{"id":369,"date":"2012-10-13T15:53:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T15:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richmondheritage.ca\/?p=369"},"modified":"2012-10-13T23:09:15","modified_gmt":"2012-10-13T23:09:15","slug":"captain-george-lyon-1790-1851","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.richmondheritage.ca\/index.php\/captain-george-lyon-1790-1851\/","title":{"rendered":"Captain George Lyon (1790 \u2013 1851)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James McTavish<\/strong><\/p>\n

Captain George Lyon of the\u00a099th<\/sup>\/100th<\/sup> regiment \u2013 was the major merchant and mill owner in Richmond. He was elected to the Assembly of Upper Canada (1832) and Canada West (1846).\u00a0 Capt. Lyon owned an “Estate” south of Burke Street in the southwest corner of the village where he built a dam and ran a sawmill, a gristmill, a distillery, a fulling mill, and a forge. He and his wife Catherine had 15 children. Several of their sons made major contributions to the area. Robert was a respected judge, Mayor of Ottawa (1867) and M.P. (1869-1871). His eldest brother, George Byron Lyon-Fellowes was a M.P.P. (1845-1859) and mayor of Ottawa (1876).\u00a0 William was Reeve of Richmond (1850-1854) and ran the family store.\u00a0 Arthur was the village doctor during the 1860\u2019s and 1870\u2019s.\u00a0 Another brother, Robinson E. Lyon moved from Richmond in the 1880s to Flower Station where the family served as station agents for the Kingston-Pembroke Railway.\u00a0 Other members of his family served at other locations along that line.\u00a0 Robinson’s son, George Seymour Lyon, was born and raised in Richmond, later moving to Toronto.\u00a0 He gained notoriety as an athlete, golf and cricket in particular. \u00a0 He was the World Amateur Golf Champion and the last Olympic Champion in golf (the St. Louis Olympics of 1904).<\/p>\n

Background of Captain George Lyon:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Captain George Lyon of Richmond was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1790, the eldest child of George Lyon, long time Baillie (Mayor) of that town and his wife, Elspet Philip.\u00a0 There were a total of ten children in the family. (Visit The Siblings of Captain Lyon<\/a> to view a complete list of the children.) Four members of the family subsequently came to Canada and the Richmond area.<\/p>\n

1. George Lyon: (1790 \u2013 1851) <\/em>married Catherine Radenhurst <\/em>in Sorel, Lower Canada in 1813.<\/p>\n

6. Margaret Lyon: (1805 \u2013 1838) <\/em>came to Canada in 1829 accompanied by her youngest brother, Robert.\u00a0 She married Reverend Robert Short, the clergyman at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, in 1833.\u00a0 She died in Bytown in 1838.<\/p>\n

9. Robinson Lyon: (1810 \u2013 1885)<\/em> married Mary Ann Banks in 1830.\u00a0 They emigrated to Canada and Richmond in about 1836.\u00a0 Here, he ran a hotel or inn.\u00a0 The first year was tragic with the death of his son, Robert, at 5 years of age followed by the death of their eldest son, George Balfour Lyon, who was accidentally shot in a hunting accident.\u00a0 His son, Robinson Jr. was born in Richmond in 1838 followed by the birth of another son, William, in 1841.\u00a0 His wife died about 1845 and he moved to Bytown where he opened The Exchange Hotel.\u00a0 This was located approximately where Bank or Lyon and Sparks Streets meet.\u00a0 Robinson remarried in 1848 at Packenham to Flora McMillan.\u00a0 The Exchange Hotel burned down in 1854 and the family relocated to Arnprior where Robinson re-established himself in the hotel management trade.\u00a0 He died in Arnprior in 1885 and is buried in Albert Street Cemetery there.<\/p>\n

10. Robert Lyon: (1812 \u2013 1833)<\/em> \"\"<\/a>emigrated to Canada in 1829.\u00a0 Robert had been a student for three sessions in the class of 1826 \u2013 1830 at King’s College in Aberdeen, Scotland.\u00a0 With this background, he was qualified to secure a law apprenticeship with Thomas M. Radenhurst in Perth, Ontario.\u00a0 Robert was killed in 1833 in the famous Wilson-Lyon duel fought in Perth.\u00a0 He is buried in the Radenhurst plot at the Craig Street Cemetery in Perth.\u00a0 The pistols are displayed in the Perth Museum. (See also the Wilson Lyon Duel<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Captain George Lyon –\u00a0 The Military Man:<\/strong><\/p>\n

George was commissioned Ensign in the 40th<\/sup> Foot in 1806 and Lieutenant two years later.\u00a0 In 1809, he transferred to the 100th<\/sup> Foot Glasgow Infantry Regiment.\u00a0 This regiment had come to Canada in 1805 and Captain Lyon joined them in Canada in November, 1810.<\/p>\n

