Lucy Lee Shirley’s Skirt

ca. 1860

Lucy wore this skirt as an enslaved child.

Lucy Lee Shirley was born into slavery in 1855 in Leesburg, Virginia. After emancipation, she moved to Pennsylvania and later to New Jersey. She married twice and had six children, four of whom survived into adulthood. Shirley worked as a housekeeper, dressmaker, and caterer before her death in 1929.  

Lucy was five or six years old when she wore this skirt. While its maker is unknown, the skirt is constructed to expand slightly as she grows. Despite the violence that often separated enslaved children from their parents, African Americans cared deeply for one another. Clothing, cradles, toys, and other domestic items are tangible examples of the care, concern, and love enslaved people had for their children.