Lost Fortunes: The Wealthy Black Women Who Built Empires Before the Civil Rights Movement—And Where Their Wealth Went (Part 4 of 28, Elizabeth Keckley)

Notwithstanding all the wrongs that slavery heaped upon me, I can bless it for one thing-youth's important lesson of self-reliance. - Elizabeth Keckley

Elizabeth Keckley

The earliest wealth builders in the U.S. were multi talented and gifted authors and sought after fashion designers. They were compassionate, and courageous Black women of the 18th and 19th Century. Meet Elizabeth Keckley, rising from conditions of tortured enslavement to a businesswoman of means—and how she lost it.

Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907) was a remarkable woman who rose from slavery to become a successful dressmaker, entrepreneur, and confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Through talent and business acumen, she built a thriving fashion empire, dressing the elite women of Washington, D.C. Elizabeth Keckley’s successful business model was rooted in her exceptional craftsmanship, strategic networking, and ability to scale her dressmaking business into a profitable enterprise. She was more than just a seamstress—she was a fashion entrepreneur who built a brand known for elegance and exclusivity.

Elizabeth Keckley was born into slavery in Virginia and endured severe hardships. Despite her circumstances, she learned the art of dressmaking from her mother and became highly skilled.

She worked as a seamstress in Missouri, generating much needed income for her enslavers. She eventually used her earnings to purchase her freedom and her son’s freedom in 1855 for $1,200 (approximately $40,000 today) after her wealthy clients loaned her the funds. After gaining her independence, she moved to Washington, D.C., in 1860, where she began building her career as a dressmaker. 

Keckley established her fashion empire by quickly becoming the most sought-after dressmaker in Washington, D.C., known for her elegant designs and precise tailoring. She dressed the city’s elite, including the wives of influential politicians and military officials. Keckley’s reputation landed her the role of the personal dressmaker and close confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln during the White House years.

Keckley ran an independent-owned dressmaking business and hired and trained other Black women, creating economic opportunities for them and their families. She repaid her loan and endeavored in charitable activities including establishing the Contraband Relief Association, which provided aid to newly freed Black people (referred to as contraband by Union soldiers) during the Civil War. Sadly, during the Civil War, her only son enlisted in the Union army by identifying as White and was killed in 1863. 

By the mid-1860s, Keckley was financially comfortable, earning substantial income from her dressmaking business. She had access to Washington’s high society and was considered a self-made woman of influence. Her high-end custom dresses in the 1860s could cost anywhere from $100 to $200 or more per gown (equivalent to $3,000–$6,000 today) placing her comfortably with annual earnings of $10 to $20,000 or upwards of $600,000 annually today. She also gave through training, hiring and charitable work.

After President Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, Keckley’s fortunes began to decline. 

After Lincoln’s death, Mary Todd Lincoln fell into financial distress. Keckley tried to help her sell her dresses to raise money, but the effort was controversial and unsuccessful. The scandal surrounding her association with Mary Todd Lincoln and the dress-selling controversy hurt Keckley’s business. Many of her wealthy clients distanced themselves.

In 1868, Keckley, who could read and write, published "Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House," a memoir detailing her life, relationship with the Lincolns, and insights into Mary Todd Lincoln’s struggles. The book was intended to defend Mary Todd Lincoln’s reputation, but backfired. Criticism and outrage ensued from the public and Lincoln’s friends who viewed the memoir as a betrayal of trust, leading to further social and financial ostracization.

The book was not commercially successful, and Keckley’s already declining finances took another hit. 

By the 1890s, Keckley was no longer financially stable and was forced to sell her belongings to survive.  In 1892, she accepted a faculty position at Wilberforce University in Ohio as head of the Department of Sewing and Domestic Science Arts. A year later, she suffered a stroke and lived in near poverty, relying on assistance from friends. She eventually moved into the National Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children in Washington, D.C., which she founded, and died there in 1907.

Where did her wealth go?

Elizabeth Keckley’s success as a businesswoman was rooted in her exceptional craftsmanship, strategic networking, and ability to scale her dressmaking business into a profitable enterprise. She was more than just a seamstress—she was a fashion entrepreneur who built a brand known for elegance and exclusivity.

Elizabeth Keckley’s journey from enslavement to financial independence was extraordinary. However, it is an example of the fragility of Black wealth. Her wealth did not last due to economic downturns, enthusiastic societal backlash, and lack of financial protection for Black business women of her time. Her business model was a brilliant example of early Black entrepreneurship, but her financial decline highlights the vulnerability of Black wealth in America. Unlike white business owners, she lacked: access to generational wealth or investments, legal protections against racial discrimination, and a support system to sustain her business during economic downturns.

Her legacy, though, remains intact—as a pioneering entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author who left a significant mark on American history. Today, her story serves as a cautionary tale about the fragility of Black wealth and the societal barriers that have historically prevented its preservation.

This is a financial education series of The New LaVilla, a historic landmark restoration project in north Florida. To learn more about the project, sign up for our newsletter at  www.thenewlavilla.com, follow our page on LinkedIn and social media @thenewlavilla.