Matthew Lyon Jr.1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 1135, (1791 - 1839)
FatherMatthew Lyon4,5,6 (14 Jul 1749 - 1 Aug 1822)
MotherBeulah Chittenden4,5,6 (15 May 1764 - 6 Feb 1824)

Key Events:

Birth: 18 Apr 1791, Fair Haven, Rutland Co., Vermont7,8,9
Marriage: 15 Jan 1821, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, Elizabeth Maria Martin (19 Jul 1799 - 19 Jun 1844)10,11
Death: 27 Jan 1839, Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky12,13
Burial: Riverview Cemetery, Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky14

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     Matthew Lyon Jr. was born on 18 Apr 1791 in Fair Haven, Rutland Co., Vermont.7,8,9
     He was part of the second party his father lead moving from Vermont to Eddyville, Kentucky. They traveled by wagon to western Pennsylvania, where they boarded flatbed boats and floated down the Ohio River to the Cumberland River to their new home, arriving 15 Jun 1801.15,16,17 Matthew appeared on the 1820 Federal Census of Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, with a household consisting of one white male between 26 and 45 (himself), and two male and three female slaves.2
     Matthew married Elizabeth Maria Martin on 15 Jan 1821 in Caldwell Co., Kentucky.10,11 He was named an executor in the will of his sister Aurelia, dated 15 Sep 1821.18
     Matthew was living within two miles of his brother Chittenden, in Eddyville, Kentucky, who described him in 1828 as "is doing very well, in fact getting rich, for he minds the main chance and dabbles but little in politics."19
     Matthew appeared on the 1830 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., Kentucky, with a household consisting of two white males under age 5 (son Matthew and another), one between 15 and 20 (unknown), and one between 30 and 40 (himself); one female between 5 and 10, two between 15 and 20 (one of them perhaps daughter Aurelia), and one between 30 and 40 (Elizabeth Maria Martin); and seven male and five female slaves.20
     Matthew was named an executor in the will of his brother Chittenden, dated 16 Nov 1833.21
     Matthew served in the Kentucky state Senate from 1834 to 1837.22,23
     Matthew left a will dated 22 Dec 1834, in which he named his wife, Elizabeth Maria Martin as executrix, and made her and the five children, Aurelia, Martin, Jackson, Matthew Martin and Mary Ann, joint heirs to everything he owned, after paying his debts, "which are few in number and of no great amount." He recommended that his wife seek advice from his brother, Chittenden, her brother, his friend Caleb Clark Cobb, and "our nephew" Frederick Henry Skinner, asking the latter to extend to his children "protection, love, and solicitude for their welfare."24
     Matthew died on 27 Jan 1839 in Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, at age 47.12,13 He was buried in Riverview Cemetery, Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.14
     His will was proved on 18 Feb 1839 in Caldwell Co., Kentucky, Court, despite the fact that it was not witnessed, after his brother Chittenden, Hugh M. Racken, and J. W. Marshall testified that it was in his handwriting, and had his signature on it.24
     
Research Note, 31 Aug 2005:

There's confusion about two sons of the sons of Matthew Lyon Jr., Martin Lyon and Matthew Martin Lyon. The father lists them both in his will, written in 1834. But I find only one, listed as M. M. Lyon, living with his aunt and her husband, in the 1850 census. Likewise only one is found in 1860 and 1870, listed as Mathew M. in 1860 and Martin M. in 1870, both being the same person, judging by the wife and children listed. There is a Mathew Martin Lyon found in the cemetery in Eddyville. Based on the will, I will assume that there were originally two sons, and one either died young or moved from the area by 1850.24,25,26,27,28


Research Note, 14 Oct 2008:

May is placed as the daughter of Matthew Lyon Jr. and Elizabeth Maria Martin on the slimmest of evidence. She is found in the household of their niece, Helen M. (Lyon) Shelby and her husband, with her mother, the widow of Matthew's brother Chittenden, and Mary A. Lyon who appears to be the daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth by that name. May does not appear in the Codicil to his wil that Chittenden wrote in Jun 1839, so would not appear to be his daughter. Since Matthew and Elizabeth are dead by 1850 and their younger children placed with various relatives (the two sons being next door in their uncle's household), it would appear that she is an otherwise unknown daughter of them.29

