The Lyon Family of Martin County, Indiana
Early Lyon Settlers of Southwestern Indiana
Joel Campbell Lyon (1853-1915)
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by Carolyn Ann Howard
This post was updated 30 Apr 2022
Joel Campbell Lyon was a pioneer in every sense of
the word, being an early settler of an area in Brown Township, Martin County, Indiana, that
was called Goldsberry Hollow or holler. This land is now a part of
Naval Surface Warfare Center -- Crane Division, Indiana. Click on photos to enlarge.
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| Joel Campbell Lyon Photo courtesy Marilyn Lyon (1931-2017) I was so proud to have called her my friend |
He came from Snufftown, now called Stockholm, Sussex County, New Jersey, as a boy along with his parents, Alanson and Elizabeth Grimstead Lyon, his brothers and sisters. The call of the west at that time, 1867, was strong among the people of the eastern United States. Land purchased from the government was plentiful and cheap.
Unlike many pioneers, who had 40 acres, Alanson Lyon had 280, which he purchased not from the government but from Vancleve Swayze. It was first thought that he bought this land for $10/acre. New information tells us that Alanson Lyon traded his land in New Jersey to Vancleve Swayze for the 280 in Martin County, IN.
This Swayze also was originally from Sussex County, New Jersey, but died in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. According to author Beth Willis, just a few years later, 1878, this same land was foreclosed upon and, in a sheriff's sale, sold to Oliver Reed.
The original deed between Swayze and Lyon was expertly transcribed by Kaye Seeley in 2013 and is here. Opens in a new window.
Combing through the 1880 census, I noticed the name of Alanson Lyon's neighbor, John Drake Swayze. He also was from Sussex County, New Jersey, as was his family. In fact, anyone with the last name of Swayze on the 1880 Brown Township federal census was from Sussex County. So we know that the Lyon family and the Swayze family are somehow entwined.
In the 1880 Brown Township census, we have 3 families from New Jersey: The Lyon family, the Swayze family and the Flummerfelt family. All were born in Sussex County. Also born in Sussex County was George Lundy, but he came to Martin County prior to 1840; therefore, he was the first New Jerseyan and might be the key to discovering why the other 3 families came to Indiana in the first place.
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| Lyon Coat of Arms Attribute below |
This same handwritten account also stated that Joel killed his third wife, Adaline Cannon Lyon, my 2x great aunt, which he did not do. The family record, which came from Adaline's sister, Malinda, therefore, is incorrect in its entirety.
I also want to reaffirm that Blood of My Ancestor is a fictional account of the murder of my great aunt and should not be used to work on genealogy. As stated in its introduction:
"The story of Joel and Adaline Lyon is based on the true story and has been tirelessly researched to be as factual as possible. In the end, however, the story is fictional."The only goal and intention of writing the story was to prove Joel innocent of my great aunt's murder, which was accomplished.
Joel, along with his brother James, had no choice but to come with their parents to Brown Township as they were minors. However, Warren, who would've been around the age of 17 at the time of the move, likely did make his own decision to come with his parents to Martin County. In the 1880 census, Warren, Joel, and James were all landowners in Brown Township, having inherited their father's 280 acres. They are the only Lyons listed in this township.
Other names on the 1880 census from New Jersey were Emma Ragle, Phebe Flummerfelt, who lived with John Swayze and family as a "servant" (she was in her 80s), Elias Patterson, who was a miller, and finally Marthy A. Gruver, who lived with her parents. Her parents were both born in Pennsylvania while Marthy was born in New Jersey. A connection between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio seemingly is a common thread in this equation.
Alanson was a latecomer to Martin County, Indiana, having settled in or around 1867. Most of the old-timers were already there by that time. Because the Lyon, Swayze, and Flummerfelt families all came came from Sussex County, New Jersey, it might be assumed they all came together. The evidence does not support this. The Swayzes and Flummerfelts came to Martin County in the 1850s, well before the Lyon family. Click on photos to enlarge
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| Screenshot from an 1860 map of Sussex New Jersey Map courtesy of The Library of Congress |
Author Beth Willis also emailed me a more detailed map that proved my original theory wrong, which I'm always happy to consider new information! She also thankfully emailed this:
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| Snufftown 1860 Courtesy of Beth Willis Click on photo to enlarge |
"In the meantime, please know that Alanson’s property was not in downtown Snufftown. Snufftown was a small hamlet comprising 5-6 houses, a store (Lewis), a tannery (Walther), a tavern (Lewis) and the church [which is what] is shown on the 1860 Hopkins Map [the map above]... Alanson’s property was located west of Snufftown... The blue dot [on the adjoining map] is Alanson first tract of land. The red dot is where Snufftown was located... Snufftown never had a post office. But letters [that] were addressed to anyone within a 3 mile radius of Snufftown [were] delivered to the tavern."When first looking at this map, my heart was warmed that Samuel Lyon had an "Orchard Lot." It reminded me of the Freeman family in my book Pioneer Stories who had an orchard lot on their property. Makes me wonder if Alanson brought apple seeds with him to Martin County, Indiana. When I was graciously taken to Joel's property by the wives of Crane Naval Base commanders, we didn't notice any apple trees. However, the 1915 tornado that devastated the area, taking Joel's life, may have destroyed any possible orchard that might have been. Again - just making up stories, but isn't that the fun of genealogy? To wonder? And to wander?
© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC
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Attribution for the Lyon Coat of Arms: By Heralder: This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: Coat of Arms of Bergues.svg (by Tom-L). This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: Coat of Arms of the July Monarchy (1830-31) (variant).svg (by Sodacan). ([1]) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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