Elizabeth Key wins her freedom

An enslaved woman sues for her freedom — and wins — arguing she was the baptized daughter of a free Englishman, in one of the earliest freedom suits in the colonies.

The Making of Slave Law

Key figures

Elizabeth Key · Plaintiff

Resources

Websites·1

Website

Elizabeth Key (fl. 1655–1660)

Encyclopedia Virginia

The woman of African descent who won an early freedom suit.

The web

Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.

led to·Event
Virginia makes slavery hereditary
Key won her freedom through her English father; six years later Virginia tied status to the mother instead, closing that path.

Where to go next

led to

Virginia makes slavery hereditary

Key won her freedom through her English father; six years later Virginia tied status to the mother instead, closing that path.