In 1796, George Washington placed a newspaper advert offering a $10 reward for the return of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who escaped from his household in Philadelphia. She had served as Martha Washington’s personal maid and later said she fled because she wanted her freedom and had learned she would be given to Martha’s granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law. Two days after her escape, Washington placed a newspaper ad offering a $10 reward for her return. Judge reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but Washington continued trying to try to recover her. He used federal officials and local contacts to locate her, and she refused to return unless she was promised eventual freedom. Washington rejected that condition. Another attempt to seize her was made in 1799, but she was warned in time and escaped again. She remained free for the rest of her life.