Elizabeth Harriet Stevens Gray Bowser

[1] Lizzie used her skills as a seamstress to craft elaborate ceremonial collars, and David created decorative paintings on hats, banners, and other objects bearing insignia.

Their giving served an activist purpose; many of the groups they supported were meant to advance the social position of African-Americans, and compensate for the frequent exclusion of Black communities from public disaster relief.

She was also an active member of the Ladies' Union Association of Philadelphia, a charitable organization founded during the Civil War by free Black women.

The Ladies' Union Association raised money to provide relief for formerly enslaved people and support for Black soldiers returning from war.

[1] Through her work with these organizations, Bowser became friends with diarist Emilie Frances Davis, with whom she socialized and attended Bible study classes.