Lydia Hamilton Smith
Lydia Hamilton Smith ( – February 14, 1884) was the long-time housekeeper of Thaddeus Stevens and a prominent businesswoman after his death. Early life Lydia Hamilton was born as a free person (her father was a Scottish immigrant; her mother had a white mother and black father) at Russell Tavern near Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania. There is uncertainty over her date of birth; 1813 is the date on her tombstone. There are other sources that cite 1814; her death certificate and obituarites posted in Lancaster and Washington D.C. list 1815. She had been the wife of a Black Gettysburg barber, Jacob Smith, but they were living apart when she was employed by Stevens as a housekeeper (in 1844 or 1847). She had two children by Smith, and they remained with her in her employment. Jacob Smith died in 1852. Career with Stevens Separated from her husband, Smith moved with her mother and sons to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and accepted a position as housekeeper to a prominent lawyer an ...
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