Elizabeth Keckley

Elizabeth Keckley. . , From 1845-1847, Elizabeth Keckley lived in the building two doors to the south of here at 314 North Sycamore Street., At that time, she was Lizzy Hobbs, a young enslaved woman living with seven other enslaved Virginians, including her mother, her brother, and her son, their master, Hugh Garland, along with his wife Anne (who was Lizzy's half-sister) and their children. Due to financial troubles, the Garlands had been forced to move from Mansfield, their suburban plantation outside of Petersburg, to this rental property., While living at 314 North Sycamore Street, all of the Garlands' personal property, except some of their enslaved workers, were sold nearby at public auction to pay their debts. While in Petersburg, and later, with the Garland family after they moved to Saint Louis, Lizzy and her mother continued to support the Garland household with their dress design and sewing skills, eventually, enabling her to buy her freedom and marry James Keckley., By 1860 she had established herself in Washington DC as THE dressmaker in the Capital. Keckley soon became Modiste (dressmaker) to Mary Todd Lincoln, forming a strong bond of friendship as they helped each other through the loss of their sons., When Keckley returned to Petersburg in the company of the Lincolns in 1865, she went off by herself to confront the scene of her enslavement directly and personally, before rejoining the Lincolns at Centre Hill for the rest of the Abraham-Lincoln-led carriage tour. One can imagine that on that occasion, she may have lingered in this place, filled with emotion., (caption) Elizabeth Keckley in 1861, wearing a dress of her own design