Elizabeth Van Lew was born on October 17,1818. Her parents were John Van Lew and Elizabeth Baker Van Lew. She was the oldest out of three. Her siblings were John Van Lew and Anna Van Lew. Elizabeth maintained a very close relationship with her mother. However, her father never met eye to eye with her because he owned slaves. They were always fighting about slavery. She would beg her father to free his slaves because she thought it was wrong in every single way.
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After the death of her father, Elizabeth and her mother freed all of their slaves. She was so opposed to slavery that she used 10,000 dollars to buy slaves and free them all. She thinks slavery crushes freedom of speech and opinion. She thinks it is cruel and arrogant. Elizabeth was a very strong and independent woman, and she is not afraid of what people think of her. She stands up for what she believes in no matter what.
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After the war, Elizabeth had a very quite life. When her niece died, she spent her last ten years living alone. Elizabeth was 81 years old when she passed away. She died on September 25, 1900. Elizabeth was buried at Richmond's Shockoe Cemetery.
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