Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 07.djvu/90

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LYNDE


LYON


He was an active member of the society formed for the employment of poor people in the manu- facture of linen in 1754 ; a signer of one of the Salem addresses to Gen. Thomas Gage in 1774 ; and councillor for M&ssachusetts for twenty- eight years. He was mcirried Nov. 1, 1731, to Mary, daughter of Maj. John Bowles, of Rox- bury, Mass. He died in Salem, Mass., Oct. 3, 1781.

LYNDE, Francis, author, was born in Lewis- ton, N.Y., Nov. 12, 1856 ; son of William Tilly and Elizabeth (Need) Lynde ; g^ndson of Haw- kins and Maria (Carruthers) Lynde and of Thomas and Julia (Sanderson) Need ; and a de- scendant of Thomas Lynde, who came from Eng- land in 1634 and settled in Charlestown, Massa- chusetts Bay colony. He attended the grammar school of Kansas City ; pursued home study in New England, and studied under private and aca- demic teachers. He was married in 1873 to Mari- etta Williams, and in 1888 to Mary Antoinette Stickle. He was in the railway service in the motive power, accounting and passenger depart- ments, 1872-93. He retired from the railway service in 1893 and devoted his time to writing stories. He is the author of : A Romance in Transit (1897); The Helpers (1899); A Private Chivalry (1900), and numerous contributions to periodi- cals.

LYNDE, WllHam Pitt, representative, was born in Sherburne, N.Y., Dec. 16, 1817; son of Tilly and Elizabeth (Warner) Lynde, both natives of Massachusetts, who settled in Sherburne in 1800. Tilly Lynde was a member of the assembly seven years and a state senator six years. Will- iam P. Lynde was a student at Hamilton college, 1834-36, and was graduated from Yale, valedic- torian, A.B., 1838; A.M., 1841. Heattended the law department of the Universitj' of the City of New York, 1838-39, and Harvard Law school, 1839- 41 ; was admitted to the bar in New York city in 1841, and practised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Ter- ritory. He was married in 1841 to Mary E., daughter of Dr. Azariah Blanchard of Truxton, N.Y. He was attorney -general of Wisconsin Territory, 1844-45 ; U.S. district attorney for the district of Wisconsin, 1845-47, and upon the admission of the state into the Union in 1847, he was its Democratic representative in the 30th congress, 1847-49. He was an unsuccessful can- didate for the supreme court bench in 1840 ; may»r of Milwaukee, 1860-62 ; state representa- tive, 1866-68 ; state senator, 1868-69, and a repre- sentative in the 44th and 45th congresses, 1875-79. Hediedin Milwaukee, Wis., Dec. 18, 1885.

LYNDON, Josias, governor of Rhode Island, was born in Newport, R.L, March 10, 1704 ; of a wealthy and influential family. He was clerk of the lower house of the general assembly, and of the superior court of the county of New-


port, 1730-78, with the exception of the one year he was governor of the colony, 1768-69. His elec- tion as governor was brought about by the respec- tive friends of Samuel Wood and Stephen Hop- kins, who both withdrew from the canvass in his favor. Governor Lyndon's administration wa» crowded with the exciting events that preceded the Revolution. He was a firm patriot, and wrote several letters as from the "Governor of Rhode Island " to the King and to the Earl of Hillsborough reciting the grievances of the colony chartered by Charles II., and protesting against taxation without representation, as re- corded in Bartlett's " Records of the Colony of Rhode Island." When the British took posses- sion of Newport, Lyndon, feeling that one who had been so conspicuous as a rebel would be un- safe in the town, removed to Warren, R.I. , where he died March 30, 1778.

LYON, Asa, representative, was born in Pom- fret, Conn., Dec. 31, 1763. He was graduated from Dartmouth college in 1790 ; and studied theology with the Rev. Charles Backus. He was pastor of the Congregational church at Sunder- land, Mass., 1792-93 ; organized and was first min- ister of the Congregational church at Grand Isle, Vt., serving for over forty years, though he was never installed as pastor. He secured a tract of valuable land in North Hero, Vt., and built a house of cedar logs in which he lived with his family most of his life. He was a representative from South Hero in the general assembly, 1799-1803. 1804-08, and from Grand Isle, 1812-15. He was chief justice of the county court, 1805, 1806, 1808 and 1813, and a representative in the 14th congress, 1815-17. He died in Grand Isle, Vt., April 4, 1841.

LYON, Caleb, representative, was born in Lyonsdale, N.Y., Dec. 7, 1822; son of Caleb and Mary (Dupont) Lyon, and grandson of Lieut. Caleb Lyon, wounded at Bunker Hill. His an- cestor, Caleb Lyon, was a Scotchman who immi- grated from Hertfordshire, England, and settled in New England. His father was the founder of Lyonsdale, and built a bridge and a grist mill there, 1829-31. Caleb was graduated from Nor- wich university, Vt., in 1839, and at an early age became known as a lecturer. He was appointed by President Polk U.S. consul to Shanghai, China, Feb. 15, 1847, but soon after reaching his post intrusted the office to a deputy and returned to the United States by way of South America and Panama. On reaching California he became interested in the organization of a state govern- ment, and was one of the secretaries of the state constitutional convention, and upon the ques- tion of selecting a state seal, the design offered by Mr. Lyon was accepted, Sept. 2, 1849, for which he was paid the sum of $1000. In 1850 he returned to Lyonsdale, N.Y., and was elected to