Background
She was born probably in Antigua, in the colony of the British Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, where her father, Lieut. -Col. George Lucas, had been stationed and later became lieutenant governor.
She was born probably in Antigua, in the colony of the British Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, where her father, Lieut. -Col. George Lucas, had been stationed and later became lieutenant governor.
She was educated in England.
After studies she arrived in South Carolina in 1738, when her father brought his wife and daughters to "Wappoo" plantation, near Charlestown (Charleston), inherited from his father, John Lucas. Upon Colonel Lucas' return to Antigua, Elizabeth was left at the age of sixteen to manage the business of three plantations. Popular in Charlestown society, she even studied sufficient law to draft wills for her poorer neighbors. She loved the plant world and soon was enthusiastically setting out live-oaks for future navies. As "Wappoo" and its twenty slaves were mortgaged, her problem was to find a profitable crop.
Her father sent her a variety of West Indian seeds for experiment and about 1741 she first tried indigo, which theretofore had never been a success in South Carolina. She persevered to the third season before she ripened seed, and then her father sent a man from Montserrat to teach her the preparation for market. Creditors absorbed the plantation, but Pinckney distributed some of the indigo seed among his neighbors, and, after learning all he could from the French prisoners in Charlestown, published his information for the benefit of all.
After her marriage, Mrs. Pinckney lived at "Belmont" plantation on Charlestown Neck, where in consultation with her father's overseer she directed experiments with flax and hemp. She also revived silk-culture; dresses made from her silk are still exhibited. In March 1753, her husband having been appointed colonial agent for South Carolina, she and their children accompanied him to London.
After considerable travel in England and a brief sojourn in London, they bought a home at Ripley, intending to remain until the children were educated. Five years later she returned to Charlestown, but her husband died. His will, finally probated in London in 1769, named as executors his wife, and their sons, when of age. The burden of a very large property, therefore, devolved upon the widow of thirty-six years; and, assisted by a competent overseer, she took up once more the round of plantation duties. Although she did not see her sons again until they were grown, she had a strong influence upon their brilliant careers.
After the Revolution, she went to live with her widowed daughter, Mrs. Daniel Horry, at "Hampton" plantation on the Santee, and there welcomed President Washington in 1791. Soon her health failed, and in April 1793 she sailed for Philadelphia in hope of surgical relief. There, on May 26, she died in her seventy-first year.
Eliza Lucas Pinckney changed agriculture in colonial South Carolina, where she developed indigo as one of its most important cash crops. Due to her successes, the volume of indigo dye exported increased dramatically, indigo became second only to rice as the South Carolina colony's commodity cash crop, and contributed greatly to the wealth of its planters. Besides, her letter book is one of the most complete collections of writing from 18th century America and provides a valuable glimpse into the life of an elite colonial woman living during this time period. For her contributions to South Carolina's agriculture, Eliza Lucas Pinckney was the first woman to be inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1989.
She believed that colonial planters could make a profit in an extremely competitive market.
No portrait of her exists, but she is described as a small woman, with an unrivaled talent for conversation. Her extraordinary charm is reflected in her letters, which have both literary and historical value.
Upon her happy marriage, May 27, 1744, to Charles Pinckney, a prominent lawyer and a widower of more than twice her age, her parents presented him with the indigo then growing at "Wappoo" and wished to give her the plantation as a marriage dower. Charles was taken with malaria and died in Mt. Pleasant, July 12, 1758. They had sons Charles Cotesworth and Thomas.
