Lyons & Reed

When you research a family member from the 1800’s, you are never quite sure what you will find – especially if it is a female ancestor.  My great grandmother was Shirlie Louisa Pope and when we initially went back to North Dakota, the goal was to find at least whatever remained of the cemetery that she had been buried in.  (She was buried in the Old Dunn Center cemetery in North Dakota and sometime in the 1930’s, the family was told that they needed to move her grave as they had found out that the cemetery was on top of a burning coal mine.  There was no money to make the move, so she remained in an unmarked grave at the old cemetery.)  I had known about Shirlie since I was a child…nothing terribly concrete but the photo from my childhood gave me a mental image of her.  When I first started researching her background and had made some contact with cousins, it was with a great deal of enthusiasm that I began to research her family.

Shirlie was the daughter of Winslow Lonsdale Pope and Nancy Ann Marie Lyons.  I must admit that the Pope side was fairly easy to research.  Within a few weeks after I started researching the family, I made contact with cousins and had the Pope family traced back to literally the earliest settlers in New England. Winslow’s wife, however, took a lot more research.

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons was my great great grandmother.  She was the daughter of John Nathan Lyons, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Reed.  I know than Nancy was born on 6 Mar 1855 in Bath, Grafton Co., NH and died on 30 May 1906 in Washburn, McLean Co., ND.  (My cousins took me right where she was buried in a little country cemetery called Sverdrup near Washburn, ND)  

She was married to Winlsow Lonsdale Pope on 19 Mar 1881. I have to assume that she was fairly sickly the last few years of her life, as she died of tuberculosis.  I am also sure she must have been considered a spinster when she married because she was 26 years of age.  Through the census records, I could tell that she spent all of her young life growing up in Bath, Grafton Co., NH.   I was fortunate to find information on her parents, but beyond a few census records, I hit a brick wall during my first few years researching them. 

John Nathan Lyons Jr was b. 23 Apr 1820 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA and d. 7 Apr 1911 in Bath, Grafton Co., NH.  It wasn't until I got his birth certificate that I was able to find that his parents were John Lyons and Mary French.    Here is more about his family  (Chink in a Brick Wall – John Lyons and My Irish Ancestor – John Lyons )  I know that he married Mary Elizabeth Reed on 21 Dec 1845 in Fairlee, Orange Co., VT.  From census records, he is listed as a wheelwright and I also know that he remarried after Mary Elizabeth Reed’s death to Elizabeth Snow on 23 Mar 1893 in Manchester, NH.   He died at the age of 90 and was buried in the Warren Village Cemetery in Grafton, NH.

Mary Elizabeth Reed was more of a challenge.   I had her name from family records that had been passed on to me, but there was not going to be an easy to way to figure out who her parents were.  For one thing, Reed is a very common name.  For several years, I explored news-lists, emailed other researchers and came to the conclusion that she was most likely the daughter of Samuel Reed and Nancy Chase Swett.  It wasn't until last year when www.ancestry.com published some new records – specifically The New Hampshire Death and Disinterment Records, 1854-1947 that I was able to finally prove my theory.   

There was the record for Mary Reed Lyons death which listed her date of death, age, cause of death and her parents as Samuel Reed and Nancy Sweet (which is a common misspelling for Swett).  I also learned that she died of “Brights Disease” which is kidney disease.    I admit that it was very satisfying to learn that my theory had paid off.  However, once you confirm one theory…now you have the challenge of pursuing her parent’s ancestry…but that is another story.

