William Lyon (1793-1878) Mary Cragg (1796-1873)

William and Mary Cragg Lyon. My great great great great great (yes 5!) grandparents. They are through Grandma Webb's paternal grandmother.

Very little is known about William and Mary Lyon. There is no written history that I have been able to find. Just pieces of documentation. I have compiled what I could find.

One interesting thing I came across while researching William and Mary, was when they sailed to America on ship Juventa. At the time, another ancestor, my 3rd great grandfather, William Glover was returning from his English mission. He also sailed on the ship Juventa, as the presiding LDS authority.

Elder Glover was appointed as the presiding authority by yet another ancestor, my 3rd great grandfather, Franklin Dewey Richards. (Grandma Webb's maternal grandfather's father.) President Richards was a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles starting in 1849. He was requested by President Brigham Young to serve a mission to England. On June 4, 1854 he reached Liverpool, England and according to his letter of appointment from the First Presidency, he was "to preside over all the conferences and all the affairs of the Church in the British Islands and adjacent countries."

So, my 3rd great grandfather through grandma Webb's father, ordained my 3rd great grandfather through grandpa Byron, to lead the ship that brought the family of my 5th great grandfather through grandma Webb's mother. Ha! If you can follow that. 

William and Mary are buried in the Hyde Park City Cemetery. I have been past many times, but never knew any of my ancestors were buried there. I went after work today, it was hot, but peaceful. I have been trying to get to this cemetery for almost 2 weeks. With the new job, I just kept forgetting to stop. Finally, I wasn't so brain dead and remembered. I love that these are the old stones. Unfortunately they have broken off, but have been cemented back. I also did notice that Mary has a pioneer emblem on it, but William's does not. They both should have it, not sure why William doesn't. Or even who to contact to put one on?

Hyde Park City Cemetery

William and Mary's Personal History

William
No known picture exists of Mary.

William Lyon was born on April 10, 1793, in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The son of Daniel Lyon and his mother was Jane Wing Lyon. He was the third child of seven; five males and 2 females.

Mary Cragg was born April 5, 1796, in Rutland, England. The daughter of and Thomas Cragg and Susanna Blake. She was the second of four children; 3 female and one male.

William and Mary were married about 1815 in Lincolnshire, England. They had 12 children; 6 male and 6 female. William Cragg Lyon (1816–1873) Ann Jane Lyon (1819– unknown) Thomas Lyon (1821–unknown) John Lyon (1823–1891) Mary S. Lyon (1825–1892) Susan Lyon (1826–1883) Jane Lyon (1830–1880) George Lyon (1833–1921) Joseph Lyon (1834–1913) Amos Cragg Lyon (1838–1855) Emma Lyon (1838–1913) Charlotte Lyon (1840–1912). William and Mary also raised their grandson, Charles (Tyers) Lyon (1845–1935), illegitimate son of their daughter Susan and Thomas Tyers, from the time he was seven years old. Susan and Thomas later married 23 May 1848.

They left England on the ship Juventa. Sailing from Liverpool England on 31 Mar 1855 and arriving in Philadelphia, USA on 5 May 1855. Presiding Elder in charge being Elder William Glover. There were 573 passengers on board, none of them perished. On the Ships manifest has the Lyon family listed as:
Lyon, William (Age: 58)
Lyon, Mary (Age: 55)
Lyon, Emma (Age: 13)
Lyon, Charlotte (Age: 12)
Lyon, Damsel (Age: 10)
Lyon, Charles (Age: 9)
Lyon, Mary (Age: 28)
Lyon, Amos (Age: 18)
Lyon, Thomas (Age: 1)

Once arriving in Philadelphia, it says that many of the saints then headed west to start across the plains. However, according to the 1860 United States census, William and Mary and their grandson Charles lived in St Georges, New Castle, Delaware.

On 5 or 8 August 1862 the Henry W. Miller Company with 665 individuals and 60 wagons began its journey from the outfitting post at Florence, Nebraska (now Omaha). Among those that left were

Lyon, William 69 (10 April 1793 6 June 1878)
Lyon, Mary Cragg 65 (5 April 1797 4 May 1873)
Lyon, Charles 14 (5 December 1847 15 August 1935)
Lyon, Charlotte 21 (26 Mar. 1841 29 June 1912)
Lyon, Damsel 17 (September 1844 22 January 1865)
Lyon, Emma 23 (12 September 1838 7 April 1913)
Lyon, George 4 (12 April 1858 20 September 1938)
Lyon, Joseph 28 (15 July 1834 7 April 1913)
Lyon, Mary 38 (3 February 1824 22 August 1892)

In Charles' history it states,

...an ox team was secured and the trek across the plains begun. Charles was 14 yrs. of age at this time. Captain Miller, who was the company leader, told them that everyone would have to walk since there was no room for them to ride. This meant that Charles and his grandparents would have to do the same. There were 665 members and 65 wagons in the company. Charles' grandparents were 63 and 67 years old at the time they crossed the plains. There were 12 other passengers and their possessions besides his family and what they were taking, hence all walked most of the way. While crossing the plains, the company buried 28 people between Aug. 8th and Oct. 12th. When they reached Parley's canyon on Oct. 15th they rested for one day and then journeyed on, arriving in Salt Lake City on Oct. 17, 1862. This was their temporary home for a while.

Later on he (Charles) built a house of willows for his grandparents, who were very happy to have a bed of willows and thistles. Charles and his grandfather made a living by getting wood from the canyon and hauling it into Salt Lake City. There they traded the wood for the food and clothing they needed. A trip of this kind took from one to two days and in winter often it was so cold their clothes would freeze to their bodies after fording streams and working hard to get the logs out.

By the 1870 Census it shows William and Mary residing in Hyde Park, Cache County, Utah.

William died on June 9, 1878, aged 85 years, and was buried in in Hyde Park, Utah.
Mary died on May 4, 1873, aged 77 years, and was buried in Hyde Park, Utah.


William's Ordinances Complete
Baptism - 2 January 1849
Confirmation - 2 January 1849
Initiatory - 13 December 1865, Endowment House
Endowment - 13 December 1865, Endowment House
Sealing to Parents - 23 February 1952, Logan Utah Temple
Sealing to Spouse - 13 December 1865, Endowment House


Mary's Ordinances Complete
Baptism - 5 December 1848
Confirmation - 5 December 1848
Initiatory - 1 December 1865
Endowment - 13 December 1865, Endowment House
Sealing to Parents - 30 June 1960, Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Sealing to Spouse - 13 December 1865, Endowment House




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