When George and Martha Washington moved from Mount Vernon in Virginia to Philadelphia, then the seat of the nation's capital, they took nine enslaved people with them. There was a Pennsylvania law requiring slaveholders to free their slaves after six months of residency in the state. Washington sought to circumvent the law by sending his slaves south every six months, thereby resetting the clock. Among the slaves to figure out this subterfuge was Ona "Oney" Judge, Martha Washington's chief attendant. Ona Judge risked everything she knew, and left behind everyone she had known her entire life, and fled north. This is the story of Ona Judge's quest for freedom and of George Washington's determination to recapture her.

A startling and eye-opening look into America's first family, and the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave who risked it all to escape the nation's capital and reach freedom.

"The story of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nation's capital and reach freedom"--

When George Washington was elected president he took nine slaves, including Ona Judge, to Philadelphia. As he grew accustomed to Northern ways, there was one change he couldn't get his arms around: Pennsylvania law required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency in the state. Rather than comply, Washington decided to circumvent the law. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south just as the clock was about to expire. Though Ona Judge lived a life of relative comfort, the few pleasantries she was afforded were nothing compared to freedom, so when the opportunity presented itself, Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. At just twenty-two-years-old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington, who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property.

"A National Book Award Finalist for Non-Fiction, Never Caught is the eye-opening narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave, who risked everything for freedom. Now in a Young Readers Edition"--

The eye opening narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave, who risked everything for a better life.