lawyer, politician, soldier, judge, b. Chatham, N.Y. In 1841 he moved with his parents to Wisconsin, settling on a farm near the present site of Lyons, Walworth County. In 1844 he began to read law in the office of George Gale (q.v.) in Elkhorn and in 1845 continued his studies with C. M. Baker (q.v.) of Lake Geneva. Admitted to the bar in 1846, he began to practice in Lyons the same year. In 1850 he moved to Burlington where he practiced law until moving to Racine in 1855. A Republican, he was district attorney for Racine County (1855-1858), and was state assemblyman (1859-1860), serving as speaker at both sessions. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Lyon formed a company of volunteers (1861), was elected captain, and served with the 8th Wisconsin Infantry until 1862 when he became colonel of the 13th Wisconsin Volunteers. He was mustered out of the army in 1865 with the brevet rank of brigadier general. In 1865 he was elected circuit judge of the 1st judicial district and, on the resignation of the incumbent judge, took office in December the same year. He held this office until Jan., 1871, when he was appointed to the state Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Byron Paine (q.v.). Successful in the judicial election of 1871, Lyon served continuously on the high court bench until his retirement in 1894, and was chief justice for the last two years of his term. During his tenure on the bench, Lyon wrote the court's opinion upholding the Potter law of 1874, and handled such notable cases as Weiss v. the Dist. Board (1890), which declared sectarian instruction in public schools unconstitutional, and the state treasurer cases in 1893. Appointed to the state board of control in 1896, he served as its president from 1898 to 1903, when he resigned and moved to California. A. J. Beitzinger, Edward G. Ryan (Madison, 1960); Milwaukee Free Press, Apr. 5, 1913; Wis. Mag. Hist., 9; J. R. Berryman, ed., Bench and Bar of Wis. (2 vols., Chicago, 1898); Who Was Who in Amer. (1943); WPA field notes.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]