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Elizabeth Keckley was Mary Todd Lincoln's seamstress at the White House, and became a close confidant of the First Lady. She was born in Virginia and for thirty years was a slave, before she was able to purchase her freedom while working as a dressmaker. She met Mary Todd Lincoln on the day of Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration as President, and was hired to make dresses for her the following day.

When Keckley decided to write a memoir of her time in the White House with the Lincolns, she was assisted by a writer named James Redpath. He reportedly was provided access to letters written to Keckley by Mary Todd Lincoln. Rather than simply using them as source material, he published them verbatim in an appendix to the book. This caused Elizabeth Keckley considerable embarrasment, ended her relationship with Mrs. Lincoln, and outraged Lincoln's son Robert, who attempted to surpress the book. The publisher recalled copies of the book, although many already purchased have survived intact.

The image at left shows the opening of the section containing Mrs. Lincoln's letters. Despite the controversy that surrounded the publication of the book, it is a valuable source of information not only on the Lincolns, but on the struggles and success of an African-American woman during a turning point in history. The book describes her early life as a slave and her continual attempts to improve her circumstances through work, making connections, and finding creative solutions to difficulties. Although derided in its time, her book is now being brought back into focus by modern scholars.