Moody, Lydia

Lydia Moody Bascom (1814-1908)

Fitzwilliam, NH

Lydia Moody was born around 1814 in Fitzwilliam, NH, the daughter of John Moody.  Her father had just moved from Rindge, NH, purchasing 100 acres in Fitzwilliam in March of 1813.  The family’s land was located in Lot 7 of the 3rd Range.  Lydia may have been born around the time of her parents’ wedding.  Her father John married Lydia Humphrey in Shelburne, MA, on January 10, 1815.

By the 1820 census, the Moody family had grown to include three children: Lydia, Elvira, and Silas.  Another woman of color aged 26-45, also lived in the household, presumably a family member.  Lydia’s father, however, died of ‘lung fever’ (pneumonia) in July of 1823 leaving the family destitute. Her sister Elvira went to live with the town minister, Rev. John Sabin. A few years later, their brother Silas also lived there. 

On September 5, 1824, Lydia was baptized into the First Congregational Church of Keene and was taken into the care of Keene’s minister, Rev. Zedekiah and Mrs. Barstow who resided on Main Street in Keene (the site of the Wyman Tavern Museum).

As an adult, Lydia Moody moved to Worcester with the rest of her siblings.  By 1855, at the age of 30, she resided with the Jenkins family.  William Jenkins was a 39-year old barber, originally from Virginia.  His wife Martha was a 27 year old woman of color from Rhode Island. The couple had three children: Anna ML (8), Robert H (11), and Mary (15).

Lydia Moody married later in life.  By 1870, she was living with her husband Henry Bascom in Worcester.  Henry was a 51 year old man of color who worked in a shoe shop.  Lydia was 50 years old and keeping house. They continued to live at 6 Glen Street into the 1880s.  

On Nov. 25, 1898 Henry Bascom died in Worcester, MA. Lydia (Moody) Bascom continued to live in the city of Worcester until her own death on October 31, 1904. She was 90 years old.  In her will, Lydia requested that all of her personal and real estate be given to Anna M. L. Jenkins and Lydia M. Jenkins of Worcester in equal portions.

SOURCE MATERIALS

Cheshire County Registry of Deeds. Vol. 68: 367; Vol. 76: 302; Vol. 79: 527

First Congregational Church Records. Book II, p.105.  Historical Society of Cheshire County, Group 276, Box 1.

Massachusetts Death Records, 1898, 1908

Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1815

Massachusetts State Census, 1855

Massachusetts Wills and Probate, 1905

New Hampshire Church Records, Fitzwilliam, 1823- Familysearch.org

U.S. Federal Census, 1820, 1830, 1870, 1880

GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY

LYDIA MOODY was born in 1814 in Fitzwilliam, NH, the daughter of John and Lydia (Humphrey) Moody. She married HENRY BASCOM in the mid-to-late 19th century.  Lydia died in Worcester, MA, on October 31, 1904.