Elizabeth ( – June 11, 1866) was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher and former slave. She orated a popular

slave narrative The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved persons, particularly African diaspora, Africans enslaved in the Americas, though many other examples exist. Over six thousand such narra ...

about her life, titled ''Memoir of Old Elizabeth, A Colored Woman'', which primarily discussed her faith. It has been referred to as "one of the most remarkable full-length antebellum slavewomen's narratives". In 1766, Elizabeth was born into slavery in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Growing up in a

family, she heard the Bible read regularly in the home. She was separated from her family by her master at 11 years of age; her mother encouraged her to look to God. At the age of 30, Elizabeth was given her freedom by a woman who had purchased her. At the age of 42, she began giving sermons in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland; often to multiracial congregations. The popularity of her unusual ministry led her to make travels to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Following her harassment by authorities in Maryland and Virginia, Elizabeth resided in Michigan for four years where she assisted in the founding of a schoolhouse for Black orphans. Her travels brought her in connection with the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

community. Elizabeth never married, had no children, and never took a surname. In her later years, she fell ill from a severe

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

infection of her legs. While receiving care from Quakers in Pennsylvania at the age of 97, Elizabeth orated her slave narrative. ''Memoir of Old Elizabeth, A Colored Woman'' was published in 1863. Elizabeth died of gangrene on June 11, 1866. Her memoir was republished in 1889 under the title ''Elizabeth, A Colored Minister of the Gospel, Born in Slavery''. Her story focuses less on her time as a slave and even her identity, unlike some other slave narratives, and primarily on her spiritual journey.

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