Elizabeth Keckly

Elizabeth Keckly, an ex-slave and well-known seamstress for Washington’s elite, became Mary’s friend and confidante during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. This unlikely friendship, which crossed lines of race and class, continued after Lincoln's death. When Mary decided to increase her income by attempting to sell the dresses she had worn as First Lady, she enlisted Elizabeth's help. The display of these dresses in a shop window on Broadway in New York City led to what the exuberantly critical press labeled "The Old Clothes Scandal." The dresses didn't sell, and Mary was publicly humiliated. In a further attempt to help Mary, Elizabeth published her autobiography titled, "Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House." The book did not sell as well as Elizabeth had hoped, and its revelations about life in the Lincoln White House left Mary feeling betrayed. Their friendship quickly ended after it was published.