Lydia Moss Bradley

Transformative Leader

Lydia Moss Bradley

Perhaps one of Peoria’s best known women, Lydia Moss Bradley (1816 – 1908) was a savy entrepreneur whose charitable acts were wide-known and varied. Lydia grew up in Vevay, Indiana where she met and married Tobias Bradley. In 1847 Lydia and Tobias moved to Peoria, reputedly because Lydia wanted to live in a state that did not embrace slavery. The Bradleys were abolitionists and attended the Universalist Church. Lydia gave birth to six children, but all six perished before their teen years. She also lost her beloved husband when he was killed in a freakish carriage accident in 1864. Yet, Lydia was not one to wallow in grief; instead she channeled tragedy into empowerment.

From the estate Tobias left her, Lydia built on it, hiring a business manager to advise her and carry out her wishes. She began buying area farmland which she improved and rented to tenant farmers, and she became the first woman to serve on the Board of the First National Bank. Lydia was very charitable to many organizations in Peoria, particularly those that benefitted women, children and families. Lydia Moss Bradley donated property which became the Bradley Home for Aged Women, and she donated 130 acres of land which jump-started the Peoria Park District.

Perhaps, though, her most well-known investment was in young adults and their education. In 1870 Lydia, with guidance from Chicago University President William Harper, created Bradley Polytechnic Institute whose charter guaranteed, among many things, that it would always be co-educational. Since its opening in 1897, Bradley University has continued to uphold the Lydia Moss Bradley ideals of creating intellectual women and men whose lives could benefit humanity. Today Bradley University remains the perfect tribute to Lydia and her family.

Unknown Artist

Title Unknown

Print of Photograph

Courtesy of Bradley University’s Special Collections