From Diana Vance

Monroe

To the editor:

If we are to understand each other, it’s important to know some history of African Americans. From a slave to dress maker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln, Elizabeth Keckley bought her freedom and in time moved to Washington D.C.  

Born into slavery in 1818, she was at the will of her master. She was whipped and raped during her time as a slave. That produced a son. She asked some white friends if they would pay $1,200 for her freedom and she would pay it back, which she did. Her dress making skills helped to make connections with elite, white women. In 1855 she had earned enough money to go east with her son.

She headed to Washington D.C. There she worked to establish clients. One lady asked her to do her dress now and Elizabeth said she had many orders ahead of her. The woman offered to introduce Elizabeth to “the people in the White House.” The dress was done quickly and in a week she had a meeting with Mrs. Lincoln. Other dress makers were there but Elizabeth was chosen.

She now was Mrs. Lincoln’s personal dressmaker. Elizabeth helped Mrs. Lincoln prepare for official receptions and was kept busy, for Mrs. Lincoln was known for her love of fashion. Elizabeth became the sole designer and creator of Mrs. Lincoln’s event wardrobe.

Elizabeth was a source of strength and comfort after Lincoln’s assassination. Elizabeth was one of the few who Mrs. Lincoln wanted to see. Elizabeth stood by her to give her comfort because she observed Mrs. Lincoln was in an extremely delicate condition. 

Elizabeth took a pen and wrote her autobiography that included the Lincolns she observed in the White House. It was labeled a “literary thunderbolt.” Mrs. Lincoln felt betrayed and extremely disturbed. Elizabeth said she too had been betrayed by her editor who printed the private letters and conversations he asked her to “lend” him. She never thought those would be published.

In 1892 she was offered a faculty position at Wilberforce University in Ohio as head of the Sewing and Domestic Science Arts Department. She organized a dress exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair. 

In 1907 Elizabeth died. Mrs. Lincoln lies with her husband and sons in a vault in Springfield. Elizabeth’s unclaimed remains lie in an unmarked grave. Two women — two fates. Poignant.