The Children of James H. and Sarah Lyons, Generation Three: Part 4

Editor’s Note: The first 14 children of James H. and Sarah Lyons were detailed in the Nov. 4, Nov. 10 and Nov. 18 editions of the Herald. This article finishes the descriptions of the Lyons children with the final two.

Charles was the last son in the family, born in 1868 in Salemville. He died at the young age of two or three, dying in 1871. His gravestone was found in the Lyons family cemetery nearby.

A final daughter, Leah G., was the last child born to James and Sarah on Nov. 12, 1876. Sadly, her mother Sarah died just one month after her birth, on Dec. 15 at age 46. In the next census in 1880, there were five children yet at home with their father James: daughter Sarah, 24; sons James, 10 and John, 16; and daughters Emma, 14 and Leah, 3. Her obituary was found in The Gospel Messenger of March, 1893: LYONS – in the Yellow Creek church, Bedford Co., Pa. (New Enterprise German Baptist Brethren), Nov. 15, 1892, Leah C., daughter of Bro. James H. Lyons, aged 16 years and 3 days. Funeral services by Eld. J.F. Koonts, of the Progressive Brethren church and the writer, C.L. Buck. Leah is buried in the New Enterprise cemetery.

In researching to learn about each member of this family, it was surprising to find that their racial designation changed at times. In the 1830 census, Benjamin Lyons was listed as Black, but the race in later records for different family members through three generations often changed from Black or Negro to mulatto or white. This raises the question of why members of the same family identified as racially different from their parents or another sibling; called “racial passing.” It may have been that the person writing down the record perceived them in a certain category because of skin color or didn’t even ask. It may have been each person’s preference, which may have helped in finding a spouse, employment or place in the community. If the Lyons family had been living in the south during the Jim Crow era, they might have been in more danger from the KKK or police if Black. For some, the naming of their race may have assisted in their status in life: higher up on the social scale if White. Their choice of race became their identity.

This ends a long story, telling the various beginnings and endings of the 16 Lyons children, making James H. and Sarah the grandparents of 52 grandchildren! What happened “in between” their births and deaths would be fascinating to know – how they each chose a path for their own lives, through marriage and raising families or a career. Nearly all the children kept a close connection to each other to retain their strong Lyons family ties.

A notebook of information on the families of Benjamin Lyons, James H. Lyons, and other Black families of Morrisons Cove has been given to the Martinsburg Public Library, Archives room; and the Bedford County Historical Society library, available for further research.

Sincere appreciation is expressed to the late Naomi Sollenberger for her help in researching these Black families of Morrisons Cove, with her knowledge of local families, places, and interest in traipsing through cemeteries. Our work was not finished before her untimely passing. Her presence in the community is greatly missed by all who knew her.