Press "Enter" to skip to content

11 quick Lydia tidbits

  1. Before she was born, Lydia’s father Zeally Moss owned a plantation in Kentucky, but he eventually gave the territory rent free to the land’s workers because he didn’t want to make a living based on slavery. It’s speculated Lydia later included her home in the underground railroad due to her opposition to slavery.
  2. Lydia made her first business deal as a teenager when she traded a horse her father gave her for 40 acres of land. She cleared the land and sold the logs to her future husband, Tobias Bradley, who ran a sawmill.
  1. Lydia made the suit Tobias wore on their wedding day by stitching together pieces of dresses and aprons.
  1. When Lydia and Tobias were first married, the couple lived with her parents in their hometown of Vevay, Indiana.
  1. Before deciding on founding a school, Lydia considered establishing an orphanage.
  1. Tobias developed Peoria’s first public library.
  1. Lydia was not only a businesswoman, but she also strived to be a good housekeeper. She made her own butter, salted down her own meat, spun yarn, made clothing and did other things that housewives were expected to do in the 19th century.
  1. When Tobias died at age 56 from a carriage accident, Lydia took over management of their estate and doubled its value from $500,000 to $1 million within 10 years.
  1. Lydia’s six children and husband died young, so every Sunday, Lydia took a carriage through Springdale Cemetery and placed flowers picked from her garden on their graves.
  1. The home Lydia and Tobias built on Moss Avenue in 1858 is still there today, and it is now divided into two apartments.
  2. Lydia’s favorite flowers were roses; she was known for growing them in the garden behind her home.

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.