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Biography · Civil Rights

Lydia Broadnax

1742–

United States

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Biography

Lydia "Liddy" Broadnax (c. 1742 – c. 1820s) was an American free Black woman, former enslaved person, and businesswoman who lived in Williamsburg and later Richmond, Virginia. Some historians have suggested that Broadnax was a concubine of her former enslaver and later employer, Founding Father George Wythe. She was denied the right to testify in the trial regarding his murder because of her race.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-20

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