War of 1812:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serving in the War of 1812, George was present at the capture of the American gunboats Growler and Eagle at Ile aux Noix on Lake Champlain, Lower Canada (Quebec), and was put in charge of the American prisoners whom he escorted to Montreal.\u00a0 On the Niagara frontier at Lundy’s Lane and Chippawa (Niagara Falls area), he commanded the regiment’s 8th<\/sup> Company at the Battle of Chippawa on July 5, 1814.\u00a0 George, himself, was severely wounded, but after his recovery, he continued to serve the 100th<\/sup> (re-numbered 99th<\/sup> in 1816) at that location and until the regiment was disbanded in 1818.<\/p>\n

In those days, the wives of officers often accompanied their husbands to their postings, living in crude and cramped quarters in the fortresses.\u00a0 Often their duties involved nursing the wounded.\u00a0 This was indeed the case with Catherine and George.\u00a0 She was present at Chippawa Creek and accompanied him to York to recover from his wounds, later to return to the same location. A letter written by Catherine from Chippawa in October 1814 and sent to her aunt and uncle (Ridout) in York (Toronto) proves this point. (See Letter<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Wife\u00a0 –\u00a0 Catherine Radenhurst Lyon:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1813, George Lyon was married at Sorel, Canada East (Quebec) to Catherine Radenhurst (born in 1793 in Lower Canada), daughter of Captain William Radenhurst.\u00a0 Captain Radenhurst was born in Cheshire, England and had come to Lower Canada in February, 1776 as storekeeper to the hospital at Trois-Rivieres.\u00a0 Ten years later in Montreal, he married Catherine Campbell, the daughter of a loyalist.\u00a0 Captain William Radenhurst was the Commanding Officer of Fort William Henry at Sorel in Lower Canada, and later served at Fort St. John located on the Richelieu River.\u00a0 His wife, Catherine Campbell Radenhurst was the sister of Mrs. Thomas Ridout (Rideout) the wife of the Surveyor-General of Upper Canada, both of them the daughters of Alexander Campbell of Adolphustown near Kingston, Upper Canada.\u00a0 Captain Radenhurst had died in 1805 leaving eight children under the sole care of their strong-willed mother.\u00a0 She managed to get commissions in the army for two of her older sons and later to have the son Thomas accepted at John Strachan’s Home District Grammar School at York (Toronto).\u00a0 From there, he went on to study law in the office of his cousin George Ridout (Rideout).\u00a0 Thomas Radenhurst became a prominent lawyer in Perth, (Ontario) and also served as a Member of the Legislature for Upper Canada.<\/p>\n

Demobilizing the 99th<\/sup> Regiment of Foot Soldiers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the summer of 1818, the military authorities decided to demobilize the 99th<\/sup> Regiment of Foot Soldiers, which had been a consolidation of the older 99th<\/sup> and 100th<\/sup> Regiments and which had been stationed in Lower Canada (Quebec).\u00a0 Most of the members of the 99th<\/sup>decided to settle in Upper Canada (Ontario).\u00a0 Following his military career, George Lyon received from the crown a grant of a considerable amount of land in Goulbourn Township a part of the Richmond Settlement of Upper Canada, just 20 miles from the soon to be Bytown (Ottawa).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lyon House circa 1900
All family members had moved from the village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

George also held property in March Township.\u00a0 The Public Archives of Canada shows documentation that he held deed to 11,000 acres of land on the Jacques (later and still known as Jock) River.\u00a0 Research shows that the amounts of land allotted were according to military rank.\u00a0 It is documented that in 1820, Captain Lyon built mills above the village and constructed the great dam which drowned the country above it for many miles, turning it into a hunter’s paradise for many years.\u00a0 For erecting mills, George received, in agreement with the Quarter-Master General’s Department, extra land in the village of Richmond and in Goulbourn.\u00a0 He was later allowed to patent even more land to compensate for the property flooded by his mill pond. Documentation shows that he and also the Radenhurst family (his in-laws) at one time owned land in the region of Sorel, Quebec.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ruins of Mills circa 1900<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sawmill was erected about 1821 and by 1826, the gristmill was fully operational.\u00a0 To the mill complex, he added a distillery which began production early in 1827, a fulling mill, a forge and a store at which he sold spirits and other goods.\u00a0 He also engaged in the potash trade.<\/p>\n

Given their backgrounds, it was natural that Lyon and the other officers formed an elite group for leadership and positions of prominence.\u00a0 In this group were names such as Maxwell, Lewis, and Ormsby.\u00a0 Officers were on half pay whereas general settlers were permitted to draw army rations for the first year, and were issued with only basic tools and stores.\u00a0 The standard of living for Officer families was much higher.\u00a0 George Lyon, in time and owning a store, was able to import luxury items from Montreal such as bone china, crystal glasses, silk and gold jewelry.\u00a0 A further indication of the community’s refinement was the demand for books, including the current issues for the time of the illustrated magazine Life in Paris<\/em>.\u00a0 The principal markets outside the local area for the mill products of Richmond were flour, lumber and whisky to Montreal and the Point (Ottawa).<\/p>\n

George Lyon was noted for many accomplishments:<\/p>\n