Histories

Piedmont Chapter member Phillip G. Riddle of Jasper provided the biography of Joseph Emanuel Lyon. Born February 13, 1754 in England, Lyon was a jeweler by trade. He came to the colonies as a British soldier. He was captured during fighting in Germantown, Pennsylvania on October 4, 1777. Obviously a pragmatic soul, he took the oath of allegiance and joined the Colonial Army. He was wounded at the battle of Cowpens, South Carolina on January 17, 1781. The Lyon family history holds that Joseph had been left for dead on the Cowpens battlefield. A passer-by saw that he was alive and carried water to him in his hat. The Revolutionary War Samaritan carried him home and cared for him until he recovered. Patriot Lyon was ever after crippled, losing an arm as a result of his wounds. Lyon was a teacher by profession. Joseph Lyon married Mary Ann Marshbank about 1785 in South Carolina. Patriot Lyon died in 1830. Descendants of this couple still live on the same land along the South River where Joseph and Mary Ann first settled. Their house, much modified since Joseph built it is still home to members of the Lyon clan. The house has the distinction of being the oldest in the county occupied continuously by the same family. Lyons Road, off Browns Mill, is named for this family. Patriots John Biffle and Joseph Emanuel Lyon were honored at a grave marking service conducted the Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery, Lithonia, Georgia, on November 6, 1999.