Lyon, George Armstrong

REV. GEORGE ARMSTRONG LYON, D. D. , was born in Baltimore, Md., March 3, 1806. He was the son of Samuel and Betty W. (Brown) Lyon, daughter of the Hon. Jacob Brown, of Philadelphia. His ancestors came originally from Scotland and England, but his grandfather, William Lyon, emigrated to Pennsylvania from the North of Ireland and in connection with Gen. Armstrong, whose sister he married, surveyed and laid out the town of Carlisle. Dr. Lyon was early left an orphan, and made him home with his uncle, George A. Lyon, for whom he was named, a prominent citizen and lawyer of Carlisle. He was educated at Dickinson College, where he graduated in 1824, at the age of eighteen. He then entered the theological seminary at Princeton, and after finishing his course of study, was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Carlisle, on the 9th of April, 1828. During the summer he crossed the Alleghany Mountains on horseback, and spent the following winter between Fredonia, N. Y., and Erie, Penn. Receiving a call from the Presbyterian Church in each place, for reasons unknown to the writer, he decided to accept the one to Erie, and on Sept. 9, 1829, was ordained by the Presbytery of Erie, and installed pastor of the church there. In this capacity he remained the balance of his life, a period of over 41 years, his death having occurred March 24, 1871, at the age of sixty-five. "He was brought into the ministry just before the great spiritual harvest time of 1820 to 1832, and entered in as a vigorous and earnest and prayerful reaper, and came forth rejoicing, bringing many sheaves with him. The church was greatly edified, and other churches sprang from its roots and grew from its richness." He was a wise and zealous minister, and his undivided time and talents, as well as his own private means, were cheerfully given to advance the purposes and institutions of the Gospel in the county and elsewhere. As a preacher, was distinguished for the grave, affectionate and instructive nature of his sermons, for his logical force, a clear perception of the truth, clearness in stating it, and pungency in applying it. He was also distinguished for the aptness of his prayers, as all who remember them will testify, and for his ready sympathy for his parishioners and friends when in sorrow or trouble. His warm and practical charity was manifested repeatedly in both public and private actions; his whole soul was in his work, and he loved to preach the great central truths of the Gospel; at the same time he kept his heart close to the throbbing pulses of humanity, and his interest in all local and national questions which involved the ever-lasting principles of truth and equity was always keep and strong. He died at Avon Springs, N. Y., whither he had gone, hoping to recuperate his failing health. On Tuesday, March 28, 1871, his funeral services, which were very solemn and impressive, were held in the church in which he had so long ministered, and his body was consigned to the tomb in the Erie Cemetery. The funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Richard Craighead, of Meadville, formerly of Carlisle, Penn., though in the services many of his brother ministers of various churches in the city participated.

Source:
Samuel P. Bates, History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, (Warner, Beers & Co.: Chicago, 1884), Part V, Biographical Sketches, City of Erie, pp. 922-923.