WOMEN IN HISTORY - ELIZABETH KECKLEY

Personal maid, best friend and confidant to Mary Todd Lincoln. Wrote tell-all book after leaving Mrs. Lincoln's employ

DATE OF BIRTH

Born Elizabeth Hobbs - ca. 1818

PLACE OF BIRTH

Hillsborough, North Carolina

DATE OF DEATH

May 1907

PLACE OF DEATH

Washington, D.C

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Lizzie's parents were George and Agnes Hobbs. Her father had a different master from her and her mother, and lived 100 miles from Lizzie. Lizzie's father was allowed to visit only at Easter and Christmas. After age 7 or 8 Lizzie never saw her father again, as his master moved away, taking George with him. Lizzie was with her mother most of the time until her teenage years; then she was given to the Colonel's son and his bride as a wedding gift. Lizzie's skills as a seamstress were taught to her by her mother during her childhood. Lizzie's only child, George, was named after her father. George's father was a friend and neighbor of the Colonel's son. George was born through an unwanted and forced relationship. Lizzie married James Keckley in 1852 and within a few years found out he wasn't free and was an alcoholic. Lizzie's master had promised she could buy freedom for herself and her son after he died; but she did not have the money when he passed away. Thanks to the generosity of one of her patrons, she was loaned the $1200 she needed for their freedom.

EDUCATION

Lizzie, as she was referred to, had no formal education. She received her outstanding skills as a seamstress from her mother, who not only sewed for the Colonel's family, but made extra money for the Colonel by sewing for his friends and acquaintances. Lizzie's skills as a seamstress eventually helped earn her freedom and that of her son.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

While living in Baltimore, Lizzie's first residence of freedom, she started a school for young black girls to teach them sewing and etiquette. She became the personal dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln after her work on Mary's Inaugural Ball gown pleased President and Mrs. Lincoln very much. Lizzie presided over as president and founder of the first Black Contraband Relief Association. She represented Wilberforce College at the 1893 Columbian World's Exhibition in Chicago, an event that celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. Lizzie was Mary Todd Lincoln's best friend and confidante. She seemed to be the only person who understood and tolerated Mary's unstable temperament and sharp tongue. Lizzie Keckley wrote a book, Behind the Scenes, about the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, and the happenings in the White House during Lincoln's tenure. The book was very controversial and Mary Todd's eldest son had the book removed from publication.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Fleischner, Jennifer. Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly : The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave. New York: Broadway Books. 2003.
  • Keckley, Elizabeth. Behind the Scenes, Formerly a Slave, but more Recently Modiste, and a Friend to Mrs. Lincoln, or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 2001. [Originally published: New York : G.W. Carleton, 1868. This edition originally published: Chicago : R.R. Donnelly, 1998.]
  • Rutberg, Becky. Mary Lincoln's Dressmaker : Elizabeth Keckley's Remarkable Rise from Slave to White House Confidante. New York: Walker. 1995.

WEBSITES

CITATION

This page may be cited as:
Women in History. Elizabeth Keckley biography. Last Updated: 2/20/2013. Women In History Ohio.
<http://www.womeninhistoryohio.com/elizabeth-keckley.html>