Henry Lyon (abt. 1623 - 1703)

Born about Apr 1623 in Perthshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Bateman) Lyon — married 4 May 1652 in Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 23 Mar 1703 at about age 79 in Newark, Essex, New Jersey

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Biography

According to Burke's American Families, Henry was "said to be one of the Lyons of Glen Lyon, Perthshire." He and brothers Richard and Thomas were soldiers in Oliver Cromwell's army and were present at the execution of King Charles I on 30 Jan. 1649 -- and sailed for America immediately thereafter.^[1]

Henry is first recorded in America on 25 Feb. 1649, when he was admitted to the church in Milford, New Haven Colony. He relocated to Fairfield in 1654.^[2]

Note: To have taken passage from England and settled at an interior destination in America in under a month is perhaps questionable. There is an ambiguity in Barbour's dating of the church admission: " Feb.25, [1648]". That would suggest that the original entry or context was 1648, emended from 1647 (OS). "Immediately after the regiscide they fled to America", according to Lyon Memorial, but there was no reason to flee at that time.^[3]

Marriage and Children

He married (1) Elizabeth Bateman, by 1653.^[4][5][6]

He married (2) Mary Canfield in 1689/90.^[6][3] Mary is named in his will. Henry re-married to Mary Canfield. Mary is the wife named in Henry Lyon's will of Feb 1701/2. His will also refers to two children born to this second wife Mary. ^[7] Mary's father Mathew Canfield Camfield-3 will calls Henry "Lion" "brother" and as one of this executors.

Children of Henry and Elizabeth (Bateman) Lyon:^[3]

1. Thomas; b. 1652-3, Fairfield, Conn.
2. Mary; b. 1654-5, Fairfield, Conn.
3. Samuel; b. 1655-6, Fairfield, Conn.
4. Joseph; b. 1658-60, Fairfield, Conn.
5. Nathaniel; b. 1663-4, Fairfield, Conn.
6. John; b. 1665-6, Fairfield, Conn.
7. Benjamin; b. 1668. Newark, N. J.
8. Ebenezer; b. 1670, Newark, N. J.

Children of Henry and Mary (Canfield) Lyon:

1. Mary; b. 1690-91, Elizabethtown, N. J.
2. Dorcas; b. 1692-3, Elizabethtown, N. J.

"No record has been found of the descendants of Mary and Dorcas, who were minors in 1703... " Note: Daughter Alice appears to be erroneous.

New Jersey

In 1666 he joined a group from Milford who migrated to New Jersey where they founded the city of Newark. The strict Puritans of New Haven were dissatisfied with the more liberal, though still Puritan, regime put in place when their colony was merged with Connecticut in 1664.^[8]

Henry was appointed the first treasurer of Newark and served for five years. He was also chosen to "keep an Ordinary", an inn, "for the entertainment of Travellers and Strangers." He was expected not only to run the business but also to supervise the visitors who "were not all God-fearing men of peace."^[3]

He also acquired property in neighboring Elizabethtown. According to Hatfield's History of Elizabeth (pp. 163-4):^[6]

Shortly before the Dutch conquest [in Aug. 1673], he became one of the Associates [freeholders] of this town, where he ranked among the leading men of the place. His was the largest annual subscription to the support of the Rev. John Harriman*, of whose church he was a member. He was appointed Justice of the Peace, Aug. 1681; also, Feb. 28, one of the Council [upper legislative chamber, 229]; also, Feb. 4, one of the Judges of Small Causes, the commission being renewed. May 1, 1686. He was a merchant, and of quite extensive business.

• His pledge of £3,5 was one of only four at £3 or more out of over 120 contributing. The average (median) was 1/2 pound.

He signed an oath of allegiance to the Dutch during their year of occupation, as did most of the other freeholders (159).

In 1673 and 1676 he was granted three tracts in Elizabethtown, in an area which came to be known as Lyons Farms, now part of Hillside, NJ.^[3][9]

Death

Henry died between 9 Feb. 1703 when he signed his will and 9 April when it was probated.

