Asa Lyon

Asa Lyon (December 31, 1763 – April 4, 1841) was an American politician. He served as a United States Representative from Vermont.

Asa Lyon
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's At-large district
In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded by	Charles Rich
Succeeded by	Heman Allen
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1799-1802 1804-1806 1808
Personal details
Born	December 31, 1763 Pomfret, Connecticut Colony, British America
Died	April 4, 1841 (aged 77) South Hero, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Federalist
Spouse(s)	Esther Newell Lyon
Children	Esther Lyon, Abigail Lyon and Newell Lyon
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Profession	Politician, Pastor

Biography

Lyon was born in Pomfret in the Connecticut Colony to Jonathan Lyon and Rebecca Maxley Lyon. He attended the common schools. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1790.[1] He was a divinity student with the Reverend Charles Backus in Somers, Connecticut.[2] Lyon was ordained the pastor of the Congregational Church in Sunderland, Massachusetts, in 1792.[3] He moved to South Hero, Vermont, in 1794 where he studied law. Lyon was also a tutor, and among his students was Herman R. Beardsley, who later served as a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court[4]

Lyon was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1799 until 1802, 1804 until 1806 and 1808. He was a member of the Vermont Executive Council in 1808.[5] Lyon was a town representative in Grande Isle from 1810 until 1813.[6] He organized the church in South Hero and served as its first pastor from 1802 until 1840,[7] and as chief judge of Grand Isle County Courts from 1805 until 1809, 1813 and 1814.[8]

He was elected as a Federalist candidate to the Fourteenth United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1815, until March 3, 1817.[9]

Family life

Lyon married Esther Newell Lyon. They had three children, Esther Lyon, Abigail Lyon and Newell Lyon.[10] Lyon was thought to be the second-cousin of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet and lyricist.[11][12]

Death

Lyon died in South Hero on April 4, 1841. He is interred at the Grand Isle Cemetery in Grand Isle, Vermont.[13][14]

References

1. Gilman, Marcus Davis (1897). The bibliography of Vermont. Free press association. pp. 157. asa lyon born in Pomfret, Connecticut.
2. Packard, Theophilus (1854). A history of the churches and ministers: and of Franklin Association, in Franklin County, Mass., and an appendix respecting the county. S.K. Whipple. pp. 374. asa lyon born in Pomfret, Connecticut.
3. Chapman, George Thomas (1867). Sketches of the alumni of Dartmouth college: from the first graduation in 1771 to the present time, with a brief history of the institution. Riverside press. pp. 55. asa lyon born in Pomfret, Connecticut.
4. Sowles, Edward A. (October 21, 1890). Memorial Sketch of Herman R. Beardsley in Proceedings of the Vermont Bar Association. II, 5. Barre, VT: Thomas H. Cave, Book and Job Printer. pp. 310–313.
5. United States Congress (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Government Printing Office. p. 1481.
6. Hemenway, Abby Maria (1871). The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Magazine, Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military, Volume 2. Abby Maria Hemenway. pp. 533. asa lyon Vermont.
7. Lyons, Albert Brown (1905). Lyon Memorial: Massachusetts Families, Including Descendants of the Immigrants William Lyon, of Roxbury, Peter Lyon, of Dorchester, George Lyon, of Dorchester, with Intro. Treating of the English Ancestry of the American Families. W. Graham Print. Company. p. 84.
8. Proctor, Redfield (1894). Men of Vermont: an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont. Transcript publishing company. pp. 142. asa lyon born in Pomfret, Connecticut.
9. "Rep. Asa Lyon". Govtrack.us. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
10. Lyons, Albert Brown (1905). Lyon Memorial: Massachusetts Families, Including Descendants of the Immigrants William Lyon, of Roxbury, Peter Lyon, of Dorchester, George Lyon, of Dorchester, with Intro. Treating of the English Ancestry of the American Families. W. Graham Print. Company. p. 84.
11. Greene, Richard Henry (1897). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 28-29. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 79.
12. Lanman, Charles (1876). Biographical annals of the civil government of the United States: during its first century. From original and official sources. J. Anglim. pp. 267. asa lyon vt representive cousin of obert burns.
13. "Asa Lyon". Find A Grave. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
14. "Lyon, Asa (1763-1841)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 26, 2012.

Further reading

• "A history of the churches and ministers: and of Franklin Association, in Franklin County, Mass" by Theophilus Packard, published by S.K. Whipple, 1854.
• "Men of Vermont: an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont" by Redfield Proctor", published by Transcript publishing company, 1894.

External links

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Asa Lyon at Find a Grave
• Govtrack.us
• The Political Graveyard