In 1892, she became head of the Department of Sewing and Domestic Science Arts at Wilberforce University, an African-American institution. But they fell out when Keckley published her controversial autobiography Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, And Four Years in the White House.Ī black woman writing about the President’s family was considered shocking, and Keckley’s dress making business suffered. Keckley and the First Lady remained close friends after President Lincoln’s assassination she was given Mary Lincoln's dress from the second inauguration, the blood-stained cloak and bonnet from the assassination, and some of the President's personal items. She became Mary’s personal dresser and confidante, and President Lincoln called her “Madame Elizabeth”. Keckley created a purple velvet gown with white satin trim and mother of pearl buttons (now in the Smithsonian Museum (USA) collection). She then moved to Washington, DC and gained a reputation as an excellent seamstress and modiste.Įlizabeth Keckley.The new First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, asked her to make a dress for her husband’s Inauguration. Yes, Free!” She moved to Baltimore and taught young African-American women her method of cutting and fitting dresses. She wrote: “Free! The earth wore a brighter look and the very stars seemed to sing with joy. Finally the family accepted USD 1,200 (about $33,000 dollars in today’s money), and in 1855 signed a deed of emancipation for her and her son. She saved her money and tried to buy her freedom and that of her young son, but was refused. She was hired out as a seamstress in order to make money for her owner. At 14 she was sent to work in another state, where she was repeatedly beaten and whipped for her “stubborn pride”. When she was four years old, her mother taught her to sew. Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1907) was born enslaved on a plantation in Virginia (USA). For one 19th century woman, it meant freedom. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s dress, made by Elizabeth Keckley.Sewing has meant many things, from drudgery to inspiration, to many people.

Elizabeth keckley autobiography