Eliza Galloway's Home
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Eliza outside her home, 1917
Eliza outside her home, 1917
Eliza outside her home
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The name Eliza Galloway, while perhaps not commonly known in the area today, was a name that all of Kearney was familiar with during the early 1900s. Eliza worked in the homes of many Kearney residents during her life, cooking meals for their families and caring for their children.
Eliza was born into slavery in Maryland, where she recalls the emancipation of enslaved peoples; as well as President Lincoln. She then moved to Kearney, Nebraska where she met her husband James. Eliza became well known as a domestic in Kearney, as she worked in the homes of prominent Kearney patrons. Eliza was the first African American resident of Kearney.
This home is where Eliza and her husband, James Galloway, resided together. Eliza and James were married in 1893 in Kearney. However, in 1903 James was arrested for carrying a gun down Central Avenue and was brought before the Insanity Commission, where it was then determined that James was criminally insane. After this James was sent to the Hastings Asylum where he fatally contracted Tuberculosis and died in 1905.
Eliza herself lived until 1936, until she fell fill and died that year. The Kearney Hub "fondly" remembered Eliza, recalling her as having changing the diapers of every prominent man in Kearney.
Sources
"The Make-Up Too Startling ." Kearney Daily Hub (Kearney) August 13th 1903. , 3-3.
"Letter from Old-Time Kearney Resident is a Tribute to Long Career of Old Eliza Galloway, Former Slave." Kearney Daily Hub (Kearney) March 26th 1936. , 8-8.