofGeorge 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 byJared Sparks.Robert H. Robinson was freed in 1846 at the age of 21.
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 bookSarah Johnson's Mount Vernon (2008) tells her story of her life as well as the complex community of people that inhabited Mount Vernon.
Ona Judge Runaway Ad
Ona Judge (c. 1773 – February 25, 1848), also known as Ona Judge Staines, was amulatto woman enslaved to the Washington family, first at the family's plantation at Mount Vernon and later, after George Washington became president, at thePresident's House inPhiladelphia, then the nation's capital city.[1] At the age of 23, she absconded, becoming afugitive slave, after learning that Martha Washington had intended to transfer ownership of her to her niece, known to have a horrible temper, and fled toNew Hampshire, where she married, had children, and converted toChristianity. 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 ofWashington's slaves who was freed immediately by Washington's will. Because he served by Washington's side throughout theAmerican 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 theWashington 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 thePresident's House, working alongside Ona Judge. Sometime in 1797, Posey absconded and fled toNew York, where he lived until his death in 1812. He was legallymanumitted upon Washington's death in 1799, though his children remained enslaved by Washington's wife,Martha Washington.
Christopher Sheels[8] (bornc. 1774,[9] 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 inNew 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.[10]
Deborah Squash (born ca. 1763–1765) was a slave on George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation before she escaped in 1781. She went toNew Amsterdam, which was the headquarters for the British during theAmerican Revolution. At the end of the war, she was one of the 3,000 blacks in theBook of Negroes that sailed on a British ship for Nova Scotia.
Harry Washington (c. 1740–1800) was born inGambia 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 theBlack Pioneers attached to a British artillery unit. After the war he was amongBlack 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 inSierra Leone, where they set up a colony of free people of color.
1830 engraving of a map of Mount Vernon, General Washington's estate and mansion. Based on a map drawn by Washington. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.
^"Research now suggests that the figure standing just outside the family group is Christopher Sheels, an enslaved attendant to the president. Unlike the four family members, Sheels is painted in shadow."[6]
.jpg)
Media related toSlavery at Mount Vernon at Wikimedia Commons.jpg)
