NHAHS to host Lydia Hamilton Smith biographer

Mark Kelley, an author and former broadcast journalist and teacher, remembers what inspired him to undertake his latest project - a biography of Lydia Hamilton Smith. "We watched Steven Spielberg's movie about Abraham Lincoln," recalled Kelley, who recounted how the second half of the movie delved into the life of Lancastrian Thaddeus Stevens and his work to pass the 13th Amendment. Kelley was intrigued when the movie indicated that Stevens and Lydia, a mixed-race woman who lived in Stevens' home as a housekeeper, may have been more than employer and employee.

Kelley will discuss his book "An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith" in the chapel at Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, as the featured presenter for the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS).

Lydia was born in Gettysburg, and Stevens, who practiced law in that area, knew her when she was a youngster. In her late teens, Lydia married Jacob Smith, an African American man from Harrisburg.

During that same time period, Stevens, who had been raised in Vermont by a Baptist mother, was undergoing changes in his outlook. "Stevens had a crisis of conscience about slavery and became an abolitionist," noted Kelley. While living in Gettysburg, Stevens worked with Quakers to run an Underground Railroad station at the iron works he owned there. "(Stevens) used houses on the property to harbor fugitives on their way to Canada," explained Kelley. By 1840, Lydia and Jacob and their two sons had moved to Harrisburg. When the marriage ended in 1844, Lydia moved to Lancaster, where her cousin lived, eventually becoming Stevens' housekeeper.

According to Kelley's book, Lydia assisted Stevens as he worked to pass not only the 13th, but also the 14th and 15th amendments. Stevens had a Philadelphia artist paint a portrait of Lydia shortly after she moved to Lancaster. As possible evidence of their love, Lydia cared for Stevens during the last several years of his life when he was quite ill. Kelley believes that Lydia and Stevens lived together for more than 20 years. He also noted that Stevens had a Philadelphia artist paint a portrait of Lydia shortly after she moved to Lancaster, something Kelley indicates would have been rare for an employer to do for an employee at the time. Stevens also sought to leave Lydia money from his estate, eventually having $5,000 in back wages paid to her upon his death. Stevens was buried in Shreiner-Concord Cemetery, one of the few Lancaster cemeteries that would allow African American burials at the time. Lydia, however, does not rest beside him; she was buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery more than a decade after Stevens' death.

Kelley was born in Waynesburg, but grew up in New Holland, attending Garden Spot High School before going on to earn his doctorate in journalism from Syracuse University. He worked in broadcast journalism for 25 years notably at WSTM TV Syracuse. Kelley's teaching career took him to the University of Maine, where he taught journalism and mass communications. Kelley returned to the area in 2015. He is the author of five books, including "Rain of Ruin," a historical novel about his mother's experience working in the head offices of the Manhattan Project.

The program is free and open to the public. More information about NHAHS may be found at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook.