Behind the Scenes or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House.

Early lifeElizabeth Keckley was born into slavery in February 1818, in Dinwiddie County Court House, Dinwiddie, Virginia, just south of Petersburg. An only child, her mother Agnes was a light-skinned house slave, whose white ancestors were aristocrats. Her mother, nicknamed "Aggy", had learned to read and write, even though it was illegal for enslaved people. She made clothes for 82 people, 12 members of the Burwell family and 70 slaves. Keckley learned that her father was Armistead Burwell from her mother just before she died.[a] The nature of the relationship between Agnes and Burwell is unknown. He permitted Agnes to marry George Pleasant Hobbs, a literate enslaved man who lived and worked at a neighbor's house during Keckley's early childhood. When Hobbs' owner moved far away, Hobbs was separated from Agnes. Although they were never reunited, Agnes and George corresponded for many years. As an adult, Elizabeth Keckley noted "the most precious mementos of my existence are the faded old letters that he wrote, full of love, and always hoping that the future would bring brighter days