Key local figure
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly (1818–1907; NCpedia gives about 1820) was enslaved in Hillsborough from 1835, after Armistead Burwell loaned her to his son Robert, a Presbyterian pastor there. She was beaten by Burwell and the schoolmaster William J. Bingham, and for about four years was sexually coerced by Alexander McKenzie Kirkland, a white Hillsborough man who fathered her son George. She bought freedom for herself and George in 1855, became a leading dressmaker in Washington, where she dressed Mary Todd Lincoln, and wrote the memoir Behind the Scenes (1868).
Source: Encyclopedia Virginia: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly (1818–1907)
Also found in catalogs as Elizabeth Keckley.
1818–1907 as the Library of Congress records it · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster as Elizabeth Keckly → · Library of Congress authority record ↗
8 indexed works are connected with this person, and the index includes one work by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly. 6 held at OCPL →
Works in the index that concern this person directly, or were written by them. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it; background reading with wider context sits further down.
Elizabeth Keckley's memoir of 1868, thirty years in slavery and four years in the White House as dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. Keckley spent part of her enslaved youth in Hillsborough, which ties the book to Orange County. This edition is the Oxford University Press reprint, with a portrait, 371 pages.
A reader on Elizabeth Keckley edited by Sheila Smith McKoy, gathering criticism and interpretation of Behind the Scenes, Keckley's 1868 memoir of enslavement and of her years as Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker. Keckley's enslavement included years in Hillsborough, which is the book's Orange County link. Published in 2016, 274 pages.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907.
Jennifer Chiaverini's historical novel about Elizabeth Keckley, the formerly enslaved dressmaker who sewed for Mary Todd Lincoln and became her friend in the White House years. Published by Dutton in 2013, 356 pages, in a large print edition. Topics include first ladies, women dressmakers and female friendship. Keckley's years in Hillsborough give the book its Orange County connection.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the NC Cardinal record: Keckley, Elizabeth, ca. 1818-1907 -- Fiction.
Ann Rinaldi's young adult novel about the friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, the dressmaker who was born into slavery and later worked in the Lincoln White House. It is fiction on both women, slavery and nineteenth-century United States history. Keckley's years as an enslaved young woman in Hillsborough are the Orange County link. Published by Harcourt in 2007, 241 pages.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the NC Cardinal record: Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907 -- Fiction.
Jennifer Fleischner's double biography of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, the dressmaker who had been enslaved, including years in Hillsborough, before buying her freedom and becoming the First Lady's confidante. Published by Broadway Books in New York in 2003, 372 pages with illustrations and a map. Topics include enslaved women in Hillsborough and the United States, dressmakers and women's friendships in the nineteenth century.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the Library of Congress record: Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907.
Becky Rutberg's biography of Elizabeth Keckley, born into slavery in Virginia, who bought her freedom, became a dressmaker in Washington and served Mary Todd Lincoln as dressmaker and confidante. Written for young readers and published by Walker in 1995, 166 pages with illustrations. Keckley spent years in Hillsborough as an enslaved young woman, which is the Orange County link.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the Durham record: Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907.
A 2023 telling of the life of Elizabeth Keckley, the dressmaker who bought her freedom and later sewed for Mary Todd Lincoln in the White House. Keckley is a local subject because she was enslaved for several years in Hillsborough as a young woman.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Keckley, Elizabeth.
Connie Schofield-Morrison's 2021 account of Elizabeth Keckley, who was born into slavery, learned to sew, purchased her freedom and became dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln. The Orange County tie is her years of enslavement in Hillsborough as a young woman.
Why this is here: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Keckley, Elizabeth.
Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.
Elizabeth Keckley's 1868 memoir of thirty years in slavery and four years as dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. Born in Virginia, she spent part of her youth in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where her owner's son kept the Burwell School for girls, and later bought freedom for herself and her son in St. Louis. Its frank picture of the Lincolns drew public disapproval. Reprinted by Arno Press in 1968, 371 pages.
Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 10 dated events in the chronology →
Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.
People named in the same dated entries as Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.
The index lists works with an Orange County connection. To find everything else about Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly, search these catalogs.
Searched with the Library of Congress heading Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907, so the results are about this person and not others with the same name. Each link opens that catalog’s own results in a new tab. The Friends have not reviewed what they return.
Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.
Background from selected state and local sources
Other catalogs, databases, and guides worth searching
Local organizations that preserve the story and can help you go further
Other catalogs to search and local organizations that can help.
Picture: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly. Public domain. docsouth.unc.edu; via Wikimedia Commons
More to discover
The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.
