Lydia (Smith) Russell (1786-1859)

Born in Boston, she lived for several years in England and France with her brother, Henry. She attended the school of Madame Campan (sister of Edmond-Charles Genet, the first French Ambassador to the United States) at Saint-German-en-Lye along with Hortense de Beauharnais among others. Skilled in drawing and painting, in 1807 she received a Gold Medal from Napoleon for the best copied drawings. In London, she painted under the tutelage of Benjamin West who gave her his palette of colors. In 1817, she became the second wife of Jonathan Russell, who served as the American Chargé d'Affaires in Paris and London, and one of the Commissioners to negotiate peace with Britain to end the War of 1812. They had 4-children together, only one of whom married.