Last Will

"Whereas I, Henry Lyon, Senior of Newark, in ye provence of East New Jersey being weak in body yet of good understanding and memory — Do make this my Last Will & Testament in manner and form following: I bequeath my Soul into ye hands of Almighty God hoping for Salvation from ye Riches of his grace by ye atonement of Jesus Christ & through faith in his blood. Also I commit my body to the Earth Decently to be buried & there to Rest untill the Resurrection of ye Just. And for my Worldly Estate bothe Real & personal I dispose of as followeth — "Imprimis: I will & bequeath to my Loving Wife Mary Lyon Eighty pounds & I give unto my two Daughters Dorcas & Mary Lyon to each of them Eighty pounds & also my will is yt my house & other buildings & Land & Meadow in Newark shall be kept for ye bringing up of my Daughters Dorcas & Mary Lyon untill they be eighteen years of age & Also my will is yt my wife Mary Lyon & my Daughters Dorcas & Mary Lyon shall pay unto my four sons (viz.) Samll Lyon, Joseph Lyon, Benjamin Lyon and Ebenezer Lyon twenty pounds out of my living in Newark when my Daughters Dorcas & Mary Lyon shall be eighteen years of age, & if my wife Mary Lyon do leave this house then my two Daughters afore'sd shall repay unto my wife what she payd of ye sd twenty pounds unto my four sons afore'sd. 2ndly, My will is & I do will & bequeath unto my two Daughters Dorcas & Mary Lyon to them their heirs & assigns for Ever my house Land & Meadow in Newark after my wife's decease. 3 My will is yt if any one of my Daughters Dorcas or Mary Lyon shall dy before they come of age to enjoy ye aforesd Legacy of Eighty pounds & other things belonging to them my will is yt ye surviving Daughter shall enjoy it. 4 I will & bequeath to my Grandchild John Ward twenty shillings, unto my Daughter Elizabeth Lyon relect of my son Thomas, to her & her children twenty shillings. Also I give to my Daughter Mary Lyon, Alias Potter, Relect of my son Nathaniel Lyon to her & her children five shillings. 5 My will is & I do will & bequeath unto my son Samuel Lyon a double portion of ye twentie pounds yt to be payd out of this my living in Newark. 6 My will is & I do will & bequeath to my Grand-Children Mary & Elizabeth Lyon Daughters of my son Nathaniel Lyon of Elizabethtown, to them & their heirs & assigns for Ever a certain piece or parcell of upland in Elizabethtown at my farm being in length forty rodds & in breadth twenty rodds containing five acres to be more or less bounded by a highway S. East; S. West by Nathaniel Lyon's land partly & partly by ye orchard & N. E. by Joseph Lyon as also one half of my orchard it is now already divided by Estimation being one acre & one rodd be it more or less bounded N. West by Joseph Lyon & S. West by highway & S. East by Nathaniel Lyon & N. East.. five acres aforesd & I give my son Joseph Lyon of Elizabethtown to him & his heirs & assigns for Ever free Egres & Regres into ye well of water in Sd Land and I give unto my Grand Children aforesd ye Daughters of my son Nathaniel Lyon a piece of meadow by ye bound Creek. Beginning at a stake standing by said Creek from thence running South West to ye upland to a stake. Thence along ye upland thirty two rodds to a stake, from thence Bast half a point Northerly to sd bound Creek, bounded N. West & S. East by Benjamin Lyon, N. East by ye bound Creek, South West by Joseph Lyon and one more acre of meadow beginning at a stake by ye bound Creek from thence running twelve rodds Southerly from ye stake running fourteen rodds Easterly from thence to ye bound Creek to ye first mentioned place and if there be any crop of corn or grain upon ye land at my decease my will is yt it shall return unto my wife, she paying rent for ye land after my decease. 7th My will is yt funerall charges just debts being payd & also all those Legacye's before named yt then a true estimation being made of ye Remainder of my estate my will is yt my wife Mary Lyon, my sons Samll Lyon, Joseph Lyon, Benjamin Lyon, Ebenezer Lyon & my Daughters Dorcas Lyon & Mary Lyon shall have each of them an equal part. 8 My will is yt my Loving wife Mary Lyon shall be sole executrix of this my Last will & Testament. 9 My will is & do desire my loving friend Mr. John Treat & my son Benjamin Lyon to be overseers of this my Last Will & testament & I desire them to be assistants to my wife in gathering any debts also in paying debts where they are justly due. dated this ninth day of February, 1702 alias 3 and in ye first year of ye Reign of our Sovereign Lady Anne &c Queen &c. Signed & sealed in ye presence of us Joseph Johnson, Abraham Pierson, Zopher Beach. Zopher Beach & Abraham Pierson, two of ye subscribing witnesses ...Jurat nono die aprilis Anno Dom. 1703. Coram me, Thomas Gordon (Ex.) " Liber H. of Deeds, folio 140 &c. Office of Sec. of State, Trenton, New Jersey.