Here is a list of the children of John Nathan Lyons, Jr and Mary Elizabeth Reed:

• John Weston Lyons b. 5 Jul 1846 NH d. 22 Oct 1922 m. Jennie M. Stain
• George Leonard Lyons b. 20 Nov 1849 NH d. 10 Apr 1916 NH m. Inez Clifton Eastman
• Charles Edward Lyons b. 14 Jun 1851 NH d. 14 Jul 1901 NH m. Lizzie Smith
• Mary Louise Lyons b. 21 Feb 1853 NH d. 12 Sep 1855 NH
• Nancy Ann Marie Lyons b. 6 Mar 1855 NH d. 30 May 1906 ND m. Winslow Lonsdale Pope
• Arabella Eliza Lyons b. 15 Dec 1856 NH d. 9 Jun 1943 NH m. John Harrison Roby
• Freeman Austin Lyons b. 11 Sep 1860 NH d. 8 Mar 1947 VT m1- Viola Belinda Pope m2- Jane Anderson Richardson m3- Nellie F. Evans
• Lizzie Maria Lyons b. 19 Dec 1865 NH d. 19 Nov 1942 NH m. Charles Nelson Davison

My Irish Ancestor - John Lyons

According to my DNA results, I am 12% Irish…which essentially means to me that the my Irish heritage is several generations back in my lineage.  The only line that I am absolutely sure of that is of Irish heritage is my Lyons family.

John Nathan Lyons would have been my 4^th great grandfather and he was born in 1790 in Ireland.  He probably immigrated around 1810 and according to a later record, his parents were Timothy Lyons and Honora.  I got his name when I ordered my 3^rd great grandfather’s death record several years ago.  It listed on the record that his parents names were John N. Lyons and Mary W. French.  I found out later that they married on 4 Sep 1817 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA.  At that point, I was only sure of one of their children, my 3^rd great grandfather, John Nathan Lyons, Jr.  Howver, something remarkable has happened in the past few years.  More and more records have been published and are searchable and I was able to find under www.familysearch.org the New Hampshire birth records that listed  Mary French and John Lyons as parents as well as census records that gave me additional information.  So this is my working list of their children

• Sarah Ann Lyons b. 8 Aug 1818 d. 3 Nov 1910 m. George C. Leonard
• John Nathan Lyons, Jr b. 23 Apr 1820 d. 7 Apr 1911 m. Mary Elizabeth Reed m. Elizabeth Snow
• Bridget Lyons b. abt 1820
• Charles E. Lyons b. Mar 1831 d. aft 1800 m. Wate Holmes
• James D. Farnsworth Lyons b. 1834 d. 15 Mar 1887 m. Harriet M. Getchell
• Myra L. Lyons b. 17 Jun 1836 d. 8 Aug 1895 m. Edward Everett Lothrop
• Mary E. Lyons b. abt 1841

As you can see this is still a working list and one that I hope to make much more progress on.  I believe that John Lyons died 11 Dec 1880  which would have made around 90 years old.  There is a New Hampshire Death and Burial record that lists that date and his parents as Timothy Lyons and Honora.  I think that Mary French died sometime before 1860, because she disappears from the census records.

So while I know that I have several other Irish ancestors, this might be the only one that I have record that lists his place of birth as Ireland. 

Here is my lineage to him:

John Nathan Lyons m. Mary French

John Nathan Lyons m. Mary Elizabeth Reed

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons m. Winslow Lonsdale Pope

Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson

Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Marian Gage

Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill

Me!

 Happy St. Patrick's day 4th Great Grandpa!

Mary Pennington Bowling...

According to just about every notation that I have read – Mary Pennington was born at the hollow of the Yadkin River on the east side of Blue Ridge and New River in Wilkes Co., NC.  Now someone who knows the area fairly well can probably tell me where that is, exactly.  I suspect that it is probably near or in what is now known as Ashe Co., NC.  Ashe Co., NC was carved out of Wilkes Co., NC in 1799.  We know that Mary Pennington’s father, Micajah lived in Ashe Co., NC and probably had land there when she was born. 

