Lydia (Knapp) Dickinson
Bainbridge Republican, April 23, 1880
A Belle of Former Days
Mrs. Lydia Dickinson, wife of the late Daniel S. Dickinson, has for weeks past been lying dangerously ill at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Samuel J. Courtney, at High Bridge. She was born in June, 1803, in the township of Unadilla [Otsego Co., NY]. Her father, Dr. Colby Knapp, was a leading citizen of Southern new York, and founder of the village of Knappsburg, in Chenango county, twelve miles from Unadilla. In her girlhood, Mrs. Dickinson attended the well known Oxford Academy, at Oxford, N.Y., where, among her fellow pupils, were Horatio Seymour and Ward Hunt, afterward judge of the Court of Appeals. Daniel S. Dickinson, then unknown to fame, was a rising young wool-dresser, who, tho' he had never gone to school more than two weeks in his life, was ambitious of doing something better. He fell in love with Lydia and married her, she being then 19 and he 22. Woman like, she was quick to discover her husband's talents, and urged him by every means in her power to persevere in his law studies, and fit himself for a high position in life. The Rev. Mr. Garvin, of Guilford, was Dickinson's tutor, and taught him Latin and surveying, and other branches, in the evening, Dickinson working patiently at his law books in the daytime. In winter, he taught school to pay the expenses of his education. For seven years he labored, cheered and encouraged by smiles of his young wife, until at last, in 1829, he was admitted to the bar of Chenango county. Three years later he removed to Binghamton, where he speedily outdistanced other competitors, and became the acknowledged leader of the bar in the southern counties. His fame quickly spread to New York and Albany, and in half a dozen years he served successfully as State Senator, judge of the Court of Errors, Presidential elector, and Lieutenant Governor of the State. In 1844 Governor Bouck appointed him to fill an unexpired term in the United States Senate, and in the year following he was elected by the Legislature for the full term of six years.
Mrs. Dickinson entered heartily into all her husband's projects, and rejoiced as became a devoted wife at his unexampled advancement. She accompanied him to Washington and took a prominent part in the social life of the capitol. Their summers were passed at the Senator's home on the outskirts of Binghamton. Mrs. Dickinson's fame as a hostess was wide spread, and the mansion and grounds on the banks of the Chenango were the constant resort of distinguished guests from all parts of the country and from Europe.
In person, Mrs. Dickinson was tall and slender, with dark blue eyes, dark brown hair, and gentle manners. Tho' naturally of a modest and retiring disposition, she possessed great spirit and determination, and which shone forth in times of trial and emergency. Years after Mr. Dickinson had attained his fame, he visited the little academy at Oxford where his wife had been educated. To the assembled magnates of this village who came to greet him, he said, "That tho' he had never studied at their institution, he had carried off its greatest prize." Five days before his death, when he was 66 years old, and his wife 63, he penned a poetical tribute to her, entitled, "To Lydia," three verses of which are as follows:
"We started hand in hand to tread
The chequered, changeful path of life,
And with each other, trusting tread
The battlefields of worldly strife.
"No change of life, no change of scene,
No fevered dreams, no cankering cares,
No hopes which are, or e'er have been,
Nor wrinkled brow, nor silver hair,
"Have ever changed that vow of youth,
Or blotted it from memory's page,
But warm as love and pure as truth,
It ripens with the frost of Age."
New York Times
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Funeral Services
Chenango Union, April 15, 1880
The widow of Daniel S. Dickinson, a brief sketch of whom we published last week, died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Courtney in New York, on Thursday morning last, and her remains were taken to Binghamton, her former home, where funeral services were held on Saturday. From the Republican of Monday we copy an account of the funeral. Deceased, it will be remembered was for many years a resident of Guilford, this County [Chenango], and her daughter, Virginia, alluded to, was at one time a resident of Norwich, the wife of Henry K. Murray, and died here upwards of thirty years ago.
The funeral services of the late Mrs. Lydia Dickinson were conducted Saturday afternoon at Christ Church, which was well filled with friends and former neighbors of the deceased. Among relatives from a distance beside the immediate members of the family, were Mr. Andrew Dickinson and daughter of Guilford, Mrs. George Cook, of Afton, and Mrs. W.R. Mygatt, of Oxford. Mrs. Mygatt, the younger daughter of Mrs. Dickinson, was too much prostrated by the trying scenes through which she had passed to admit of her taking the sad journey here with her sister, Mrs. Courtney. Mr. D.S. Dickinson, the grandson of the decease, whose severe illness has been referred to, was also unable to be present. The floral tributes were beautiful and appropriate. the baptismal font was filled with choice flowers; and the casket was adorned with carnations, a lovely anchor, and basket of flowers, sheaf of wheat and violets.
In the midst of the service Miss Stoppard sang "Oh, Paradise," a favorite with Mrs. Dickinson, with such sweetness and pathos that it drew tears from almost every eye. The burial service of the episcopal church was read by the Rev. Robert Granger of the Church of the Good Shepherd; and the remains were taken to the family plot in Spring Forest cemetery, accompanied by many sympathizing friends. The bearers were Hon. B.N. Loomis, Dr. George Burr, Alfred J. Evans, Robert S. Bartlett, G.L. Sessions, A.D. Armstrong, D.S. Richards and C.W. Sears.
The deceased lady was laid tenderly to rest between her daughter Virginia and the beloved and honored companion of her early and mature life. In the Catholic Church yesterday morning, the venerable Father Hourigan paid a most feeling and touching tribute to the virtues of Mrs. Dickinson who was long his valued friend. He was deeply and visibly affected, and after referring to the noble qualities of her husband, he said in substance: "Yesterday when I stood over that honored grave and saw the companion of him I had known so well, laid away in the cold earth, a tear stood in my eye. I had known her for years as a woman of the most beautiful temperament and pure character. A harsh word was unknown to her, and she would not say anything that would bring sorrow into the remotest life. She was kind and charitable, and as a Christian woman was ever faithful to the church. She was a fond wife and a loving companion to him who has stood honored and reverenced by his country. She was refined in character and possessed the rare qualities of a woman born to a holy and undying purpose."
In the West Presbyterian church last evening, the Rev. Mr. Dunham made a beautiful allusion to the happy Christian life and said her peaceful death was the natural sequence of such a life.
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