Elizabeth Keckley - Commonality Through Tragedy

Commonality Through Tragedy

When Keckley began working at the White House, the Lincolns had two young children, William and Tad. She sometimes was given domestic duties such as looking after the children, including during periods of sickness. Keckley was a source of strength and comfort for the Lincolns after Willie died.

Her own son George Kirkland, who was more than three-quarters white, enlisted as a white in the Union Army in 1861 after the war broke out. He was killed in action on August 10, 1861. After difficulties in establishing her son's racial identity, Keckley gained a pension as his survivor; it was $8 monthly (later raised to $12) for the remainder of her life.

Keckley also comforted the First Lady after the President's assassination. Mrs. Lincoln became secluded, allowing only a few into her quarters. Finding Lincoln in a critically delicate state, Keckley stood by her to give comfort. Mrs. Lincoln gave away many of her husband's personal items to people close to her, including Keckley. Keckley acquired Mary Lincoln's blood-spattered cloak and bonnet from the night of the assassination, as well as some of the President's personal grooming items.

Mrs. Lincoln insisted that Keckley accompany her to Chicago to assist her in her new life and myriad affairs. Roughly one month after the assassination, Keckley boarded a train with Mrs. Lincoln and the family en route to Chicago. She spent about three weeks with Mrs. Lincoln, as she needed to return to the capital to take care of her business. Mary Lincoln grew more dependent upon Keckley, writing her frequently, asking for visits, and lamenting her new conditions. This period was critical to their later friendship.