W. H. LYON - W. H. Lyon, living on section 15, Buffalo Hart township, where he has a farm of two hundred acres, equipped with all modern improvements, was born in Springfield township, Sangamon county, October 22, 1851. His paternal grandfather, Henson Lyon, came to this county with his family in 1832, when the work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun here. There were few wagon roads and no railroads and the homes of the pioneer settlers were largely built of logs and were widely scattered. Harrison D. Lyon, father of our subject, was born in Kentucky in 1815 and was therefore a young man of about seventeen years at the time of the removal of the family to Illinois. He was married here to Miss Mary Hickman, who was born and reared in Kentucky, a daughter of William Hickman, who was one of the well known and influential citizens of Sangamon county, serving as justice of the peace in Springfield for a number of years. His decisions were st rictly fair and impartial, and his equitable rulings won him the confidence and support of the entire public.
After his marriage H. D. Lyon located on a farm near Springfield, but for many years has made his home on the farm which is his present place of residence. He is a hale and hearty old man of eighty-eight years, and his upright and honorable life has made him a citizen who receives the veneration and respect of all who know him. His wife passed away about about 1893. They were the parents of three sons and a daughter: Mary E., who is acting as her father's housekeeper; W. H.; Euclid F., a farmer of Illiopolis township; and James F., a farmer of Barclay.
Reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools, W. H. Lyon remained with his father throughout the period of his minority. In 1872 he located on the farm where he now resides, having here two hundred and eight acres of land, which he at once began to cultivate. The work of plowing, planting and harvesting has since largely claimed his attention, and that his life has been energetic and industrious is indicated by the finely improved appearance of his property. He has built a good house and barns, has planted fruit and shade trees and uses the latest improved machinery in the cultivation of his fields. He also raises good graded stock and his farm is such as has won for Illinois its splendid reputation as an agricultural state.
Mr. Lyon was married near Springfield in March, 1874, to Sarah Day, he was born, reared and educated in New York, and was a daughter of Ira Day, who died in the Empire state. There are two children by this union: Macie E., who married William Priddle; and May B., the wife of John Enos, a son of William S. Enos, who is represented elsewhere in this volume.
A stanch Republican in his political affiliation, Mr. Lyon cast his first vote for General Grant in 1872. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church which he is serving as a deacon, and he also belongs to the Court of Honor. He is always found on the side of progress, reform and the right, and his name is a known for honorable dealing in business transactions.