Review of Sylvia Hoffert, “The Emancipation of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly St. Louis 1847-1860,” Missouri Historical Review 112:4 (2018) 243-317.
By Alaina Garcia and Grace Jackson
In “The Emancipation of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly: St. Louis, 1847-1860” by Sylvia Hoffert published in the Missouri Historical Review in 2018, her argument is that Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly’s journey to freedom was not just because of her perseverance and intelligence, but also the economic, social and legal conditions St. Louis had that presented opportunities of self-liberation achievable for slaves. While other biographies about Keckly focus on her personal accomplishments, like how she later became a seamstress for the First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Hoffert focuses on Keckly’s story from a broader context about St. Louis’s environment. Hoffert shows that the systems in place there allowed emancipation opportunities to be used by enslaved people that other slave societies did not have. The author, Dr. Sylvia Hoffert is a professor of history currently at Texas A&M University with a specialty in women and gender history. Her extensive writing is about women in 19th century America, and she is currently researching how the political philanthropy of Alva Vonderbilt Belmont influenced the National Women’s Party.[1]
Along with the Garland family and their enslaved individuals, Keckly was moved to St. Louis from Nelson County, Virginia. Despite her status, Keckly’s talent and impressive creations allowed her to navigate St. Louis’s rigid racial and class hierarchies. Keckly grew from a simple seamstress to a dressmaker with the ability to draft designs by eye. Keckly’s decision to become a dressmaker allowed more autonomy over her time. This decision also allowed Keckly to protect her family and advance her career simultaneously. St. Louis having a diverse population with many slaves and because of that had something called the hiring-out system, which Hugh Garland wanted to take part of. The hiring-out system was usually used in the South as a way for slave owners to guarantee income from their slaves. Even though the hiring-out system was illegal at the time, the law was rarely enforced, and many slave owners would still engage with it. While Keckly did not immediately receive compensation for her work because of her enslaved status, the experience taught her what the work was worth.
Interestingly, the article addresses historical overlap that connected Keckly’s struggle to the more universal battles of African Americans in the era, such as the Dred Scott case where an individual was attempting to sue for freedom. Elizabeth Keckly’s owner, Hugh Garland, was one of the lawyers working against Scott’s freedom. Being a lawyer comes with stress so Garland would come home and talk about the case, allowing Keckly to listen to the inner workings of the legal system. Keckly’s awareness of the case explained the choice to purchase her freedom rather than running away or suing for it.The difficult decision to stay in slavery until she was able to purchase freedom displayed a strong sense of self-control. In 1855, Keckly was able to buy her and her son’s freedom for $1,200 with the money she made from hiring-out and from the help of supportive customers. By purchasing her freedom, Keckly ensured that her freedom was secure, and she evaded the risks of flight under Fugitive Slave Law. This supports Hoffert’s argument that receiving emancipation in St. Louis was a multifaceted process and not how many would think that enslaved people were freed. Additionally, this story alters our understanding of the slave system because it highlights how slavery was not a single, fixed experience, but a system that worked differently depending on labor needs, place and economic practices. Because of Keckly’s success and rapport, the wealthy women she sewed for contributed monetarily to her and her son’s freedom. Lastly, this story shows that geographical location is vital to understand the different opportunities that led to Keckly’s freedom and success as a renowned seamstress.
[1] “Sylvia Hoffert,” Texas A&M University Department of History, accessed February 1st 2026, https://artsci.tamu.edu/history/contact/profiles/sylvia-hoffert.html.