Eliza Lucas Pinckney
Eliza Lucas Pinckney, born around 1722 in Antigua, West Indies, was a notable figure in early American agriculture, particularly recognized for her contributions to the indigo industry in South Carolina. After relocating to South Carolina in the late 1730s for her mother's health, she took on the management of her family's plantations at just sixteen years old. Pinckney's efforts to cultivate indigo, supported by seeds and expertise sent by her father, marked the first introduction of the crop in the region, leading to significant economic development. She married Charles Pinckney, a prominent attorney, and they had four children, including notable figures in the Revolutionary War and early American governance. After her husband's death, Eliza managed a large plantation business for thirty-six years, showcasing her resilience and resourcefulness. Her letters and journal, published posthumously in 1850, provide insight into her life and the challenges she faced as a woman in the 18th century. Eliza Lucas Pinckney's legacy as a pioneer in agriculture and her influence on Southern society continue to be recognized today.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Eliza Lucas Pinckney
- Born: December 28, 1722
- Birthplace: Antigua, West Indies
- Died: May 26, 1793
- Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography
Eliza Lucas Pinckney was born in or around 1722 in Antigua, West Indies. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel George Lucas, became lieutenant governor of Antigua when Pinckney was in her teens. She was educated in England. In the late 1730’s, in hopes of improving her mother’s failing health, Pinckney sailed with her mother and younger sister to South Carolina and settled on the Wapoo plantation, which her father had inherited from his father. After Pinckney’s father returned to Antigua, Pinckney, then sixteen years old, was responsible for running her family’s three South Carolina plantations.
Pinckney was well received by Southern society and was interested in dancing, music, reading, and continued self-study. In 1744, she married Charles Pinckney, a prominent attorney and chief justice of South Carolina. Charles Pinckney was a widower and two decades older than Eliza. The couple had four children. One of the children, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was a general in the Revolutionary War and one of the signers of the United States Constitution; another son, Thomas Pinckney, was a Revolutionary War officer promoted to general who later became the American ambassador to Spain and Great Britain.
Pinckney began to learn the plantation business with the help of her father, but the family business was in trouble. In the early 1740’s, her father sent her indigo seeds from the West Indies and she planted these seeds, the first planted in South Carolina. Her father also sent an expert in indigo crop cultivation to help Pinckney grow and harvest indigo. After Pinckney lost her family’s plantations to creditors, she and her husband distributed indigo seed to neighboring plantations and helped local residents learn how to cultivate and market their crops.
The Pinckneys moved to Belmont, Charles Pinckney’s home plantation, where Eliza experimented with growing flax, hemp, and silk. She and her husband moved to London in 1753, and five years later returned to Charleston, where Charles Pinckney died of malaria shortly after their arrival. After his death, Eliza Pinckney became the manager of a large plantation business for the next thirty-six years. After the American Revolution, she lived at her plantation with her widowed daughter, Harriot. When her health failed, she went to Philadelphia for medical treatment and died there on May 26, 1793. President George Washington was one of the pallbearers at her funeral.
Pinckney’s journal and letters were published posthumously in 1850. These documents chronicle her experiences as an early American farmer, wife, and mother, and affirm Pinckney’s importance as a pioneer in the South Carolina indigo industry.