Thomas LYON

Notes:

Name:
THOMAS LYON "of Rye" was born in England, about 1621, and died at Byram Neck, Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Conn in 1690. He was buried in the old Lyon family burying ground at Byram Neck. he is supposed to have come first to the Massachusetts Colony, and thence to have gone to seek his fortune in the far west of Fairfield County, Conn., where at about the same time Richard and Henry Lyon, presumably his brothers or cousins, appeared. His first wife was Martha Joanna Winthrop, a grand-daughter of Gov. John Wintrop, of Salem, Mass., and it is to Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, a lineal descendant of the Governor that we are indebted for nearly all the circumstantial knowledge we have of the life of Thomas Lyon. He made public in a communication to the Massachusetts Historical Society, of which he was for thirty years president, a number of letters found among the papers of Governor Winthrop, written by Thomas Lyon, his wife Martha (Winthrop) Lyon, and other members of the family.

Martha's mother, Elizabeth (Fones) Winthrop remained in England when her husband, Henry Winthrop came to America. He was drowned in Salem harbor, July 2, 1630, the day after his arrival. She, with her infant daughter, Martha, came to America the following year. She did not remain long a widow. Her second husband was Robert Feake(Feeke, Feke, Fekes, Feeck, the name was variously written), one of the earliest and largest proprietors in Watertown, which he repeatedly represented in the Massachusetts General Court. After some years Mr. Feake removed with his family to Greenwich, Conn. where in 1640, he, with Capt. Daniel Patrick, purchased of the Indians a large tract of land. It appears that about this time he developed symptoms of a derangement of mind which ended in complete insanity. there may or may not have been estrangement between man and wife; at all events Mr. Feake returned to Watertown, leaving his family in charge of his business partner, Capt. Patrick. the gossips had it that the relations between Capt. Patrick and Mrs. Feake were more intimate than business required. However, these relations, whatever may have their nature, were brought to an abrupt close in 1643 by the death by assassination of Capt. Patrick. Mrs. Feake and her daughter continued to live in Connecticut (in the town Stamford), her business affairs being entrusted now to one William Hallett. At this juncture Thomas Lyon comes on the stage and assays the difficult role of son-in-law.

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Wife: Mary Hoyt (1630, Windsor, Hartford Co., CT - 1696, Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT)

"The tradition in this family runs that Thomas Lyon and John Banks came together from Yorkshire, England, about the year 1640, to the spot where they settled on the east bank of Byram River, which they reached by boat from Stamford. Saving the date, which is many years too early, the legend may be correct. Thomas Lyon was a land-holder in Stamford in 1650 and 1652."

Source: "History of Rye, New York: Chronicle of a Border Town, Westchester County, New York, Including Harrison and White Plains till 1788"; by Charles W. Baird, 1871, p. 422.

Burial location referenced in "Byram, Connecticut: An Historic Resources Inventory"; by Renee Kahn Associates, 1978, p. 3.

Thomas married Martha Johanna WINTHROP about 1647. Martha (daughter of Henry WINTHROP and Elizabeth Winthrop FONES) was born on 9 May 1630 in Groton Manor, England; was christened on 9 May 1630 in Groton, Suffolk, England; died about 1654 in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut; was buried in Lyon-Rawson Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Mary HOYT about 1652 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Mary (daughter of Simon HOYT and Susannah SMITH) was born about 1632; died in 1692 in Byram Neck-Greenwich, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas LYON was born in 1673 in Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; died in April or May 1739.

? married ? UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]