Research Notes

Died age 84 years. [Source? Not stated in will. Not consistent with dates in the profile.]

Arrived about 1630, with about 1000 other Puritans to form THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY.^{[citation needed]}

First Treasurer of the city of Newark, Essex, New Jersey, in 1667. Held many more posts. Also, Newark's first tavern keeper. See "Lion Memorial" for a very descriptive account of Henry Lion.

Lyon, Henry was Admitted to Milford Church (Conn.) 25 Feb. 1648/9; dismissed to Fairfield; where he was granted a home lot, 1652. He m. the only "living" daughter of William Bateman. Was executor in his father-in-law's will. Very well respected by all. He entered for record at Fairfield, Connecticut, 9 Feb. 1655 [1655/6], land purchased of Richard Lyon, a house purchased of William Bateman, and land given him by the latter. He moved to Newark, N.J. Owned land in both Newark and Elizabethtown

Y-DNA testing notes that he and Richard Lyon are brothers and sons of Richard Lyon, of Middlesex, England.^{[citation needed]}

Another theory: "Possibly" born at Glen Lyon, Scotland but may also have been at Heston, Middlesex, England - see Lyon memorial. Henry's gravestone was discovered in the earliest burial ground of Newark, NJ and it reads died 23 Mar 1707 aged 84 at Milford Connecticut 1639, Fairfield 1652, Newark, NJ 1666, Elizabethtown 1673. br other Thomas and perhaps Richard.

John Ward, Jr., son of John Ward, Sen'r, and Sarah married first (Mary?) Lyon, daughter of Henry Lyon. John Ward, Jr., was born April 10, 1650 in Branford, Connecticut and died May 5, 1695 in Newark, New Jersey.^[10]

HENRY LYON, one of the Lyons of Glen Lyon In Perthshire, Scotland, came to the Colonies with his two brothers, Thomas and Richard Lyon, in 1649. ?

These three Scotch soldiers in Cromwell's army were on guard before the Banqueting House at Whitehall, Jan. 31, 1649, and witnessed the execution of King Charles I. Immediately after the regicide, they fled to America. Henry Lyon went to Milford, Conn., where he is first on record, Feb. 24, 1649, when he was admitted to Milford Church. He married in 1652, Elizabeth, daughter of William Bateman, of Fairfield, Conn., and was granted a home lot there. May 28, 1654, he was dismissed from Fairfield to Milford Church. In 1666 he came to Newark, N. J., he kept a tavern, was the town treasurer, and was one of its founders, with the Milford Colonists. Henry Lyon was brother to Thomas (1622) and Richard (1624) Lyon. Ref History of Union Co, NJ. [Beryl Meehan (#48054380)] This paragraph is from Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 03 December 2020), memorial page for Henry Lyon (1619–23 Mar 1707), Find A Grave: Memorial #12949976, citing Fairmount Cemetery, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by 5BuckClan (contributor 47494330) .

From Lyon Memorial "...Henry Lyon went to Milford, Conn., where he is first on record, Feb. 24, 1649, when he was admitted to Milford Church. He married in 1652, Elizabeth, daughter of William Bateman, of Fairfield, Conn., and was granted a home lot there. May 28, 1654, he was dismissed from Fairfield to Milford Church. In 1666 he came to Newark, N. J., as one of its founders, with the Milford Colonists.

