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George Kirkland was born in Hillsborough in late 1841 to Elizabeth Hobbs, then enslaved there. His father was Alexander Kirkland, son of a wealthy Hillsborough planter. His mother bought his freedom in St. Louis in 1855, and he was killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri on 10 August 1861.
Source: Encyclopedia Virginia: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly (1818-1907)
Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to George Kirkland. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about George Kirkland’s life and work.
Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 3 dated events in the chronology →
People named in the same dated entries as George Kirkland, 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.
Background reading on Elizabeth Keckly in Hillsborough. These works cover the broader subject and may not discuss George Kirkland. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Papers of McGilvery M. Staton, a brick dealer, farmer and slaveholder of Williamston in Martin County, and of his neighbors there, 314 items from 1807. Letters come from David L. Swain, Elisha Mitchell, William James Bingham, Asa Biggs and John Spelman, and topics include the settling of Staton's estate in 1861, the University of North Carolina, lotteries and newspapers.
Letters of the Clingman, Jarratt, Poindexter and Puryear families, who were among the first settlers of Surry County, with a genealogical table, 2,349 items (3 linear feet) from 1807. Topics include the trade in enslaved people between North Carolina and Alabama in 1830 to 1835, the Civil War and Reconstruction, plantations and whiskey making, with Zebulon B. Vance, John A. Gilmer and William James Bingham of the Bingham School among the names.
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