Uncommon Woman : The Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith by Mark Kelley (2023, Trade Paperback)

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Uncommon Woman : The Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith, Paperback by Kelley, Mark, ISBN 0271096756, ISBN-13 9780271096759, Brand New, Free shipping in the US "A biography of Lydia Hamilton Smith (1), a prominent African American businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper and life companion of the state's abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens"--

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPennsylvania STATE University Press

ISBN-100271096756

ISBN-139780271096759

eBay Product ID (ePID)3059225190

Product Key Features

Book TitleUncommon Woman : the Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith

Number of Pages372 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2023

TopicWomen, United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, De, Md, NJ, NY, Pa), United States / 19th Century, Social History

IllustratorYes

GenreBiography & Autobiography, History

AuthorMark Kelley

Book SeriesKeystone Bks.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight15.2 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2023-022640

TitleLeadingAn

Dewey Edition23

Reviews"An important contribution to Civil War discourse, women's studies, and Black history." --Barrie Olmstead Library Journal, "Mark Kelley has combed through hundreds of pages of previously unexplored archival material to assemble a compelling portrait of a powerful woman. Lydia Smith, often seen as a sideshow to a national figure--when seen at all--emerges as a gritty fighter challenging a world that, until the passage of the Reconstruction amendments, did not even consider her a citizen of the United States." --Tom Ryan, President & CEO of LancasterHistory, "Mark Kelley uncovered a treasure trove of archival materials to tell the remarkable life story of Lydia Hamilton Smith. Kelley rescues Smith from obscurity, and in doing so he makes the powerful case that she is one of the nineteenth century's most influential women. Kelley recounts how Smith had to fight every step of the way to be treated with dignity and respect, insisting that her nation live up to the egalitarian principles of the Reconstruction era. Kelley masterfully combines exhaustive archival research with lively prose and historical context to bring this previously hidden historical figure to vivid life." --Amanda Frost,John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor, University of Virginia School of Law, "Mark Kelley has combed through hundreds of pages of previously unexplored archival material to assemble a compelling portrait of a powerful woman. Lydia Smith, often seen as a sideshow to a national figure--when seen at all--emerges as a gritty fighter challenging a world that, until the passage of the Reconstruction amendments, did not even consider her a citizen of the United States." --Tom Ryan,President & CEO of LancasterHistory, "Mark Kelley presents valuable new information about Lydia Hamilton Smith, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens's mixed-race housekeeper and life companion, while providing refreshingly new perspectives on Stevens himself. The book offers important new information and insights by documenting how Smith managed Stevens's household, took care of him as his health failed, and used her relationship with him to accumulate property and cross racialized social boundaries. It also contributes to our understanding of Stevens's powerful political opposition to slavery and racial discrimination." --Faith Mitchell, author of Emma's Postcard Album: Black Lives in the Early Twentieth Century, "Mark Kelley uncovered a treasure trove of archival materials to tell the remarkable life story of Lydia Hamilton Smith. Kelley rescues Smith from obscurity, and in doing so he makes the powerful case that she is one of the nineteenth century's most influential women. Kelley recounts how Smith had to fight every step of the way to be treated with dignity and respect, insisting that her nation live up to the egalitarian principles of the Reconstruction era. Kelley masterfully combines exhaustive archival research with lively prose and historical context to bring this previously hidden historical figure to vivid life." --Amanda Frost, John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor, University of Virginia School of Law, "A welcome and important work, refuting earlier racist and sexist portrayals and restoring a fascinating historical figure." --John Rowen Booklist, "Mark Kelley presents valuable new information about Lydia Hamilton Smith, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens's mixed-race housekeeper and life companion, while providing refreshingly new perspectives on Stevens himself. The book offers important new information and insights by documenting how Smith managed Stevens's household, took care of him as his health failed, and used her relationship with him to accumulate property and cross racialized social boundaries. It also contributes to our understanding of Stevens's powerful political opposition to slavery and racial discrimination." --Faith Mitchell,author of Emma's Postcard Album: Black Lives in the Early Twentieth Century, "Well researched and written, and telling a dramatic and important life story, readers interested in nineteenth-century gender and race issues are sure to find An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith an important contribution to Civil War-era scholarship, and a book well worth reading and adding to their library." --Tim Talbott Emerging Civil War, "Mark Kelley presents valuable new information about Lydia Hamilton Smith, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens's mixed-race housekeeper and life companion, while providing refreshingly new perspectives on Stevens himself. The book offers important new information and insights by documenting how Smith managed Stevens's household, took care of him as his health failed, and used her relationship with him to accumulate property and cross racialized social boundaries. It also contributes to our understanding of Stevens's powerful political opposition to slavery and racial discrimination." -Faith Mitchell, author of Emma's Postcard Album: Black Lives in the Early Twentieth Century

