Does anyone know the parents of William Lyon?

Question

Hello! I was wondering if anyone knew who the parents of William Lyon were. I couldn't find any good sources online, so I was wondering if you guys did. Thanks.

Answer 1

You can find plenty of books that claim to know who his parents were (and websites that enthusiastically republish those claims). Those books typically extend his lineage back to Magna Carta barons and probably to royalty, too. However, there is a serious lack of evidence to support those claims. I think that the popular version of his ancestry may have been fabricated by Albert Welles, who made money creating aristocratic pedigrees for Americans who paid generously for aristocratic ancestry. (See Category: Albert Welles Fraud.)

Answer 2

As the PGM Project has been unable to work out who the parents were, it is possible they will never be found.

Answer 3

William Lyon, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975  Christening Date: 01 Feb 1621 at Boston, Lincoln, England Father's Name: Robert Lyon

Familysearch.org

Comments

That's interesting. Too bad we don't have something else to confirm that this William was the immigrant.

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Interesting indeed. I see that FamilySearch also has a Willm Lyon, son of Henrye, baptized at Little Ouseburn, York, England, on 25 February 1621. So there were at least two William Lyons baptized in England in that same month, and no recorded information that would help us determine which of these (if either) was the immigrant, or if the immigrant was some other William whose baptism isn't in the records we've been able to discover.

The widely circulated version of his origins has him as the son of William Lyon and Ann Carter Lyon, with baptism at Heston (now in Greater London), England, on 23 December 1620. That baptism hasn't been found in the records in FamilySearch or FindMyPast.

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I found several other statements online that this record isn't in FindMyPast but it was easy enough to find here: FindMyPast

In case the link doesn't work here's a transcription:

First name(s)    William

Last name    Lions

Baptism year    1621

Baptism date    23 Dec 1621

Parish    Heston, St Leonard

Relationship    Son

Father's first name(s)    William

Mother's first name(s)    Ann

County    Middlesex

Record set    Middlesex Baptisms

Category    Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records

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Thanks! I guess I falsely accused Albert Welles of fabricating that baptism.   The location, date and names match the claims, except for the one-year discrepancy.

There is, however, still no evidence for associating that baptism record with the William Lyon who emigrated.

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Given the naming conventions of the time I'd guess that his father was called John as that was the name of his eldest son. His second son Thomas was named after his wife's father.

He's after Isack Heath from Hertfordshire (as were several other passengers) in the passenger list so if there was a connection between them he's most likely from there.

Answer 4

Robert Charles Anderson did an outstanding compendium of Puritan Great Migration migrants about 2005. He (I suppose his team) reviewed published material, analyzed, etc. They couldn't find verified parents for William, so at the moment, his parents remain Unknown.