M. 12 Jan 1654 in Branford, Connecticut
Wife: Dorcas Plumb
D. 20 Aug 1690 in Northampton, Massachusetts
John Lyman played a role in leading his town's militia during a war against Native Americans, and participated in a brutal action that wiped out a fishing village.
John was born September 16, 1623 in High Ongar, England (which is in Essex). His parents were Richard Lyman and Sarah Osborne, and John was one of nine children. In 1631, when John was eight years old, the family sailed to America on the ship Lyon. The ship also carried the wife, son and grandchildren of John Winthrop and they were given a cannon salute on their arrival in Boston harbor.
The Lyman family settled first in Roxbury, then traveled through 100 miles of wilderness to settle the new town of Hartford, Connecticut. John's parents were both dead by 1642; his father's will stated he would receive £30 when he turned 22 in 1645. On January 12, 1654, John married Dorcas Plumb, daughter of a ship owner, in Branford, Connecticut. Between 1655 and 1678, they had ten children. By 1658, John had moved his family upriver to Northampton, Massachusetts. The house he built there was in the Lyman family for 150 years.
John was appointed lieutenant in the Northampton militia during King Philip's War, and in May of 1676, he led a company of men organized to deal with the Indigenous people in western Massachusetts. The effort resulted in an action known by some as the Turners Falls Fight, and by others as the Turners Falls Massacre. Around sunrise on the morning of May 18th, a Massachusetts force of 150 men invaded a fishing encampment of the Nipmuc tribe, and slaughtered the people, including women, children and the elderly. John was one of three leaders; the other two were Captain Samuel Holyhoke and Captain William Turner, for whom the Falls would be named posthumously. The fight or massacre has been described like this:
"[Turner] had reached his objective point undiscovered. … At a given signal the crash of a hundred shots aroused the stupefied sleepers. Many were killed at the first fire. The astonished survivors, supposing their old enemy to be upon them, cried out 'Mohawks! Mohawks!' rushed to the river, and jumped pell-mell into the canoes which lay along the shore. Many pushed off without paddles; in other cases the paddlers were shot, and falling overboard, upset the canoe; many in the confusion plunged into the torrent, attempting to escape by swimming. Nearly all of these were swept over the cataract and drowned. Others, hiding about the banks of the river, were hunted out and cut down…." (from A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts, George Sheldon, 1895)
Only one of the Massachusetts men died in the raid, but 40 were killed as they made their way home "in a disorderly way" after the massacre. The event was seen as being pivotal in King Philip's War, with the insurrection being put down later that year.
Monument at site of massacre. (Source: I, Denimadept, CC BY-SA 3.0 via WikiMedia)
John lived out his years in Northampton and died there on August 20, 1690. He was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton. His wife lived another 35 years, dying in 1725. Famous descendants of John Lyman include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, Bess Truman, Thomas Dewey and Helen Hunt.
Children:
1. Elizabeth Lyman – B. 6 Nov 1655, Branford, Connecticut; D. 6 Jul 1689, Springfield, Massachusetts; M. Joseph Leonard (1644-1716), 29 Mar 1683, Springfield, Massachusetts
2. Sarah Lyman – B. 11 Nov 1658, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 4 Apr 1733, Northampton, Massachusetts; M. Samuel Wright (1654-1734)
3. John Lyman – B. 1 Aug 1660, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 8 Nov 1740, Northampton, Massachusetts; M. Mindwell Sheldon (1666-1735), 19 Apr 1687, Northampton, Massachusetts
4. Moses Lyman – B. 20 Feb 1663, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 25 Feb 1701, Northampton, Massachusetts
5. Dorothy Lyman – B. 8 Jun 1665, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 1 May 1735, Wallingford, Connecticut; M. Jabez Brockett (1654-?), 20 Nov 1691, Wallingford, Connecticut
6. Mary Lyman – B. 2 Jan 1668, Northampton, Massachusetts; M. John Hall (1670-1730), 8 Dec 1692, Wallingford, Connecticut
7. Experience Lyman – B. 8 Jan 1670, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. young
8. Joseph Lyman – B. 17 Feb 1671, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 18 Feb 1691, Northampton, Massachusetts
9. Benjamin Lyman – B. 10 Aug 1674, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 14 Oct 1723, Northampton, Massachusetts; M. Thankful Pomeroy (1679-1773), 27 Oct 1698, Northampton, Massachusetts
10. Caleb Lyman – B. 2 Sep 1678, Northampton, Massachusetts; D. 17 Nov 1742, Weston, Massachusetts
Sources:
Genealogy of the Lyman Family in Great Britain and America, Lyman Coleman, 1872
A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts, George Sheldon, 1895
"The Coming of Margaret Winthrop," Edith M. Thomas, The Independent, Volume 53, p. 2824, The Independent Publications, Inc., 1901
WikiTree
Lymanites.org – The Lyman Family Website
GeneaStar: Famous Family Tree and Genealogy (website)