Dewey Decimal974.8150092

Table Of ContentList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. James Buchanan's Father Slept Here 2. A Girlhood in Gettysburg 3. Coming of Age 4. Another Name Change 5. Much More than a Housekeeper 6. Everyone's on the Move 7. The Widow and the Congressman 8. Booze, Politics, and the Underground Railroad 9. Life, Death, and Marriage 10. The War Years 11. "In Health or in Sickness" 12. The Battles After the War 13. A Companion Lost 14. "It Was Mr. Dickey" 15. Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington 16. Mrs. Smith Versus the Executors 17. An Elderly Businesswoman 18. "A Noted Woman Gone" 19. Those Left Behind 20. A Life Well Lived Notes Bibliography Index

SynopsisA biography of Lydia Hamilton Smith (1813-1884), a prominent African American businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper and life companion of the state's abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens., Lydia Hamilton Smith (1813-1884) was a prominent African American businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper, life companion, and collaborator of the state's abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens. In his biography of this remarkable woman, Mark Kelley reveals how Smith served the cause of abolition, managed Stevens's household, acquired property, and crossed racialized social boundaries. Born a free woman near Gettysburg, Smith began working for Stevens in 1844. Her relationship with Stevens fascinated and infuriated many, and it made Smith a highly recognizable figure both locally and nationally. The two walked side by side in Lancaster and in Washington, DC, as they worked to secure the rights of African Americans, sheltered people on the Underground Railroad, managed two households, raised her sons and his nephews, and built a real-estate business. In the last years of Stevens's life, as his declining health threatened to short-circuit his work, Smith risked her own well-being to keep him alive while he led the drive to end slavery, impeach Andrew Johnson, and push for the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. An Uncommon Woman is a vital history that accords Lydia Hamilton Smith the recognition that she deserves. Every American should know Smith's inspiring story., Lydia Hamilton Smith was a prominent African American businesswoman in nineteenth-century Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper, life companion, and collaborator of the state's firebrand abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens. In his biography of this remarkable woman, Mark Kelley reveals how Smith served the cause of abolition, managed Stevens's household, acquired property, and crossed racialized social boundaries. Born a free woman near Gettysburg, Smith began working for Stevens in 1844 and soon became his closest companion and staunchest ally. Their relationship fascinated and infuriated many, and it made Smith a highly recognizable figure both locally and nationally. The two walked side by side in Lancaster and in Washington, DC, as they worked to secure the rights of African Americans, sheltered people on the Underground Railroad, managed two households, raised her sons and his nephews, and built a real-estate business. In the last years of Stevens's life, as his declining health threatened to short-circuit his work, Smith risked her own well-being to keep him alive while he led the drive to end slavery, impeach Andrew Johnson, and push for the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. A vital, vibrantly written history of an inspiring African American woman of the nineteenth century, An Uncommon Woman accords Smith the recognition she deserves. This is a story that every American should know., Lydia Hamilton Smith (1813-1884) was a prominent African American businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper, life companion, and collaborator of the state's abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens. In his biography of this remarkable woman, Mark Kelley reveals how Smith served the cause of abolition, managed Stevens's household, and through their relationship gained property and crossed racialized social boundaries. Born a free woman near Gettysburg, Smith began working for Stevens in 1844. Her relationship with Stevens fascinated and infuriated many, and it made Smith a highly recognizable figure both locally and nationally. The two walked side-by-side in Lancaster and Washington, D.C., as they worked to secure the rights of African Americans, sheltered people on the Underground Railroad, managed two households, raised four children, and built a real-estate business. In the last years of Stevens's life, as his declining health threatened to short-circuit his work, Smith risked her own life to keep him alive while he led the drive to end slavery, impeach Andrew Johnson, and push for the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. An Uncommon Woman is a vital history that accords Lydia Hamilton Smith the recognition that she deserves. Every American should know Smith's inspiring story.

LC Classification NumberF159.L2S655 2023