- 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.
- 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.
- Lydia made the suit Tobias wore on their wedding day by stitching together pieces of dresses and aprons.
- When Lydia and Tobias were first married, the couple lived with her parents in their hometown of Vevay, Indiana.
- Before deciding on founding a school, Lydia considered establishing an orphanage.
- Tobias developed Peoria’s first public library.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The home Lydia and Tobias built on Moss Avenue in 1858 is still there today, and it is now divided into two apartments.
- Lydia’s favorite flowers were roses; she was known for growing them in the garden behind her home.