Children:
     Children with Elizabeth Maria Martin:

  • Aurelia Lyon30
  • Martin Lyon31
  • Jackson Lyon31
  • Matthew Martin Lyon32 (4 Oct 1825 - 1892)
  • Mary Ann Lyon30 (abt 1834 - )
  • Gen. Hylan Benton Lyon33 (22 Feb 1836 - 25 Apr 1907)
  • May Lyon34 (abt 1838 - )

Citations

  1. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, A:392, Aurelia Skinner will, 15 Sep 1821, shows name as Mathew Lyon Jr.
  2. [S1796] Mathew Lyon Jr. household, 1840 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  3. [S826] Lyon letter to Witherell, 5 Apr 1828, shows name as Matthew.
  4. [S826] Lyon letter to Witherell, 5 Apr 1828, shows as his brother.
  5. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, B:57-9, Chittenden Lyon Will, 21 Nov 1842, shows him as his brother.
  6. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 858.
  7. [S49] Freeman, Family File "David and Deborah.GED," 31 Jul 1998, shows date, with year as 1791, and state.
  8. [S1796] Mathew Lyon Jr. household, 1840 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows age between 26 and 45.
  9. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #6549989, Matthew Lyon, Jr, shows date, with year as 1792, town, county, and state.
  10. [S892] "Kentucky Marriages to 1850," Ancestry.com, record for Matthew Lyon, Jr. and Elizabeth M. Martin, shows date, county, and state.
  11. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 858, shows married.
  12. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #6549989, Matthew Lyon, Jr, shows date, town, county, as Lyon, and state.
  13. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 858, shows year.
  14. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #6549989, Matthew Lyon, Jr.
  15. [S1952] Walker, Profiles of the Past, pg 29.
  16. [S2385] Matthew Lyon letter to Jefferson, 12 Aug 1801, shows date he and the family arrived in Eddyville.
  17. [S686] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, online, record for Lyon, Matthew, (1749 - 1822), shows he moved to Kentucky in 1801 and settled in Caldwell (now Lyon) County.
  18. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, A:392, Aurelia Skinner will, 15 Sep 1821.
  19. [S826] Lyon letter to Witherell, 5 Apr 1828.
  20. [S1985] M. Lyon household, 1830 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  21. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, B:57-9, Chittenden Lyon Will, 21 Nov 1842.
  22. [S4556] Collins and Collins, Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky, 2:773, shows years.
  23. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 858, shows he served.
  24. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, B:30-1, Mathew Lyon Will, 18 Feb 1839.
  25. [S1827] F. H. Skinner household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  26. [S1812] Mathew M. Lyon household, 1860 U.S. Census, Lyon Co., Kentucky.
  27. [S1807] Martin M. Lyon household, 1870 U.S. Census, Lyon Co., Kentucky.
  28. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #6550026, Matthew Martin Lyon.
  29. [S1992] C. M. Shelby household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows a household consisting of C. M. Shelby, apparently the husband of Helen; Helen M. Shelby, apparently the daughter Helen of Chittenden Lyon and Francis B. Jones; Francis B. Lyon, Helen's mother; Thompson A. Lyon, Francis' son; Mary A. Lyon, who is too young to be Francis' daughter by that name, so must be her neice, daughter of Matthew Lyon Jr. and Elizabeht Martin; and May Lyon, who is too young to be Chittenden's daughter.
  30. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, B:30-1, Mathew Lyon Will, 18 Feb 1839, lists her as one of his five children.
  31. [S875] Wills, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, B:30-1, Mathew Lyon Will, 18 Feb 1839, lists him as one of his five children.
  32. [S736] Cresap and Cresap, History of the Cresaps, pg 360.
  33. [S49] Freeman, Family File "David and Deborah.GED," 31 Jul 1998.
  34. [S1992] C. M. Shelby household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows May in the household of her supposed cousin and her husband, with her older sister Mary Ann.