Elizabeth Keckley (ca. 1818-1907), Slave Turned Entrepreneur, Confidante to Mary Lincoln
- Achieved freedom in 1855
- Became successful dressmaker in Washington, eventually working for Mary Lincoln
- Founded Contraband Relief Association in 1862 to help former slaves
- Published autobiography about her life
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born into slavery in North Carolina. Her mother was a seamstress, and Elizabeth was originally told that her father was George Hobbs, a slave who lived on a plantation one hundred miles away. For the first eight years of Elizabeth’s life, Hobbs visited his wife and child at Christmas and Easter. Then Hobbs’ owner moved away, and George was never seen again by his family.
As Elizabeth’s mother was dying, she revealed to Elizabeth that though her husband was George Hobbs, Elizabeth’s true father was the owner of the plantation where they lived.
Keckley was only age 4 or 5 when she took on nursemaid duties for the plantation family. There were four white children under the age of ten, so it was decided that Elizabeth would look after the most recently born infant daughter.
potential for women of today and the future.”
money to bring the family to America for a better life. When Jennie was five, her father emigrated, and three years later he had saved enough money to bring Jennie, her younger sister, and her mother to New York; they lived on the lower east side. Her father, a former real estate overseer, was now a coat presser; life was not easy.
“Angel of the Battlefield”
One of the early female comics (Moms Mabley preceded her, performing in the 1910s, but she was on the black vaudeville circuit; more about her another day)
