"Madam Elizabeth": Elizabeth Keckly

“It may be charged that I have written too freely on some questions, especially in regard to Mrs. Lincoln. I do not think so, at least I have been prompted by the purest motive.” Elizabeth Keckly, 1868. 

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

When I launched my episodes abouts Mary Todd Lincoln, I asked if you all would be interested in an episode about her seamstress, Elizabeth Keckly. I was super excited to hear that you were, in fact, as interested in her as I was and told me to go forward with developing an episode about the woman who had a close relationship with the First Lady. 

Keckly was a woman born into the slave system, only to work hard for her freedom and go on to become one of the most important seamstresses of the period. So who exactly was Elizabeth Keckly? How did she become the dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln? And what contributions did she make to Black fashion history? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

As I shared briefly in my episode covering Mary Todd Lincoln, Elizabeth Keckly was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia in 1818. She was likely the result of sexual assault as her mother, Agnes Hobbs, lived apart from her husband George Pleasant Hobbs, who was enslaved on a nearby plantation. Agnes was the quote unquote property of Colonel Armistead Burwell whose wife was several months pregnant when Agnes suddenly became pregnant. 

Born to an enslaved mother meant that Elizabeth inherited her mother’s status and joined the Burwell family’s list of chattel slave property. Despite the fact that her father was likely also the man who claimed ownership over her, Elizabeth did not learn about the truth about who her father was until much later in life. Despite the traumatic origins of her conception, Elizabeth was loved by both her mother and the man whom she believed to be her father. But as a small child in the slave system, Elizabeth did not get to enjoy the whimsical nature of fantasy and playtime, and was put to work right away, with one of her first assignments being the care of the Burwell children. 

When she wasn’t taking care of the children, Elizabeth learned how to sew. Her mother Agnes was very talented and taught her young daughter the trade that would be the eventual ticket to Elizabeth’s freedom, including how to knit socks. Agnes was such a cherished slave that the Burwell’s permitted her to read and write, a skill she also likely passed on to her daughter. Throughout her youth, Elizabeth practiced and perfected her technique so much so that she earned a reputation as a gifted dressmaker and her talent would introduce her to the highest members of society. Her skills and abilities would not only help her secure freedom for herself and her young son, but would also place her inside the Lincoln White House. 

But, before she met the First Lady, Keckly had to endure the constant degradations that came with being an enslaved individual. As I mentioned when I gave a brief overview of her life in my episodes covering Mrs. Lincoln, Elizabeth spent her youth caring for her Burwell siblings, suffering what she later described as incredibly inhumane treatment at the hands of the Mistress of the house. While her mother and father were allowed to live together for a brief period during her youth, George was eventually sent to live out west and was given only two hours to say goodbye to his family. Elizabeth never saw the man she long believed to be her father ever again, though the family did send letters to each other, a luxury that was not widely available to other enslaved families forced to separate. 

As a teenager, Elizabeth was sent to North Carolina to live with and work for Colonel Burwell’s son Robert, who worked as a minister and therefore earned very little income. The physical torment continued and Elizabeth later described incredibly brutal beatings that were unprovoked. This was also when Elizabeth began suffering from continued sexual assault. Because Robert made little money as a minister, he took to the common practice of lending out his quote unquote property, hoping to generate some much needed income. Beginning in 1838, Elizbeth endured repeated attacks by Alexander McKenzie Kirkland, which eventually resulted in Elizabeth’s first and only pregnancy. In 1842, Elizabeth gave birth to a son whom she named George in honor of her father. 

1842 was also the year that Elizabeth returned to the Burwell plantation. My sources differ on exactly what happened next. One source I reviewed said Mr. Burwell gave Elizabeth and her son as a gift to his daughter Ann as a wedding present. Yet another indicated that Elizabeth’s transfer to Ann came as a result of Burwell’s death. Either way, Elizabeth and her son George now reported to Ann and her new husband, Hugh Garland, who struggled financially. Hoping a new start would bring new found riches, Garland packed the family up and headed west, landing in St. Louis. Unfortunately the change of scenery did nothing for the Garland’s financial well being and it fell to Elizabeth to use her skills to generate money for the household. While the original wish was for Agnes, Elizabeth’s mother, to be lent out, Elizabeth intervened and offered to deploy her skills in an effort to earn an income. 

Elizabeth worked for 12 years making delicate, beautiful gowns for the city’s elite. Keckly used her skills as a way to build her network within the city, establishing and cultivating a reputation for being intelligent and graceful. It was during Elizabeth’s time in St. Louis that future first lady Mary Todd Lincoln became aware of the young seamstress, though the two would not officially meet for another several years. In 1850, Elizabeth met her future husband, James Keckly. Keckly was apparently a free man and wished to take Elizabeth as his wife; however, Elizabeth was hesitant to enter into a marriage while still enslaved. Smitten with her suitor, Elizabeth asked Hugh Garland whether he’d be willing to sell her her freedom. Garland initially refused, before changing course and giving Elizabeth a silver dollar and granting her freedom verbally. 

