Death and Legacy

Family letters mention that Lizzie took ill approximately a year before her death. She was cared for by Lou and Rebecca Wylie. However, she did not die in the Wylie household. Lizzie managed to purchase her own property just a month before her death, on August 22, 1910. This was already a notable accomplishment for a single African American woman at the time, and is even more admirable considering that she was likely ill at the time of purchase. Deed records show that Lizzie purchased the property for $650 - the equivalent of a property worth about $25,000 today. The lot was 43x163 feet and located on South Washington Street, only a block East of the Wylie property. According to a brief note in a local newspaper, The Bloomington Telephone, she died the morning of Sunday, September 25, 1910, in her home after battling heart enlargement and other complications.

The bulk of Lizzie's estate, including her home, were left to her friend, Anna Anderson Bukey. Small amounts of money and object were left to her half-brother William McCaw, extended family members, and other Anderson family members. The Wylie House object collection includes a saucer and teacup believed to be Lizzie's. It is on display in her room in the home. It can be seen in the museum's virtual tour. An accessible version of the tour is also available. There are also still images of the attic room believed to have been hers for at least some portion of time. 

Lizzie is buried in Covenanter Cemetery on the southeast side of town, about two miles from the Wylie House. It is unclear who paid for her gravestone, though it was likely a collaboration between Anton Wylie and his mother and aunts. The stone still stands today. Descendants of Lizzie's sister Maggie live in the region, and the museum is in contact with them.