Elizabeth Keckley

Elizabeth Keckley

Elizabeth Keckly was born in February of 1818. Both father George and mother Agnes were slaves. Her mother and father didn't have the same masters, so she only got to see her father on Easter and Christmas for a very short period of time. When Lizzie turned 7 or 8 she never saw her father again because his master moved away, taking George with him. Her mother Agnes taught her how to sew and with this amazing skill, she made a gown for Mary Todd Lincoln, which made them very good friends. This skill took her very far in life.

Elizabeth Keckly, when she was working for Mary Todd Lincoln

When Lizzie was a teen, her master gave her to his son as a wedding gift. With her new family, she moved to Hillsborgh, North Carolina. Years later, she moved to St. Louis where she married James Keckly in 1834. But not that much later after that, she found out that he was a slave and an alcoholic, and she had already had a son by then. Her husband's master said that she could buy her way back out of slavery. However, by the time James died, she didn't have the money. Fortunately, one of her clients gave her just enough money to buy her way out.

After that she started a school for black girls. I'm sure that you all know what it is about. Now for the people who thought it was about school stuff, you thought wrong. For the people who thought sewing and etiquette, you thought right. In 1862, Lizzie opened a religious institution for Black women and Mary Todd Lincoln donated $200.00 for it. Soon, Lizzie was working for Mary Todd Lincoln and became a very close friend to her. Lizzie was president of the Contraband Relief Association. She died in 1907.