Born: 1818 Died: 1900 Biography: Elizabeth Van Lew was born in 1818, the oldest daughter of John Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond businessman. She was schooled in Philadelphia, and when she returned home to Richmond she was an adamant abolitionist. After her father died she convinced her mother to set their 9 slaves free. Outspoken and rebellious, she won the title of "Crazy Bet" from her neighbors, who felt she was eccentric and borderline crazy. Elizabeth used this title as her best defense. She had a shrewd and resourceful mind, and in time she devised schemes to aid and abet the Union cause. She lived within view of the warehouse that later became the Libby Prison. Having heard of the suffering and terrible conditions the Union prisoners of war were living under, Elizabeth began carrying baskets of food, medicine and books to the prisoners. (and carrying out secret information) The newer prisoners would be full of information about Confederate troop size and displacements, and Elizabeth would find a way to get that information back to the Union generals. She even managed to penetrate the home of Jefferson Davis, by convincing one of her servants to secure a position working for the Confederate President. At first Elizabeth simply mailed her information to Federal authorities. As time passed she grew more sophisticated. She devised her own code using words and letters and would underline them in books she lent to the prisoners. She used her former slaves - who wished to remain with her - through the lines on an elaborate courier system. When Grant reached Richmond, one of the first things he did was to visit Elizabeth for tea. Grant said of her efforts, "You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war." After the war, President Grant rewarded Elizabeth with the job of postmistress of Richmond, which she held from 1869 through 1877. Although revered in the North, Elizabeth was ostracized by the citizens of Richmond. She would write, "No one will walk with us on the street. No one will go anywhere with us, and it grows worse and worse each day." Under Rutherford B. Hayes administration, she was no longer appointed postmistress. She lived on an annuity from the family of a Union soldier she had helped. She died in poverty in 1900. A plaque at her graveside reads: "She risked everything that is dear to man...friends, fortune, comfort, health, life itself, all for one absorbing desire of her heart...that slavery might be abolished and the Union preserved."