After the death of her husband, James, Lydia and her children remained at the farmstead just south of Gettysburg. As the Civil War began, her first son Amos entered the draft in October 1862. He would fight with the 165th Pennsylvania, Company G, as a private. He was discharged the first time on July 28th, 1863 in Gettysburg. After the Civil War, he would marry a fellow Gettysburg citizen, who was Margaret Elizabeth Trostle on October 22, 1868.
They would have seven children in total, but only 4 of them lived past fifteen years old. All of their children are buried with this parents in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg. Most of their children that survived childhood would marry, but not many had children of their own. The only descendants that would come from Amos Leister side of the family would be their 3rd child, James W. Leister. He was born in 1872 and married Ada May Baker. They would have five children together.
Daniel Leister would marry Sarah Ellen Curry (1852-1924) but would have no children together. The last child, Anna, would marry two men, but the last was in 1906 to Samuel Gochaur (1857-1937). They would have no children as well. Hannah Mary Leister would not marry at all. She once lived though at 64 Stevens Street in Gettysburg. The first daughter, Angeline, would marry in 1895 to Charles Clapsaddle (1859-1928) and also would have no children.
Overall, Eliza Jane Leister and Amos Leister would marry and have many children within their own families. These two children of Lydia would continue the descendants of the Leister’s family.
On July 1st, Lydia and her daughters Hannah and Matilda were in the house as a soldier rode from south to north towards Gettysburg. They informed the three woman that they should get their things together and move south, as the fight north of town would bring cannon-fire around their house. Frightened for their lives, the three women escaped to the south towards the George Spangler’s Farm until more soldiers told everyone there to move further south. The reason for moving further south was because of the Union falling back towards Cemetery Ridge and East Cemetery Hill. Lydia was scared that she would lose everything within the house with so many soldiers that she saw arriving into town. Overall though, her main focus was to survive and make sure her younger daughters would survive too.