After she was widowed, Mary Todd Lincoln was deeply in debt due to extravagant spending, and needed help desperately. Thinking she could help with the financial crisis, Keckly became one of the first Black Americans to publish a book when she wrote a memoir of her experiences in the White House. However, her revelations went against Victorian sensibilities of privacy, and Keckley was strongly criticized for her revelations by the public as well as Mrs. Lincoln, who permanently severed contact with her former confidante. Today her book is considered considered one of the most important narratives of the Lincolns' domestic life.
Mary Todd Lincoln in her second inaugural ball gown a month before Lincoln's assassination.
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One of the inaugural dresses that Keckly made for Lincoln is on exhibit in the Smithsonian, and a quilt Keckley designed from leftover scraps from the dresses she made for Lincoln is in the collection of the Kent State Museum. In the 1890s, Keckly taught sewing and domestic arts at Wilberforce University in Ohio. Keckly died at the National Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children in Washington, D.C., which she had earlier helped establish.
Mary Draper Ingles: (1732 - February 1815.) One of Virginia's most famous frontierswomen, Mary Draper Ingles lived in Draper's Meadow (now Blacksburg, home to Virginia Tech.) In 1755, Mary was just 24 when her mother and infant niece were killed in a Shawnee massacre, and she and her sons, ages 2 and 4, were captured and taken to Ohio. Separated from her sons, she managed to escape with an older woman companion, traveling about 500-600 miles across mountains and approximately 145 rivers. Nearing starvation, the older woman tried to kill Mary. After the second attempt, Mary left on her own and finally got to a friend's home, 42 days after she escaped. She was later reunited with her husband and they had several more children. (Her youngest son had died in captivity, and the older one was lost to her, having been raised as Shawnee.) Her amazing courage has been chronicled in books and dramatizations.
Mary Margaret Whipple, vice chair of the Women's Monument Commission, notes, "As a society, we have a responsibility to ensure that women's stories are embedded into the narrative of Virginia history. The click here Virginia Women's Monument will provide a unique opportunity to explore and experience the powerful role that these female trailblazers played in the past, serving as an inspiration for current and future generations to find their own voice."
The remaining five statues of the group of twelve are partially funded and will be commissioned as contributions become available.
A formal dedication of the Virginia Women's Monument is scheduled for October 14, 2019 and most of the bronze statues are expected to be installed by that time.
The first article in this series is Groundbreaking Virginia Monument Honors Women. (0
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