At Newark he was the first Treasurer and first Keeper of the Ordinary. In 1673-4 he removed to Elizabethtown, where he was a large land owner and a merchant of extensive interests. Nov. 5, 1675, he was a Member of the General Assembly. August 11, 1681 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, in the Colonial period equivalent to Judge of the Supreme Court. February 4, 1861, he was Judge of the Small Causes; February 28, 1681, a Member of the Governor's Council; December, 1682, Commissioner; November 26, 1684, Representative in the Council of the Governor, etc., etc. Among his lands was 100 acres of upland, since known as Lyons Farms. He married

a second wife, Mary Canfiedl, about 1689-90. Returned to Newark,

1696, and died there in 1703.

Sources

1. ↑ Burke's American Families with British Ancestry (Excerpted from Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 16th Edition, 1939; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1975), p. 2799 Ancestry.com.
2. ↑ White, Lorraine Cook, ed., Barbour collection of Connecticut town vital records (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1994-2002), Milford, p. 100; Gen. Pub. edn., p. 114. AmericanAncestors.org; Ancestry.com.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Lyon, Sidney Elizabeth, et. al, Lyon Memorial: Families of Connecticut and New Jersey (Detroit, MI: William Graham Printing Co., 1907), pp. 55, 58, 73-75, 80; Archive.org.
4. ↑ Torrey, Clarence A., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985), p.481; Ancestry.com.
5. ↑ Torrey, Clarence A., New England Marriages prior to 1700 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 2:982; AmercanAncestors.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Hatfield, Edwin F., History of Elizabeth, New Jersey, including the Early History of Union County (New York: Carlton & Lanahan, 1869; Carlisle, MA: Applewood Books, n.d.), pp. 163-4, etc.; Archive.org.
7. ↑ New Jersey Archives, Unrecorded Wills, Book 4, 273-4, Book 5, 233-4.
8. ↑ WikiTree: New-Ark Settlement.
9. ↑ Lyons Farms historical maps, Hillside (NJ) Historical Society (Homepage); Lyons Farms map.
10. ↑ Genealogies of New Jersey Families From the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, pg. 987

• Will Source: Liber H. of Deeds, folio 140 &c. Office of Sec. of State, Trenton, New Jersey.

[1] Family Data Collection Births about Henry Lyon (Father: Richard)

• [2] International Genealogical Index (IGI)-Birth about Henry Lyon (Father: Richard)

• [3] Millennium File about Henry Lyon

• [4] New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890 about Henry Lyon

• [5] U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about Henry Lyon

• [6] U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 about Henry Lyon

• [7] The Old Newark Burying Ground-Tombstone Inscription

• [8] England Marriages, 1538–1973-Childwall,Lancashire,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 0844821 IT 2, 93694 (Marriage of Henry's parents)

• [9] History of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, N.J

• [10] Lyon Memorial - Families of Connecticut and New Jersey

• David Dobson, The Original Scots Colonisits of Early America Suppliment 1607-1707, Genealogical Publishing Co Inc, 1998, 97-77224.

• Francis Bazley Lee. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey - Volume 1, Lewis Historical Publishing Co, New York, 1910

• [11]Hatcher, Patricia Law, Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Ancestry.com Operations Inc

• [12]J Percy Crayton, Rockaway Records of Morris County NJ Families, Rockaway Publishing Co 1902

• [13] Jonathan F Stearn DD, Historical Discourses. Relating to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark, Daily Advertiser Office 1853

• [14] Rev Edwin F Hatfield DD, History of Elizabeth New Jersey including the Early History of Union County, Carlton & Lanahan, New York, 1868

• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Study Project, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 2003, The Great Migration - Immigrant to New England 1634-1635 Vol I A-B

• [15] State of New Jersey, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey Volume XXII, The Press Printing and Publishing Co, 269 Main St, Patterson, NJ 1900

Trees

• http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=18704240&pid=259

Acknowledgements

• This person was created on 06 March 2011 through the import of 2011-03-05 Smith Tree.ged.

• WikiTree profile Lyon-251 created through the import of Murdock _ WarrenFamilies.ged on May 29, 2011 by Jerry Murdock. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Jerry and others.

• WikiTree profile Lyon-505 created through the import of Keller-Freeland-Ferris Family .ged on Feb 27, 2012 by Elizabeth Tapia. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Elizabeth and others.

• Robin Fowler

• Nalani Marie Kupau Briggs Tuesday, June 3, 2014.