Elizabeth Johnson Forby | |
|---|---|
 Some members of the Forby family in the 1901 Knoxville city directory | |
| Born | Lucy Elizabeth March ~1846 Tennessee, United States |
| Died | October 3, 1905 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Other names | Liz, Lizzie Forbey, Lizzy, Lucy Elizabeth Johnson, Lucy E. Forby, Mrs. George Forbey, Mrs. G. W. Forby, Mrs. Elizabeth Ford, Elizabeth J. Farley, Farbey |
| Known for | Enslaved by a future U.S. President, "estimable colored woman" |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Florence Johnson Smith (sister) William Andrew Johnson (brother) Sam Johnson (uncle) |
Lucy Elizabeth Johnson Forby[a] (March ~1846 – October 3, 1905) was an "estimable colored woman" of the United States.[1]
Lizzie Forby was a mixed-race Tennessean who was enslaved from birth until approximately age 17 by Andrew Johnson, later the 17th president of the United States. Her mother was Dolly Johnson; the identity of her father remains officially unknown. Since the late 20th century several scholars and popular historians have speculated or insinuated that Andrew Johnson may have been Lizzie's biological father, although there is no evidence that either affirmatively confirms the relationship or eliminates Johnson as a candidate for paternity.[2][3][4][5][6][7] She married a freedman named George W. Forby shortly after the American Civil War. He worked as a laborer and a coachman, and together they raised nine children in East Tennessee.
Elizabeth Johnson Forby died at the age of approximately 60 in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is the only known member of her family to have a headstone marking their grave at Knoxville's historic Freedmen's Mission Historic Cemetery; the stone reads "Our Mother Elizabeth Johnson Forby died October 3, 1905".
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- ^ "Mrs. Elizabeth Ford". Knoxville Journal and Tribune. October 5, 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-07-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fling, Sarah (2021). "The Formerly Enslaved Households of President Andrew Johnson". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Boren, Rance A. (September 2022). "A case of neglect". Cortex. 154: 254–258. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2022.06.003. ISSN 0010-9452. PMID 35810499. S2CID 249650951.
- ^ Wineapple, Brenda (2020). The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation. Random House Publishing Group. p. 52. ISBN 9780812987911 – via Libby.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, Annette (2011). Andrew Johnson. The American Presidents Series. New York: Times Books/Henry Holt. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-0-8050-6948-8. LCCN 2010032595. OCLC 154806758.
- ^ Holland, Jesse J. (2016). The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press. pp. 193–201. ISBN 978-1-4930-0846-9. LCCN 2015034010. OCLC 926105956.
- ^ Bowen, David Warren (2005) [1976, 1989]. "Chapter 3: The Defender of Slavery". Andrew Johnson and the Negro. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0-87049-584-7. LCCN 88009668. OCLC 17764213. Originally published as a thesis: ProQuest 7710753.
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