Elizabeth Freeman was illiterate and left no written records of her life.
18 Facts About Elizabeth Freeman
2.
Elizabeth Freeman was born into slavery around 1744 at the farm of Pieter Hogeboom in Claverack, New York, where she was given the name Bet.
3.
Elizabeth Freeman remained with them until 1781, during which time she had a child, Little Bet.
4.
Elizabeth Freeman is said to have married, though no marriage record has been located.
5.
Elizabeth Freeman's husband is said to have never returned from service in the American Revolutionary War.
6.
Elizabeth Freeman came into conflict with Hannah Ashley, who was raised in the strict Dutch culture of the New York colony.
7.
In 1780, Bet prevented Hannah from striking a servant girl with a heated shovel; Elizabeth Freeman shielded the girl and received a deep wound in her arm.
8.
Elizabeth Freeman's house was the site of many political discussions and the probable location of the signing of the Sheffield Declaration, which predated the Declaration of Independence.
9.
In 1780, Elizabeth Freeman either heard the newly ratified Massachusetts Constitution read at a public gathering in Sheffield, or overheard her master talking at events in the home.
10.
Elizabeth Freeman enlisted the aid of Tapping Reeve, the founder of Litchfield Law School, one of America's earliest law schools, located in Litchfield, Connecticut.
11.
Elizabeth Freeman worked for his family until 1808 as senior servant and governess to the Sedgwick children, who called her "Mumbet".
12.
Elizabeth Freeman died in December 1829 and was buried in the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
13.
Elizabeth Freeman remains the only non-Sedgwick buried in the Sedgwick plot.
14.
Elizabeth Freeman was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years; Elizabeth Freeman could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.
15.
Elizabeth Freeman never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty.
16.
The decision in the 1781 case of Elizabeth Freeman was cited as precedent when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard the appeal of Quock Walker v Jennison later that year and upheld Walker's freedom.
17.
The gold bead necklace visible in the portrait of Elizabeth Freeman was re-made into a bracelet, and carriers her nickname.
18.
However, Elizabeth Freeman was 20 years senior to Burghardt, and no record of such a marriage has been found.