However, the Compromise of 1850 was now on the books and Elizabeth knew that unless she pursued her freedom the legal way, including papers she could carry with her to prove her status, she would always be fearful of being labeled a runaway. Elizabeth knew enough to understand that the supposed offer from Garland was likely made in bad faith and so she kindly declined. Unwilling to give up on a chance at freedom, Elizabeth finally got Garland to agree to a sale price of $1200 for her and her son. Garland likely only agreed to the sale because of what he believed to be an unattainable sum of money. Whatever Garland’s motivations, Elizabeth felt at peace knowing that she had a goal to work toward and decided to move forward with marrying James Keckly. 

And so, Elizabeth and James Keckly were married, with Hugh Garland walking Elizabeth down the aisle. While this may seem strange given a contemporary lens, the dynamics between slave owners and the enslaved were complex. Although one claimed ownership over the other and forced them to work without pay and suffer ongoing, repeated humiliations, they also lived in close contact which created a false sense of closeness, at least in the eyes of most slave owners. For example, slave owners frequently involved themselves in the intimate lives of their human property, approving any marriages. So it is not entirely surprising that despite Garland being of no relation to Elizabeth, he was involved in the ceremony.

Shortly after their marriage Elizabeth discovered that her new husband was not, in fact, free. Instead, James Keckly was likely a fugitive slave who had escaped from Virginia. It remains unknown exactly how Elizabeth felt at being duped, but in reviewing her memoir, one gets the sense that was likely very upset. In writing of her marriage Elizabeth said quote, “with the simply explanation that I lived with him 8 years, let charity draw around him a mantle of silence,” end quote. That singular sentence is all that Keckly said of the man she was married to for nearly a decade, perhaps betraying her true feelings. 

Despite the drama of her marriage, Elizabeth remained committed to raising the money she needed to purchase her freedom. However, despite being the sole breadwinner of the household, Elizabeth was still expected to do her slave duties, making earning extra money a bit of a challenge. While Elizabeth was trying to save every penny she could, the patriarch of the family, Hugh Garland, passed away. His brother came to St. Louis to settle the estate and agreed to uphold the agreement between Garland and Elizabeth, if she could come up with the money. Given that Elizabeth’s skills as a seamstress had been the primary source of income for the Garland family, she had very little saved. Hoping to raise the money quickly, Elizabeth sought to travel to New York so she could plead her case in front of the vigilance societies known for helping men and women buy their freedom. Before she could travel to New York, however, she had to secure support from six white people who would vouch for her and promise to put any money lost should Elizabeth fail to return to St. Louis. 

Elizabeth worked her connections and successfully convinced five individuals to vouch for her - leaving her just one shy. Unable to travel to New York, Elizabeth likely began to worry that her window of opportunity at gaining her freedom was quickly closing. Luckily for her, one of Keckly’s patrons came forward and helped raise the necessary sum of money to buy her freedom on November 13, 1855. Once legally free, Keckly remained in St. Louis as a seamstress, working to earn enough money to pay back her benefactors. She also separated from her husband and started to put enough away to move back east. 

Finally, in 1860, Keckly had earned enough to pay back those who helped her buy her freedom and could finally write her own ticket. She decided to leave St. Louis, originally landing in Baltimore before moving into the nation’s capital. Despite her immense talent, Elizabeth struggled initially to gain work in DC. The rules surrounding employment were complicated. Individuals wishing to work had to obtain a permit and find someone, a white someone, to vouch for their free status. Keckly did what she could and found work with a seamstress, a position for which Keckly was severely underpaid. It was while working in DC that Elizabeth came into contact with future Confederate First Lady Varina Davis. 

Davis, like most elite women who came across Keckly’s work, was a fan of the talented seamstress. Davis so enjoyed Keckly’s creations that she asked Elizabeth to join her and her husband down south, warning Keckly that the country was likely on the brink of war. Elizabeth initially demurred, telling Mrs. Davis she’d think it over. However she ultimately decided against joining the Davis family and heading down south. As a formerly enslaved black woman, Keckly smartly avoided a situation wherein her grasp on freedom could be easily challenged and later wrote that she decided to cast her lot with the people of the North. 

After the election of Abraham Lincoln, DC society was abuzz about both the future of the country and who, exactly, would be taking over the White House. One such individual was Margaret McClean. McClean had been invited to meet the Lincolns at the Willard Hotel and wanting to look her very best, she asked Keckly for a new dress. Keckly initially refused the offer, citing the short turnaround time, but was convinced to change her mind once McClean promised an introduction to Mrs. Lincoln. Understanding what a meeting like that could mean for her career, Keckly agreed and began working on a new dress suitable to meet the future first lady. McClean stayed true to her word and introduced Keckly to Mrs. Lincoln. 

Already familiar with who Keckly was, Mrs. Lincoln brought Elizabeth on to craft new dresses for her social duties as First Lady. The two got off to a rocky start, with Mrs. Lincoln flying into a rage claiming Keckly missed a deadline, leaving the First Lady without anything appropriate to wear. After some consoling, Mrs. Lincoln accepted the dress Keckly made and the two became incredibly close. Keckly worked incredibly hard, producing over a dozen dresses for a single season. Considering how manual everything was in this period, it is a testament to both Keckly’s skill and her dedication that she was able to put together so many garments. As the official dressmaker for the first lady, Keckly was there to witness first hand the trials and torments of running a presidential administration amidst war. 

