LYDIA ANN LAKE
Lydia Ann Lake was born on May 13, 1832 at Camden, Ontario, Canada to James Lake and Philomelia Smith. She was the 15th great-granddaughter of England's King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. Her father, Bishop Lake, was appointed captain of a company of fifty wagons for the crossing of the plains by the Mormon Saints. Her mother, Philomelia Smith, was a cousin of Joseph Smith.
During their trek across the plains, Lydia Ann did not pay any attention to a young man, Price Williams Nelson, until he swam the Green River and saved two women. Lydia Ann wanted to get to know him, and this relationship changed into a romance. She married Price Williams Nelson on December 31, 1850 at the old fort at Ogden, Utah.
Lydia Ann's family moved many times during their 52 years of life together. She bore thirteen children, only two of whom died, one girl, Philomelia, less than a month old and Thomas before he was six.
Lydia was small, she was the same height as her granddaughter at thirteen, five feet two inches tall. After her husband died, Lydia Ann went to live with her oldest son, Edmond, in Eagar, Apache County, Arizona. She died in Eagar on January 14, 1924 at the age of 91.