and admiralty law. He was appointed attorney- general of Wisconsin territory in 1844, and in the following year U. S. district attorney, which office he held "till the admission of the state into the Union, when he was elected to congress as a Demo- crat, and took his seat on 5 June, 1848. He was a candidate for re-election, but was defeated by Charles Durkee on the Free-soil issue, which they debated in a joint canvass. His term ended on 3 March, 1849, and in that year he was a Democratic candidate for the supreme court bench, but was not elected. He was mayor of Milwaukee in 1860, a member of the legislature in 1866, and of the state senate in 1868-9. In 1874 he was again sent to congress, and in 1876 was re-elected.
LYNDON, Josiah, governor of Rhode Island,
b. in Newport, E,. I., lO" March, 1704: d. in War-
ren, R. I., 30 March, 1778. He received a good
education, and in 1730 became clerk of the lower
house of the legislature and of the superior court
of Newport county, which offices he held for many
years. In 1768-9 he was governor of the colony,
declining to serve longer than one term. He then
returned to his clerkship, which he held until his
death. His administration was marked by signs
of growing hostility to the British government,
and especially by a correspondence between the
governor and the Earl of Hillsborough, in which
the former protested against the arbitrary acts of
the home government. This, with a similar letter
to the king, expressing the sentiments of the gen-
eral assembly and signed by Gov. Lyndon, is in
John R. Bartlett's " Records of the Colony of
Rhode Island " (10 vols.. Providence, 1856-65).
LYNN, Benjamin, pioneer, lived in the latter
half of the 18th century. He was a wandering
hunter in Green river valley, Ky., before its settle-
ment, and as soon as stockades began to be built
along Nolin (No-Lynn) river, to which he had
given his name, he formed in 1782 a Separate Bap-
tist congregation there and became its pastor. He
afterward held other charges, and his name is con-
nected with the traditions and eai-ly records of the
oldest churches in southern Kentucky. He is
called the " hunter-preacher "' and the " Daniel
Boone of southern Kentucky."
LYON, Asa, clergyman, b. in Pomfret, Conn., 81
Dec, 1763; d. in South Hero, Grand Isle co., Vt.,
4 April, 1841. He was graduated at Dartmouth in
1790, studied divinity with Rev. Charles Backus,
and was ordained pastor at Sutherland, Mass., 24
Oct., 1792. He remained there till the following
year, and from 1802 till 1840 was pastor at South
Hero. He was chief judge of Grand Isle county in
1805-14, and was a representative in the legisla-
ture in 1800, 1802, 1805-6, 1808, and 1810-14, and
a member of the executive council in 1808. He
was elected to congress as a Federalist, and served
from 4 Dec, 1815,1111 3 March, 1817. Mr. Lyon is
said to have been a cousin of Robert Burns. He
was an impressive preacher, distinguished for his
knowledge of literature. He published sermons
and patriotic addresses.
LYON, Caleb, congressman, b. in Lyonsdale,
N. Y., 7 Dec, 1822 : d. near Rossville, Staten island,
N. Y., 8 Sept., 1875. He was graduated at Nor-
wich university, Vt., in 1841, travelled in Europe
for several years, and in 1847 was appointed consul
to Shanghai, China. On his return he travelled
through Central and South America, arrived in
California in 1849. and was secretary of the con-
vention that was called to frame a state constitu-
tion. While there he designed the state coat of
arms. After another journey in Europe and the
East he returned to his native state, and was elected
to the assembly in 1850, but resigned on the ques-
tion of enlarging the Erie canal, of which he was
an advocate, and was in the same year elected to
the state senate. At the close of his term he again
went abroad, and as a friend of Capt. Duncan N.
Ingraham {q. v.) was concerned in the rescue of
Martin Koszta from an Austrian brig in the port
of Smyrna. When he returned he was elected as
an Independent to congress, and served froin 5
Dec, 1853, till 3 March, 1855. After the burning
of the family mansion at Lyonsdale he removed to
Staten island, and occupied and restored the coun-
try-seat known as Ross castle. In 1864 he was ap-
pointed by President Lincoln governor of Idaho,
which post he held till December, 1866. He was a
ready orator, whose memory and knowledge of
statistics rendered him formidable in debate. As
a connoisseur of the fine arts his opinion was es-
teemed. He published poems, which have never
been collected, and lectured on his travels. Norwich
university gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1851.
LYON, George Francis, English traveller, b. in
Chichester, England, in 1795 ; d. at sea in October^
1832. He entered the British naval service in
1808, was present at the attack on Algiers by Lord
Exmouth in 1816, and in 1818 was commissioned
to accompany Joseph Ritchie on his tour of explo-
ration into central Africa. Ritchie died in Fezzan,.
and Lyon returned to England, after encountering-
many dangers and privations, which he described
in his " Narrative of Travels in Northern Africa "
(London, 1821). In 1821, in command of the
" Hecla," he accompanied Capt. William E. Parry
on his arctic expedition, publishing on his return
" The Private Journal of Capt. G. F. Lyon " (1824).
In 1824 he sailed in command of the " Griper "
with the mission of exploring Melville peninsula,,
and following its western shore as far as Turn-
again, he found, after three months' searching, a
passage through the group of islets called South-
ampton island, but was unable to enter Repulse
bay through Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome. On 13
Sept., a violent tempest compelled him to return
to England. The story of the voyage was told in
"A Brief Nan-ative of an Unsuccessful Attempt "
(1825). He subsequently passed several years in
Mexico, and died on his return from a second visit
to America. His remaining works are " The Sketch-
Book of Capt. G. F. Lyon during Eighteen Months'
Residence in Mexico, No. 1 "' (London. 1827). and
" Journal of a Residence and Tour in Mexico in
1828 " (2 vols., 1828).
LYON, John Christian, clergyman, b. in
Leonsberg, Würtemberg, Germany, 11 Feb., 1802; d.
in Catonville, Md., 21 May, 1868. His parents
were Lutherans. The son came to this country
in 1817, united with the Methodist Episcopal
church in 1826, and soon afterward entered its
ministry, in which he served until he was
superannuated in 1862. He preached generally in German
and did much to bring his countrymen into
his denomination. He has been called the founder
of the German Methodist church in the United
States. He was the author and translator of
several theological works.
LYON, Lucius, senator, b. in Shelburn, Vt., 26 Feb., 1800; d. in Detroit, Mich., 24 Sept., 1851. He received a public-school education, and, settling in Detroit in 1822, was elected a territorial delegate to congress as a Democrat, serving from 3 Dec. 1833, till 3 March, 1835. In the latter year he was a member of the State constitutional convention, and he also served in that of 1850. He was a U. S. senator from 26 Jan.. 1837, till 3 March, 1839, and a representative from 4 Dec, 1843, till 3
