Lydia Odell Baxter

BAXTER, Lydia (née Odell) (the History of Ontario County, New York cites her sister’s name as Mary Odell). b. Petersburg, New York, 2 September 1809; d. New York, 22 June 1874. Baxter became a Christian after hearing the preaching of Baptist missionary Eben Tucker. She helped to establish the Baptist Church in Petersburg, and upon marriage moved to New York City. There her home was always a local base for various preachers and evangelists, even though she was an invalid for much of her adult life. Some of her devotional poetry was published as Gems by the Wayside (1855). JJ, p.118, lists nine of Baxter’s hymns. Five were included in Ira D. Sankey*’s Sacred Songs and Solos: ‘Go, work in my...