About Lydia Hamilton Smith
Lydia Hamilton Smith was an American businesswoman and the long-time housekeeper and confidante of Thaddeus Stevens, later becoming a prominent entrepreneur after his death. 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. 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).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.