Mary Pennington was the oldest daughter of 10 children and married her husband when her youngest sibling was only three years old.  Jesse Bowling was probably a widower with one son when he married Mary Pennington when she was 19 years old on 6 Jan 1785 in Wilkes Co., NC.  He was a veteran of the Revolutionary War having served as a Sergeant from North Carolina and has a recorded pension (#514974).  He was the son of Benjamin Bolling and Patsy Phelps.  There has been an ongoing discussion for years that Jesse Bowling was a descendant of Pocahontas…I have enough trouble keeping up with Bowlings who are related to the Penningtons without getting into that discussion.  So here is Mary, newly married and a new step mother and married to a man who is a military veteran.  In the early years of their marriage they are recorded in Wilkes Co., NC, Lee Co., VA and Hawkins Co., TN.  Jesse and Mary probably moved to Hawkins Co., TN at least by 1794 and perhaps earlier.  Jesse is baptized by Rev. Andrew Baker of the Blackwater Primitive Baptist Church and was himself a Baptist preacher. So that perhaps explains their wanderings in the early years of their marriage.

By 1804, they are probably back in Lee Co., VA according to the birth places of their children and it is likely they were living close to her parents by that time.  By 1810, Jesse and Mary are in Clay Co., KY and are recorded in the census there.  I find it very interesting that they live in Clay Co., KY because I find traces of several Penningtons there as well as other members of the maternal side of my family.    Jesse and Mary are recorded in 1820 in Perry Co., KY.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that they moved much because Perry Co., KY was formed from Clay and Floyd Co., KY and when they are recorded as dying in Breathitt Co., KY aft 1840, it is still could be the same area as Breathitt Co., KY was formed out of Clay, Estill & Perry Counties.  Since I am not that familiar with where they lived exactly, history and geography tell me that they probably lived in the same area but the county lines might have changed on them.

So, they have traveled from North Carolina, to Virginia, to Tennessee and then back to Virginia and finally have settled in Kentucky.  Along the way, Jesse worked as a Preacher and they had 12 children together.  Their children were:

• Hannah Bowling b. 28 Apr 1786 Lee Co., VA d. 1841 m. Nelson Gay m. Leonard Huff
• Mary “Polly” Bowling b. 1 Mar 1788 VA/NC d. aft 1880 Perry Co., KY m. Abraham Barger
• John S. Bowling b. 1789 Hawkins Co., TN d. 26 Jul 1838 Krypton, Perry Co., KY m. Mary Lewis
• Justice Tucker Bowling b. 1790 Wilkes Co., NC d. 1880 Perry Co., KY m. Hanna Reed
• Rachel Bowling b. abt 1792 m. Joseph Reason
• Elizabeth Bowling b. 1 Apr 1794 Hawkins Co., TN d. Feb 1866 Jackson Co., KY m. Abel Pennington
• Eliajah “Lige” Bowling b. 22 Jan 1798 Lee Co., VA d. 22 Oct 1883 m. 1 – Susanna Roberts m. 2 – Mary Ann Keen m.3 – Nancy Ann Bryant
• Jesse Bowling, Jr. b. abt 1800 d. bet 1848-1850 Breathitt Co., KY m. 1 - Nancy Dewees m. 2 – Winifred Lewis
• Margaret “Patsy” Bowling b. 1804 Lee Co., VA m. 1 – Joseph Spencer m. 2. - ? Maggard
• William “Priimpy Bill” Bowling b. abt 1806 Lee Co., VA m. Deborah Duff
• Nancy Bowling b. abt 1808 Lee Co., VA or KY m. Edward Begley
• George Bowling b. abt 1810 m. Phoebe Lewis
• Jesse’s oldest son from his first marriage was John E. Bowling b. 1777 Wilkes Co., NC d. aft 1839 m. Susan Sizemore

This is a large family – but the two most intriguing children are Mary Polly Bowling and Elizabeth Bowling.  Mary “Polly” Bowling had at least 5 children but they intermarried with their Johnston cousins through their mother’s family (Sarah Pennington m. Samuel Johnson/Johnston) and their children marry into some of the more well-known families in Kentucky such as Gay, Brewer, and Spurlock.  Elizabeth marries her possible cousin Abel Pennington and their children also marry into some well-known families including their Johnson/Johnston cousins, Combs, Turner, Moore & McGee.  Between these two daughters, I have met the majority of Mary Pennington descendants through my research.

