Former Slave Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907), Confidant and Dresser to Mary Todd Lincoln (1918-1882)

Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907) was born enslaved in Virginia. She endured years of hardship, including forced labor and physical and sexual abuse, before purchasing her freedom in 1855. As an extraordinary seamstress, she became the foremost seamstress and dress designer in Washington, DC. During President Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, she became a confidante and dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882). These two damaged women from different backgrounds came together and helped improve each other’s well-being.

Slavery’s brutality and sexual abuse were a heavy burden on Elizabeth Keckley. She carried deep emotional scars forever, whereas Mary Todd Lincoln faced mind-breaking grief. Her son “Eddie” died just before his fourth birthday from consumption in 1850; “Willie” died at 11 of typhoid fever in 1862; her husband died in 1865; and “Tad” died at 18 in 1871, from pleurisy or congestive heart failure. Attendants removed the hysterical, blood-covered Mary Todd Lincoln from her husband as he was dying to work on him. 

Racial inequality dulled Keckley’s success as a dressmaker, but she persevered. Society often criticized Todd for dressing too young, politically, and for her mental health. Keckley’s discretion and loyalty made her a trusted confidante.

In 1875, her only surviving son, Robert, committed Todd to a mental institution for several months. After being released, her health deteriorated, and she died at 64. Keckley’s reputation and finances declined following the controversy over her memoir “Behind the Scenes” and a permanent rift with Mary Lincoln. She died at 82 in the Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children.