Elizabeth Keckley’s Emancipation Deed Signed & Assisted Former Enslaved People Escape

Ace History Desk – Today in History – On November 15, 1855, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley’s emancipation deed was signed. This marked the beginning of a new life in freedom complete of accomplishments as a successful entrepreneur, generous philanthropist, publisher, and author. Although more well-known for her relationship with President Lincoln’s wife as her primary confidante and dressmaker, she was also a generous philanthropist. She assisted former enslaved people who escaped the South during the Civil War.

Keckley’s life as an enslaved person was filled with abuse and brutality. In spite of this, when freed, her self-sufficiency flourished. In her memoir, she wrote of this day, “Free! The earth wore a brighter look, and the very stars seemed to sing with joy.”

She was born in Dinwiddie County, VA, the child of her owner, Colonel Armistead Burwell, and her enslaved mother, Agnes Hobbs. Agnes was married to an enslaved man, George Pleasant, who lived on a nearby plantation and functioned as Keckley’s father. Although not the custom of the time and certainly illegal, her mother was literate.

In Washington, D.C. Keckley used her skill as a modiste, a designer of the most intricate and proper fitting gowns, to develop a thriving business. She eventually employed some 20 seamstresses to meet the demand for her elaborate gowns. Her clientele included the Washington elite and the wives of prominent politicians: Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis; Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee; and Mary Todd Lincoln.

Her business savvy and personality enabled her to develop a very close personal relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln as her primary confidante. Keckley’s memoir, Behind the scenes; or, Thirty years a slave and four years in the White House, documents the domestic life of the Lincolns during their White House tenure. Her memoir also notes that her success as an entrepreneur served as the foundation for her philanthropy.

Her philanthropy focused on the former enslaved people – referred to as contraband – who left the South when the Union troops arrived. It is estimated that in the early 1860s, there were 10,000 former enslaved persons in Washington, D.C. They were neither technically nor legally free and were considered as seized property, or contraband, of war. The majority who arrived in D.C. struggled to acquire the basic necessities. In 1862, Keckley collaborated with her interim pastor, Rev. Benjamin Tanner Tucker and 40 members of her church, the 15th Street Presbyterian Church, to create the Ladies’ Contraband Relief Association. The initial goal of this organization was to provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.

Her organization effectively united with other independent Black churches for a variety of fundraising events. This included fairs, bazaars, lectures, concerts, dances, dramatic readings, and more. News of the relief organization spread outside Washington, D.C., and she received donations from a variety of East coast cities and beyond.

Keckley also successfully solicited local prominent Black and White individuals to support the organization. This included Frederick Douglass, Henry Highland Garnet, J. Sella Martin, Wendell Phillips, and Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln. Some contraband communities eventually grew into Freedmans Villages.

Her memoir notes: “For the ground breaking work to establish assistance for the contraband, the Black community recognized, valued, and thanked the officers and the members of the Association for their kindness and attentive duties.” Keckley’s accomplishment in establishing a viable organization to assist the contraband is usually overshadowed by her unique relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was a true pioneer of African American philanthropy, who set a high standard for those who would follow her.

Learn More

• Read Elizabeth Keckley’s memoir, Behind the scenes; or, Thirty years a slave and four years in the White House.
• Review additional autobiographies and biographies of historic African American women in African American Women Authors of the Civil War Era: A Resource Guide.
• Discover details about African American Fashion Designers from the blog post, African American Fashion Designers – from the Lincolns to the Kennedys and Beyond.
• Expand your knowledge of fashions with Fashion Industry: A Resource Guide.
• Enhance your knowledge of the Contrabands from the April 1861–April 1862 section of the exhibit The Civil War in America.
• View “Contrabands,” “Freedman” and Refugees” and African American churches among the Photographs of African Americans During the Civil War: A List of Images in the Civil War Photograph Collection
• Examine the exhibit, The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship which includes sections titled, “Contrabands of War,” “Role of the African American Church,” “Free Blacks in the Antebellum Period.”
• Read a biography of Elizabeth Keckley posted on the website of the White House Historical Association.

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