1859, N Fifth Street - Elizabeth Keckley
- Item sets
- AFAM Historic Sites
- Title
- 1859, N Fifth Street - Elizabeth Keckley
- Description
- On this street, Elizabeth Keckley lived as a free Black woman. A talented dressmaker, she single-handedly provided for the seventeen men, women, and children in her enslaver’s household for several years. Beloved by the city’s social elite, she became known as the best dressmaker in St. Louis. Upon buying her freedom, she kept up her business in the city for five years before moving to Washington, D.C. There, she found similar success. She soon became the favored dressmaker and close confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. She was the only person called to Mrs. Lincoln’s side after the death of her son Willie and her husband’s assassination.
- Creator
- Lindsay Davis
- Semester
- Intro to Public History
- Subject
- Historic Marker Nominations
- Elizabeth Keckley
- Dressmaker
- St. Louis History
- First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
- Black St. Louis History and Experience
- African American
- Language
- English
- Publisher
- UMSL Digital Humanities Lab
- Date
- 2020
- Identifier
- Coordinates: 38.630240, -90.187910
- Media
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Elizabeth Keckley