From previous reading on this blog about Martha Washington, I can tell you that she first married a much older man who happened to also be perhaps one of the wealthiest colonials and campaigned with his father to be his wife. When that man died, she became the wealthiest widow in the colonies. She brought with her into her marriage to George a fortune, which as her husband he was allowed to preside over. However, it would seem that George was good about discussing things with her and that they had a good relationship. One of the things I just learned in Nathaniel Philbrick's book is that half the slaves that the Washington's owned in their marriage came with her and were first owned by her as part of her "marriage dower." A dowry is money, land, wealth, anything that is an asset that a bride brings with her into a marriage, and a dowry was most often provided by a woman's father upon her first marriage.
In the passage I've selected from my reading of this book, the problem of owning slaves and wanting to free them, is one that George and Martha Washington contemplate. However, the situation becomes especially person when one slave runs away and the Washington's put out ads to have her tracked and re-enslaved. You could say that historically this is not their proudest moment.
Page 113 Excerpt and Notes: "Even though Washington had long been contemplating the emanicipation of his enslaved workers at Mount Vernon, he resolved to do everything possible to get Ona back. (Ona was a twenty year old woman who had been Martha's personal servant. The issue arose because Martha planned to give Ona over as a present when her "tempermental" grand-daughter Eliza as a wedding present.) Ona was the property not of Washington but of the estate of Martha's deceased husband and was therefore known as a dower slave, meaning that technically he couldn't free her if he wanted to. Upon Martha's death, Ona and the other dower slaves would go to Martha's grandchildren. As Washy's and Nelly's guardian, Washington was legally bound to look after their financial interests, and he went after Ona with all the remorseless zeal that had characterized his pursuit of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown."
Notes: Ona was absconded and to do so Washington may have abused his Presidential power. However, Ona had not been seduced by a "Frenchman" as the Washington's proposed and she said she would only come back to serve the Washington's if they agreed to free her once they were both deceased. They refused and she was free and married. The Washingtons attempted to get her back another time but failed.
When Washington died in December of 1799, as in his will, all his slaves were freed. But not Martha's dower slaves.
Ona had a difficult life as her husband died less than seven years into the marriage and she had by then three children to raise alone.
Page 305 " Many white SOuhterners condemned Washington's decision to free his enslaved workers, using the transparent and spurious claim that the enslaved at Mount Vernn were ill prepared for freedom and 'succeeded very badly as freemen." IN truth, the first free Black COmmunity in Fairfax County was composed of, acording to contemporary tax reords, "George Washington's free negroes."
To learn more about author Philbrick's travels that followed George Washington's and slavery, I suggest that reading this book will fairly take you through history, especially as he goes into the Carolina's and the scene of one of the largest sale of human beings ever. Washington was not impressed with the Carolina's which were covered in a type of pine tree that is now near extinct with pine cones as big as pineapples!
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To bring up past posts about Martha Washington, click on the label Martha Custis Washington.
