Margarita Lydius Symes

Margarita Lydius was born in November 1701. She was the daughter of Johannes and Isabella Rachels Lydius. Her father was the revered domine of the Albany Dutch church. But he died in 1710 and her mother remarried. Her brother was the legendary and notorious frontier trader John Henry Lydius.

In January 1729, she married merchant, mariner, and landholder Lancaster Symes, Jr. of New York at the Albany Dutch church. During the 1730s, the marriage produced three children.

They probably lived in New York although Margarita witnessed the baptism of her niece in Albany in September 1736.

Although her three surviving children were provided for, Margarita Lydius Symes was not mentioned in the will filed by her husband in March 1741. She probably lived for less than forty years.

Sources: The life of Margarita Lydius Symes is CAP biography number 4617. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.