Elizabeth Keckly

An interview with digital curator Dorothy Berry

Color illustration of Elizabeth Keckley, a Black woman wearing a purple 1860's style dress.

Part One

One of my first tasks at the museum was writing a story about Elizabeth Keckly, who was the dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady with Abraham Lincoln. So I was excited to get an opportunity to work with this memoir of hers.

She was born into slavery and suffered, like many other people, during her enslavement for all sorts of abuses.

And then she began through learning from her mother and other women around her, to know how to sew and eventually supported both her enslavers, with her sewing skills, and eventually her own family when she was freed.

Detailed line drawing of the White House
Line drawing of a floor-length, short sleeve gown.

Part Two

By the time she got to Washington, D.C., she had a rich community of other African Americans, and eventually had her own dressmaking shop.

She became a favorite of Mary Todd Lincoln, and created so many custom dresses for her.

Half-profile photo of a floor-length blue velvet gown on a dressmaker's mannequin
Black and white portrait photo of Mary Todd Lincoln in a floor-length gown.
Close up of the back of a blue velvet gown with ruffles sleeves on a dressmaker's mannequin
A pair of men's slippers in a stars and stripes design with a flat, leather sole and a squarish toe. The slippers are crocheted in stripes of red and white from the toe to the heel and across the top of the vamp is a blue band embroidered with scattered white stars.

Part Three

Keckly and many other women of her time who wrote their own memoirs seem to have been writing in disappearing ink. Because even though they took the time and had the ability to reclaim their stories by telling their own narrative, that narrative doesn’t necessarily rise to the top when we’re looking in our historical sources.

We still don’t remember her, as well as others of the day. We still would look at a picture of Mary Todd Lincoln and think, “Well, it’s the president’s wife, yeah, she’s got a nice gown on.”

Black and white full body image of MJH Welles wearing a floor-length gown and standing in front of a table in an elegant room.

Part Four

When we think of pictures of women in the past, paintings, we often think of the upper-middle-class women who could afford to get portraits painted, or to get a really fine picture taken, and their beautiful gowns and things, and we associate those items with the buyer, not with the maker.

Headshot of Dorothy Berry, a person with light brown skin and an afro blowout wearing gold hoop earrings and a brown shirt.

Dorothy Berry, Digital Curator

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Dorothy Berry is a scholar and digital practitioner whose work focuses on the intersection of African American history and digital discovery. With a background in archival science and digital humanities, Dorothy leads NMAAHC in the creation of digital exhibitions and the interpretation of digital collection. She is also a published author with works on archives theory, Black history, and digital access.