Lydia Swan was born September 4, 1834 in Smithfield, Rhode Island to William and Eliza Paine Swan. She married Robert McArthur on May 18, 1861. The McArthurs moved all over southern New England and New Jersey while Robert worked his way up in textile mills. They moved to Biddeford in 1887, when he took the position of agent for the Laconia and Pepperell Mills. Lydia McArthur had four children: George, Walter, Lena, and Jane; the whole family undertook works of philanthropy in the city and were members of the Unitarian Church. This photograph may have been a wedding portrait, as it was taken in 1861.