Skip to content
Black HistoryCollector
SearchSupport the collection

Biography · Biography & Culture

Nance Legins-Costley

Biography

United States

BIOGRAPHYPortrait not availableExplore the life, work and source references.
Visit the source record ↗

Biography

Nance Legins-Costley (c. 1813–1892), born Nance Legins Cox, an African American, was the first slave legally manumitted (freed) by attorney Abraham Lincoln, in 1841, twenty years before the start of the American Civil War.

Explore Wikipedia contributors ↗

Sources & collection details

Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗

Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Continue exploring Series 1

Slavery, Resistance & Freedom →

Explore all Series 1 cards →