Keckly was also there for the personal tragedies, such as when the Lincoln’s lost their son Willie to typhoid fever. Keckly put herself to work, later writing of the incident quote “I assisted in washing him and dressing him, and then laid him on the bed when Mr. Lincoln came in,” end quote. The death of a child is an incredibly traumatic experience as Keckly learned just six months before when she lost her own son. George had been serving with the Union forces when he was killed in battle at Wilson’s Creek in Missouri and Keckly drew upon her own experience in supporting the first lady, who was beside herself and filled with guilt. 

In an effort to lift her spirits, Mrs. Lincoln decided to travel to New York and asked Keckly if she would join her. The trip helped the two women further develop their bond and Mrs. Lincoln would write about how Keckly’s companionship made her travels better. While she served as the primary seamstress to the first lady, Keckly also established a relief society to help enslaved individuals who managed to flee the south and make it to the capitol. Established in 1862, the society, titled the Contraband Relief Association, helped supply the self-emancipated individuals, whose legal status remained unclear, with clothing. 

Keckly oversaw the operation through the end of the war in 1865. In writing about the inspiration of the society, Keckly later wrote quote: “If the white people can give festivals to raise funds for the relief of suffering soldiers, why should not the well-to-do colored people go to work to do something for the benefit of the suffering blacks? I could not rest. The thought was ever present with me, and the next Sunday I made a suggestion in the colored church, that a society of colored people be formed to labor for the benefit of the unfortunate freedmen. The idea proved popular, and in two weeks “the Contraband Relief Association” was organized, with forty working members,” end quote. 

According to her 1868 memoir, Keckly shared her idea with the First Lady who agreed to contribute $200 to the cause. While the association benefitted the men and women who camped in DC, Keckly held a sense of superiority over the contraband, as they were called. Regardless of how she may have felt about them, her efforts proved helpful and supplied access to food, shelter, and clothing for individuals who had little more than the clothes on their backs. 

When President Lincoln was assassinated while attending a show at Ford’s Theater, it was Keckly whom Mrs. Lincoln sent for to provide comfort. Mrs. Lincoln apparently said of Keckly, quote: “I want her just as soon as she can be brought here,” end quote. When Mrs. Lincoln decided to relocate to Chicago, Keckly traveled with her and stayed with the first lady while she got settled before parting ways. 

Just a year later in 1866, Mrs. Lincoln reached out to Keckly again, this time to request her assistance in selling some of her wardrobe. Keckly did her best to help, but the venture turned bad and was the start of the deterioration of their relationship. Keckly felt she was doing right by the First Widow, writing letters on her behalf and asking the Black community to find ways to support the former First Lady. However, Keckly also made some questionable decisions that further frayed the women’s friendship, such as selling off some of Mary’s belongings without getting her consent. 

As I discussed in my episodes on Mrs. Lincoln, the former First Lady had a long, complicated history and was a bit of a pariah after her husband’s death. Mrs. Lincoln expected the country, and Congress, to take immense pity on her after losing her husband in the service of his country, but the public’s support was fickle and the first lady did not help matters with some of the choices she made. Perhaps in a misguided attempt to set the record straight, Elizabeth Keckly included her observations of Mrs. Lincoln in her memoir. In defending her actions, Keckly wrote quote: “if I have betrayed confidence in anything I have published, it has been to place Mrs. Lincoln in a better light before the world,” end quote. 

Despite her good intentions, Keckly’s book about her experiences inside the White House, and the details about her time with Mrs. Lincoln did not serve to extend sympathies for the First Lady and negatively impacted Keckly’s business. In writing her book, Keckly made the controversial decision to share private correspondence and intimate details of her interactions with both the first lady and other elite women. This was a violation of social norms of the nineteenth century, which considered letters and conversations to be private and not for public consumption. 

Mrs. Lincoln was understandably upset after reading the book and declared she would never speak Keckly’s name again. Keckly continued to run her dressmaking business, but lost more than a few clients who simply stopped requesting new dresses. In 1892, Keckly accepted a job with Wilberforce University’s Department of Sewing and Domestic Service where she taught others how to sew. Keckly lived out the remainder of her years in relative quiet before passing away in 1907 at the age of 89. 

Elizabeth Keckly left an incredible legacy behind. In an article detailing the careers of Keckly and twentieth century black designer Ann Lowe, Elizabeth Way wrote quote: “Keckly and Lowe occupy the same space within the continuum of African American fashion history because they built on the labor and talent of the anonymous enslaved dressmakers before them and paved the way for late-twentieth and early twenty-first century black fashion designers to find success in mainstream culture,” end quote. 

Keckly may have been born into the slave system, but she fought and worked hard, becoming one of the most prestigious dress makers of her generation. Her existence made it possible for future black women to enter the fashion space and her dresses influenced material culture on one of the largest stages in the United States. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

OUTRO MUSIC