Ellen Barnes McGinnis

Ellen Barnes McGinnis (1842 – December 12, 1890) was an enslaved woman known for being the housemaid to Varina Davis, the First Lady of the Confederacy. After gaining her freedom, McGinnis and her husband relocated to Baltimore.

Biography Ellen Barnes was born enslaved in Richmond, Virginia around 1842. Light-skinned, she was considered "mulatto" and could pass as white. She was owned by Peter W. Grubbs, a Richmond businessman and pharmacist. Ellen could not read or write.

In 1864, several of the Davis family slaves escaped, including Varina's most trusted maid, "Betsy". Ellen would then become Varina's personal maid and the nursemaid to the Davises youngest child, Varina Anne Davis, also known as "Winnie".

After travelling for weeks through the South to escape, two Union cavalry units came upon the Davis party, after trailing them for several days. Varina Davis asked Barnes to shield her husband, Jefferson Davis by fleeing with him into the woods. Barnes complied, with the former President of the Confederacy trailing her wearing a shawl over his head as a disguise. She would later marry Frederick McGinnis, the former slave to Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard and personal servant to Jefferson Davis at Fort Monroe. The couple married on May 7, 1867 in Norfolk, Virginia. Varina Davis reportedly would help make her wedding dress and attended their wedding in Virginia. Frederick would manage correspondence for Ellen, who was illiterate. In Baltimore, Frederick and Ellen McGinnis reportedly had several children and "many kind friends". They refused offers to return to the South, despite offers by Jefferson Davis to provide them property. Frederick would die six years later in an accident and was buried in Baltimore's Laurel Cemetery.