Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818-1907)
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 37° 00.829 W 077° 40.462
18S E 262064 N 4099749
Personal maid and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln, this former slave was born near here.
Waymark Code: WM14PP8
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2021
Views: 1
Born near here in Dinwiddie County in 1818, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, or Keckly, was a dressmaker and abolitionist. She lived as a slave in Virginia and North Carolina but eventually bought her freedom in 1855. By 1860 she had relocated to Baltimore and then to Washington, D.C. Because of her dressmaking skills, she became a seamstress, personal maid, and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's wife. In 1868, Keckley's account, Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, appeared and met with criticism from Mrs. Lincoln for its candor. Keckley died in 1907.
Department of Historic Resources, 2011
Marker Number: S-85
Marker Title: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818-1907)
Marker Location: On US 1 at Karla Drive, Dewitt
County or Independent City: Dinwiddie
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: Not listed
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