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Amazing Facts About Foundational Black Americans
1868 — Washington, D.C.
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Did you know a Black woman born into slavery purchased her own freedom and her son's—then built a successful dressmaking business in Washington, D.C., became the personal dressmaker to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and wrote a book about life behind the scenes in the White House?
Elizabeth Keckley was born into slavery in Virginia around 1818. Through years of skilled work as a seamstress, she earned enough to purchase her own freedom and her son George's freedom in 1855.
In 1860, Keckley moved to Washington, D.C., where her dressmaking skill attracted the city's most prominent women. In 1861, she became the personal dressmaker and confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.
During the Civil War, Keckley founded the Contraband Relief Association in 1863 to help formerly enslaved people who had escaped to Washington. The organization provided clothing, food, and support.
In 1868, Keckley published her memoir, Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. The book documented her journey from slavery to the Lincoln White House and remains an important primary historical source.
Elizabeth Keckley was born into slavery in Virginia around 1818. Through her skill as a seamstress, she purchased freedom for herself and her son in 1855. She moved to Washington, D.C., in 1860 and became the personal dressmaker to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. During the Civil War she founded the Contraband Relief Association to aid formerly enslaved people. In 1868 she published her memoir, Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. She died in 1907.
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