Elizabeth keckley autobiography featuring
Behind the scenes, or, Thirty years a slave and four years in the White House. By: Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1907).: (autobiography former slave in the (Paperback)
By Elizabeth Keckley
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Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (sometimes spelled Keckly; February 1818 - May 1907) was a former slave who became a successful seamstress, civil activist, and author in Washington, DC. She was best known as the personal modiste and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady. Keckley had moved to Washington in 1860 after buying her freedom and that of her son in St. Louis. She created an independent business in the capital based on clients who were the wives of the government elite. Among them were Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis; and Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee. After the American Civil War, Keckley wrote and published an autobiography, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House (1868). It was both a slave narrative and a portrait of the First Family, especially Mary Todd Lincoln, and is considered controversial for breaking privacy about them. It was also her claim as a businesswoman to be part of the new mixed-race, educated middle-class that was visible among the leadership of the black community.Keckley's relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln, the President's wife, was notable for its personal quality and intimacy, as well as its endurance over time. Early life Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave in February 1818, in Dinwiddie County Court House, Dinwiddie, Virginia, just south of Petersburg. Her mother Agnes was a house slave owned by Armistead and Mary Burwell. "Aggy" was a "house slave" as she had learned to read and write, although this was illegal for slaves. Agnes did not tell Keckley her father's true identity until on her own deathbed, although it was "obvious" by Elizabeth's app
Fashion and Style; Historic Events, People, and Milestones
Elizabeth Keckley: White House Dressmaker, Author, and Civil Activist
On May 26, 1907, dressmaker, author, and civil activist Elizabeth Keckley passed away at the age of 89. She was born into slavery in 1818, but her dressmaking skills were such that they enabled her to purchase her and her son’s freedom in 1855—an incredible feat considering the long history of slavery in the United States and that generations of people were born into enslaved lives. In 1860, she moved to Washington, DC, establishing her own dressmaking business and, a year later, Keckley was introduced to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, becoming her personal dressmaker and confidante.
Keckley was known for creating dresses with impeccable fit and sophisticated, understated design. A friend of prominent abolitionist leaders of the time, Keckley founded the Contraband Relief Association in 1862, which offered relief to freed enslaved people who flocked to Washington, DC, during the Civil War. Keckley published her memoir, Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, in 1868, which ultimately led to the end of her friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln. In 1892, Keckley accepted the position as the head of the Department of Sewing and Domestic Service at Ohio’s Wilberforce University. She died in 1907 at the National Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children, an organization she helped found.
This three-piece day dress (c. 1862) in the Chicago History Museum’s collection belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln and is believed to have been designed by Elizabeth Keckley. It has a matching cape of green and white wool plaid, black wool buttons, and is edged with black wool braid. Though Keckley created many dresses during her lifetime, very few examples exist that can be positively attributed to her. Dressmakers at that time rarely labeled their creations, and garments were routinely remade i
Elizabeth Keckley
American inventor, activist, professional dressmaker and writer (1818–1907)
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (February 1818 – May 1907) was an African-American seamstress, activist, and writer who lived in Washington, D.C. She was the personal dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. She wrote an autobiography.
She was born enslaved to Armistead Burwell who had also fathered her. Keckley would later be bound to Armistead's daughter Anne Burwell Garland, the wife of Hugh A. Garland. She became a nursemaid to an infant when she was four years old. She received brutal treatment—including being raped and whipped to the point of bleeding welts—from Burwell's family members and a family friend. When she became a seamstress, the Garland family found that it was financially advantageous to have her make clothes for others. The money that she made helped to support the 17 members of the Garland family.
In November 1855, she purchased her and her son's freedom in St. Louis, Missouri. Keckley moved to Washington, D.C., in 1860. She established a dressmaking business that grew to include a staff of 20 seamstresses. Her clients were the wives of elite politicians, including Varina Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis, and Mary Anna Custis Lee, the wife of Robert E. Lee.
She was awarded 27 patents in her lifetime.
After the American Civil War, Keckley wrote and published an autobiography, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, in 1868. It was both a slave narrative and a portrait of the first family, especially Mary Todd Lincoln, and it was controversial because of information it disclosed about the Lincolns' private lives.
Slavery
Early life
Elizabeth Keckley (or Keckly) was born into slavery in February 1818, in Dinwiddie County Court House, Dinwiddie, Virginia, just south of Petersburg. She was the only child of her mother Agnes, a l As an enslaved young woman, Keckley was moved to the rough frontier city of St. Louis, where she began working as a modiste, or dress designer. She eventually was able to buy her freedom and went to Washington, D.C., where she established herself as modiste to some of the wives and daughters of high-level politicians and officers. Before long, she was supplying not only beautiful clothing but also a sympathetic ear to Mary Todd Lincoln. Keckley's descriptions of the Lincolns at home reveal touching, unguarded moments of laughter, discussion, and affection. She witnessed the grief of both parents at the death of their son Willie and Mary Todd's prostration after the president's assassination. In dire financial straits, Mary Todd turned to Keckley, who spent several months in New York helping the former First Lady sell her elegant clothing. President of the Contraband Relief Association and a friend of Frederick Douglass and other prominent African-American leaders, Keckley emerges as a remarkable, resourceful, and principled woman who helped mediate between black and white communities. Frances Smith Foster's introduction traces the book's reception history and fills in biographical gaps in the text.About the Book
Born into slavery, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (ca. 1824-1907) rose to a position of respect as a talented dressmaker and designer to the political elite of Washington, D.C., and a confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. In this unusual memoir, Keckley offers a rare, behind-the-scenes view of the formal and informal networks that African Americans established among themselves, as well as an insider's perspective of the men who made Civil War politics and the women who influenced them.