PEKIN, Ill. – The first slave emancipated by Abraham Lincoln spent most of her life in Pekin, and leaders in the community are telling her story.
Nance Legins-Costley started court challenges to her status as a slave at the age of 14. It wasn’t until Lincoln took her case to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1841 that she gained her freedom. Her son, William, is recognized as the first male slave emancipated in the same legal move that gained his mother’s freedom.
Costley lived in Peoria towards the end of her life to live with her daughter, and is buried in Moffitt Cemetery. Her gravesite was paved over, and there’s currently no monument to her life.
“There’s no memorial, there was no gravesite, there’s nothing that exists right now. We’re going to fix that here real soon, there’s gonna be a couple of them,” says Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman. “Peoria’s going to have one, we’re going to have one. There’s going to be indicators of her life in this area and the importance that she played as a national historic figure.”
Tazewell County will have a monument to Costley in downtown Pekin, with a dedication ceremony on June 17th.
Before the ceremony, Ackerman reached out to Pekin Community High School to see if students would create a legacy project about Costley. He contacted psychology and government teacher Colleen Kahl to gauge interest in the project.
Kahl ended up spearheading the project, recruiting teachers from around the building to take part in it with their classes. She says for students at Pekin, it was their first time hearing about Costley.
“Immediately, they were like ‘I don’t understand why we’ve never learned about her’ and ‘How do we live here our whole lives and not know that this woman existed and her pivotal role in history.’ And then the more they read and more they learned about, like, how young she was, that was more inspiring to them,” Kahl said.
The project exceeded expectations for Ackerman and Kahl, turning out around 30 pieces of art, poetry, and even video testimonials about Costley.
Peoria NAACP Breach President Pastor Marvin Hightower says he is encouraged by the project, adding that it could bring to light more untold stories of black history.
“Don’t hold it back, don’t hide it under a bushel, allow it to be told, both here and across this country. Don’t try to hide these stories because it’s important to tell the truth. What people want is the truth,” Hightower said.
All the works the in project have been posted to a website for the public to view.
