Over the course of his presidency, Washington continued to adjust the number of enslaved people and hired servants he had in his home. He increased the number of hired white servants, with up to fourteen at one time, and decreased the enslaved workforce. Washington also sent some of his enslaved workers home when injuries rendered them less useful, as a disciplinary measure, and to avoid emancipation laws. Giles was one example. In , Giles may have accompanied Martha on her trip to Valley Forge for the winter.
Washington provided Giles with small sums to cover his expenses on the multi-day journeys across several states. Unfortunately, during the southern tour, he injured his knee and was left unable to ride a horse. With Giles no longer able to serve as a coachman or footman, Washington sent him home to Mount Vernon. The second African Free School. Many of the leading black intellectuals and writers in the nineteenth century attended the African Free School.
The schools were an example of the vibrant life available to free and enslaved African Americans in New York City. He was probably a teenager in spring of and he worked closely with Giles as a postilion in New York and Philadelphia. Paris wore a matching livery and probably roomed with Giles in the slave quarters next to the stables in both New York and Philadelphia.
Christopher Sheels was born around He was the second child of Alce, who worked as an enslaved spinner at Mansion House Farm. When Washington left for Philadelphia, Christopher went with him as his sole attendant. But his time in Philadelphia was relatively brief. The Washingtons and Lear conspired to rotate many of the enslaved people back to Mount Vernon to reset their residence. As Sheels was literate and able to write, Washington may have worried that he would learn about the law and seek his freedom.
Austin arrived at Mount Vernon when he was just a baby in the arms of his mother, Betty, who belonged to Martha Washington. Austin never knew his father, but he was probably white, as Austin was considered fair-skinned. He worked as an enslaved waiter in the mansion and may have occasionally worked as footman for the carriage. The President's House in Philadelphia. President Washington lived in this home from and President John Adams lived in the home from , before the government relocated to Washington, D.
He must have cherished these trips as an opportunity to visit his family back in Virginia, including his other siblings. On December 20, , during one of his trips to see his family, Austin had a stroke, fell off his horse into the river near Harford, Maryland, and died a few days later. Unfortunately, the records are inclusive and we do not know if these people were his family or not.
There is no record what happened to their mother. Ona began working in the mansion at Mount Vernon when she was ten. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 21, , Ona slipped out of the house while the Washingtons enjoyed their dinner. The Washingtons tried several strategies to get Ona back. They placed newspaper ads requesting her return and sent agents to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to bring her back to Mount Vernon.
Ona evaded these attempts and died a free woman in During the summer of , Hercules discovered that Martha and George were scheming to rotate him back to Mount Vernon so that he could not take advantage of the emancipation legislation. He confronted them, assured them of his loyalty, and expressed his outrage that they would even think he would be tempted to flee.
Whatever the reason, events in must have convinced Hercules to take advantage of the opportunity to escape in Philadelphia. Washington assumed that the theft was part of a larger escape plan between the son and father, so demoted Richmond from domestic work to field labor to make an example of him. This portrait of George Washington also shows his enslaved manservant, William Lee.
Lee is holding Washington's horse. Lee is pictured in an idealized costume, but he probably wore Washington's livery during the war. He designed his escape to serve as the ultimate symbol of how enslaved people felt about their status. He probably used this money to finance his escape from Virginia. He was reportedly sighted in New York City in November , but was never found by the Washingtons, despite their best efforts.
Recently discovered burial records suggest that Hercules lived in New York City for the next fifteen years. In the document, Washington left directions for the eventual emancipation of enslaved people he owned after the passing of Martha Washington.
Of the enslaved people at Mount Vernon in , of the individuals were owned by George Washington and were eligible to be freed as per the terms of the will. By law, neither George nor Martha Washington could free the people owned by the Custis estate. By , of the people enslaved at Mount Vernon were part of this dower property.
In accordance with state law, George Washington stipulated in his will that elderly enslaved people or those who were too sick to work were to be supported by his estate in perpetuity.
In December , Martha Washington signed a deed of manumission for her deceased husband's enslaved people, a transaction that is recorded in the Fairfax County, Virginia, Court Records. They would finally be emancipated on January 1, Washington's Will.
George Washington inherited enslaved people at the early age of eleven. Washington's changing views on slavery 2. George Washington's marriage to Martha Custis significantly increased the number of enslaved people at Mount Vernon. Martha Washington and Slavery 4. The threat of physical and psychological violence underpinned slavery. Learn More 5. The enslaved people at Mount Vernon practiced diverse religions. Religion 6. On numerous occasions, people enslaved by the Washington household ran away in an attempt to regain their freedom.
Savage 7. People at Mount Vernon also resisted their enslavement through less noticeable means. Resistance at Mount Vernon 8. In December of , Washington--the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army--received a letter from Phillis Wheatley containing an ode written in his honor. With little free time and control over their everyday life, Mount Vernon's enslaved population attempted to exert some free will and choice when it came to their private lives.
George Washington left instructions in his will to emancipate the people enslaved by him, upon the death of Martha Washington.
The total at that time came to ; it did not include Mrs. These have been printed in the Papers, Colonial Series. These lists name slaves living at Mount Vernon but do not include children under the age of sixteen and a few elderly slaves who were not tithed. Abbot et al. Charlottesville, Va. The Diaries of George Washington. Negros Belonging to George Washington in his own right and by Marriage. AD , ViMtvL. The format of the document has been changed somewhat in order to fit easily on the pages.
A somewhat different list of only Mrs. The mistake was repeated in his summing up of Mansion House and Tradesmen. Several other Mount Vernon servants were married to slaves at Hayfield. Alexander had lived on a plantation upriver from Mount Vernon.
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