Elizabeth Wragg Manigault

Elizabeth Wragg Manigault
Manigault by Jeremiah Theus, 1757
Born	9 August 1736
Died	19 February 1773(1773-02-19) (aged 36)
Resting place	French Huguenot Church, Charleston
Spouse	Peter Manigault ​ (m. 1755)​
Children	Gabriel, 2 daughters and 1 other son
Parent(s)	Joseph Wragg Judith DuBose

Elizabeth Wragg Manigault (9 August 1736 - 19 February 1773) was an American socialite who was prominent figure in Colonial South Carolinian society. She was the wife of Peter Manigault, who served as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives and was one of the wealthiest people in British North America.

Biography

Manigault was born on 9 August 1736 to Joseph Wragg and Judith DuBose. Her father, an Englishman of Welsh descent, had immigrated to Charles Town where he pioneered the city's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.[1][2][3] One of the predominant slave traders in British North America, he and his brother were responsible for the importation of around 10,000 enslaved Africans to the Southern Colonies. Manigault's mother was the daughter of Huguenot immigrants.[4] Her maternal grandfather, Jacques DuBose, owned a large plantation near Charles Town.[4] Her sister, Mary, was the wife of the slave trader and statesman Benjamin Smith.

In 1757, she was painted by Jeremiah Theus.[5][6] The portrait is now on display at the Charleston Museum.[7]

In 1755, she married Peter Manigault, an attorney, planter, and member of the South Carolina House of Commons.[8] Their children included:[9]

• Gabriel Manigault (1758–1809),[9] who married Margaret Izard (1768–1824), a daughter of Continental Congressman and U.S. Senator Ralph Izard.[10]
• Anne Manigault Middleton (1762–1811), who married Thomas Middleton (1753–1797)[9]
• Joseph Manigault (1763–1843), who married Charlotte Drayton (1781–1855)[9]
• Henrietta Manigault Heyward (1769–1827), who married Nathaniel Heyward (1766–1851).[9]

Her husband was later elected as Speaker of the House of Commons.[11]

Death and legacy

She died on February 19, 1773. She is buried at the French Huguenot Church. Elizabeth Street in Wraggborough is named after her.^[citation needed]

References

1. Henry A. M. Smith: "Wragg of South Carolina". The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul., 1918), pp. 121-123
2. Jon Butler, Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776, p. 38, 2000
3. Friedman, Saul S. (1999). Jews and the American Slave Trade. Milton Park, UK: Routledge (Taylor & Francis). p. 165. ISBN 978-1-3515-1075-2.
4. Harriette Kershaw Leiding, Historic Houses of South Carolina, p. 54
5. "Elizabeth Wragg Manigault". npg.si.edu.
6. McInnis, Maurie D. (December 1, 2015). The Politics of Taste in Antebellum Charleston. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469625997 – via Google Books.
7. "Mrs. Peter Manigault | Charleston Museum". charlestonmuseum.org.
8. Hain, Pamela Chase (2005). A Confederate Chronicle: The Life of a Civil War Survivor. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8262-1599-4.
9. The North Carolina Historical Review. Vol. 47. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Historical Commission. 1970. p. 17.
10. "Manigault, Morris, and Grimball Family Papers, 1795-1832". finding-aids.lib.unc.edu. Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
11. Hain, Pamela Chase (July 6, 2005). A Confederate Chronicle: The Life of a Civil War Survivor. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826264947 – via Google Books.