Lydia Longley

Who was Lydia Longley?

Lydia Longley, is known to many as "The First American Nun" after Helen A. McCarthy Sawyer of Groton, Massachusetts published her biographical novel written for Roman Catholic children, The First American Nun, in 1958. The facts surrounding the story of the Longley family are better documented by former Boston mayor, Dr. Samuel A. Green, a noted historian and resident of Groton, whose works included Groton During the Indian Wars and The Town Records of Groton 1662-1678. Mrs. McCarthy donated her research materials for her book to the Groton Historical Society, and a review of them reveals that certain dates and family data for the Longleys stand in contradiction to several of the official records available at the Groton Town Hall and in the Massachusetts State Archives.

Lydia's grandfather William Longley, Sr., first moved to Groton from Lynn, Massachusetts in 1663. The Longleys lived there untouched by the Indians until 1676, when during King Philip's War Lydia's family was forced to flee to Charlestown, a district of Boston. After two years away from their home in Groton, they returned.

The Longley household was a farmstead built on 25 acres in the remote northern part of the small town. Lydia's mother died early in her marriage with Lydia's father, William, Jr., but he quickly remarried, to Deliverance Crispe. The upkeep of the Longley homestead was a team effort. The children helped maintain the cattle and the fields. They received education at home, and the boys did receive some formal education.