Jesse and Mary Pennington Bowling died with a year of each other.  Jesse died 10 Mar 1841 and Mary died 21 Mar 1842 both in Breathitt Co., KY probably around Quicksand creek.  For their time period, they both lived to be old people and probably also saw the death of at least three of their children.  There is a lot left to be done to fill out the families and probably many puzzles to unravel.  These families seem to intermarry enough and used so many similar names that sometimes it is very difficult to figure out which is which…but if you are descendant of Mary Pennington through her daughters Elizabeth or Mary – you could be a member of three different Pennington family groups – which is certainly confusing enough.

Chink in a Brick Wall - John Lyons

When you start looking at ancestors who lived in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s there are some special challenges involved.  One of these ancestors for me is John N. Lyons.  He was born in 1790 in Ireland and is probably the latest immigrant ancestor that I know of in my family.  His granddaughter, Nancy Ann Marie Lyons is my great great grandmother is and is the mother of Shirlie Louisa Pope.

I suspect that John arrived either before 1800 or shortly thereafter.  I haven’t as yet found out a listing on a ship with he or is family’s names.  However, I need to look at what I have found this year.  I live in Lewiston, ID and have no large genealogical library nearby nor do I have much time to do research during the day as I work a full time job.  So, I am very dependent on online resources – especially for famlies who lived across the country.  Thanks to some new databases that have been publisshed online – I have made some definite progress this past year.

John Lyons was married to Mary French on 4 Sep 1817 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA – I initially got their names from their son’s death record (John Nathan Lyons)  who would have been my 4^th great grandfather.  With as common a name as John, it is easy to confuse him with others in the same region.  Ancestry published the New Hampshire Death & Burial Records Index this past year, and I was able to find John Lyons mentioned as well as the names of his parents – Timothy and Honora.  As yet, I haven’t located his wife, Mary, but I hope to tackle her again soon.

I have also made progress using Family Search which is located at www.familysearch.org and is run by the LDS church.  Using their database of Massachusetts marriage records, I was able to piece together information on John and Mary’s children.  I am only descended from John Nathan Lyons – but I always like to get information on the sbilings.  You never know when you can locate a descendant and maybe get a little more information.

If you are a paid subscriber of Ancestry.com – pay attention to the new databases that are announced and spend the time every few months to hit some of these brick walls.  You never know when you will make a breakthrough.  Don’t forget to check www.familysearch .org as well.  My advice is to start a broad search and then narrow your parameters.  I look at John Lyons and see him as a success…for the past year I have created several chinks in that brick wall.  Here is the info that I have on him!

John N. Lyons b. 1790 Ireland d. 11 Dec 1880 Manchester, NH m. Mary W. French b. abt 1790 MA d. bef 1860

•  Sarah Ann Lyons b. 8 Aug 1818 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 3 Nov 1910 Billerica, Middlesex Co., MA m. George C. Leonard 14 Sept 1843 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
•  John Nathan Lyons b. 23 Apr 1820 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 7 Apr 1911 Bath, Grafton Co., NH m. Mary Elizabeth Reed  21 Dec 1845, Fairlee, Orange Co., VT m.  Elizabeth Snow 23 Mar 1893 Manchester, NH
•  Charles E. Lyons b. Mar 1831 Oxford, NH d. aft 1900 m. Wate Holmes 22 Nov 1855 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• James D. Farnsworth Lyons b. 1834 Oxford, NY d. 15 Mar 1887 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Harriet M. Getchell  bef 1866
•  Myra L. Lyons b. 1836 Oxford, NH d. 8 Aug 1895 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Edward Evertt Lothrop 4 Jan 1857 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• Mary E. Lyons b. abt 1840 Oxford, NH