Fearless Females - The Quaker Life

Lydia Melinda Eccles, my 2nd great grand aunt was born in North Carolina on November 9, 1818.  Her mother, Rachel Huddleston Eccles and her father, John P. Eccles were married in North Carolina.  When her mother married her father, her mother was dismissed from the Quaker church because she married out of union.  

That meant that she married someone who was not a member or the Quaker religion or that she had not received permission from the church to marry or some other unacceptable reason for the church to decline permission.  

When a Quaker man and woman wanted to marry, the parents were first consulted and, if they approved, the couples intentions were announced at the women's meeting and note regarding their proposal was sent to the men's meeting.  A committee was appointed to ascertain the couples "clearness" for marriage.  

I don't know what year Lydia's mother brought the children to Ohio.  Lydia's grandmother and aunts and uncles had already moved to Ohio, when Lydia's father left home.  Lydia's uncle Jonathan walked back to North Carolina to bring the family to Ohio.

Lydia was probably a teenager when she left North Carolina and went to Ohio with her family.  In, Ohio, she married John Hobson Stubbs in Preble County, Ohio.  Later, they moved to nearby Butler County, Ohio.

The Stubbs family were very strong Quakers.  Lydia's sister Mary Louisa also married a member of the Stubbs family. There was a large contingent of Quakers in the Preble and Butler Counties area.  Another large group were in the Richmond, Indiana area.  The two areas were not that far apart.  

John Stubbs had 10 children with his first wife before she died.  After he and Lydia married they had 12 children.  They lived in the West Elkton area and attended the West Elkton monthly meeting.  Their home in Ohio was the Friends parsonage.  The home was on the "Historical Walking Tour of West Elkton, Ohio."   The home harbored slaves moving north.

In 1876, Lydia and John married to Boone County, Indiana.  Lydia's mother moved with them.   In Boone County they attended the Sugar Creek monthly meeting.  

Lydia was a good Quaker during her entire adult life.  She died December 15, 1889.  She is buried beside her husband in the Sugar Creek Friends Cemetery.  Her mother is also buried there.

This is the 1850 Census from Preble County, Ohio.  My 2 Great Grandparents are listed, as well as, 2 of my 2nd Great Grandaunts, and my 3rd Great Grandmother.