Sarah Johnson

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 the 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 bought four acres of Mount Vernon land to establish a small farm. The book Sarah Johnson's Mount Vernon (2008) tells the story of her life within the complex community of people who inhabited Mount Vernon. Background There were 316 enslaved people living on Mount Vernon when George Washington died in 1799. About half were owned by the late President but most were inherited by Martha Washington's then-underage children after the death of their father (her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis). Of Martha's children by her first husband, two died before reaching adulthood, and two died as young adults, leaving a total of four grandchildren to inherit Daniel Parke Custis' estate when they came of age. Although Washington intended to free the people he enslaved upon his death, his will immediately freed only his personal manservant, William Lee, and left the rest to his widow, Martha, with orders that they be emancipated upon her death, when the "dower slaves" completely became property of her grandchildren. Afraid that she would come to harm, and after consulting with Bushrod Washington (whom the late President had designated as one of the executors of his will, as well as beneficiary of the core Mount Vernon plantation), Martha freed the slaves which she fully owned on New Year's Day in 1801. The remaining slaves who came with Martha (and had not already been given as dowries when some of her granddaughters married) were then divided up among those four grandchildren upon her death in 1802, pursuant to Daniel Parke Custis' will. Some of these enslaved people stayed at Mount Vernon, and others went to other estates. Sarah's ancestors were slaves brought to Mount Vernon by heirs to that plantation. Bushrod Washington, George's nephew, became one of the executors of George's will, as well as inherited the Mount Vernon estate after Martha's death.