THE LYON FAMILY
BY: H.A. LYON

Arthur Gleni Lyon was born near Erie Pennsylvania April 18, 1867 and Betsey Elonie Marsh was born July 16, 1869 in Wisconsin.  Both the Lyon Family and the Marsh family came to Nebraska in covered wagons and settled in and near Doniphan, Nebraska.  Both were educated in the Doniphan schools. The were married January 1, 1891 and moved to Des Moines, Iowa to work for his uncle, Mr. Madole in the paint and wall paper business.  They lived there 12 years.  Nellie Lyon was born there on September 27, 1895.

Because of poor health Dad had to quit the paint and paper business and get work out in the open air.  They came back to Nebraska in 1902 with $1200.00 saved from his job.  He and Grandma came to Loup County and she purchased two quarter sections.  One on the north side of the main road between Taylor and Burwell and the other across the road to the south and it had the buildings on it, including a log house.  The land with the buildings she sold to Dad.  They came back to Doniphan and Dad got an immigrant car.  This was a box car divided in half, one half for household goods or live stock and the other half was for living quarters. Then Mother, Dad and Nellie loaded all their house hold goods and came to Burwell in this immigrant car. Dad bought a wagon and team in Burwell and they moved out to their place that used to be know as the Fred Bohy place.  Grandma joined them a little later.

On June 4, 1904 a tornado came down the valley fromthe west on the north side of the river it tore up the Albert Britton place and came on east then jumped the river and headed for our place.  The supper meal was on the table including baking powder biscuits.  All four of them rushed to the cave and stayed there until the tornado had gone on east.  The log cabin was driven full of straw, driven like nails but they couldn't be pulled out.  On the inside everything looked just normal, just like when they left to go to the cave. The biscuits were still warm so they sat down to eat but when they broke open the biscuits they were all black inside and so was the butter. But, both the butter and the biscuits looked just fine on the outside.

In the fall of 1908 Dad sold out, even selling the land by public auction.  They spent the winter in Doniphan then they moved to their place in Dry Valley in the west part of Loup County.  Dad bought
the farm from one of the Hooblers.  Dad added four more rooms to the house and built all the other buildings new, barn, henhouse, machine shed, hog house, cave house and moved a shed half way into the yard for a coal house and cob house.

Neva and I were born at Kent in the new house that Dad built after the tornado. I was born January 1, 1906 and Neva was born April 3,1907.  Dad sold out March 20, 1919 and moved to Excelsior Springs, Missouri for his health.  In March of 1923 he had to come back to take the place back.  Mother stayed down to sell the Apartment house. She finally sold it in late summer that year.  Neva and Nell both went to Taylor High School but I graduated from Excelsior Springs. Nellie married Lyle Ferguson October 12, 1916 at our farm home in Dry Valley. She passed away May 21,1966 in Omaha, Nebraska. She is bured at Brewster and so is Lyle.  Neva married Seba Phillips May 1, 1927 in Sargent. They worked for Dad a couple of years.  She passed away June 19, 1965 in Spokane Washington.  Mother passed away in Doniphan on February 18, 1931.Dad passed away January 12,1934 in Grand Island.  Just a few months before he passed away he sold this farm to Robert Rusho, banker in Taylor.

I worked on the farm, after two years teaching at Kent and about 6 months operating my own shoe store inSterling, Colorado for E.K. Buck. Icame back to the farm in the spring of 1930 to help Dad sell out and we were going to open up my own store but the Depression stopped all that.  I stayed on the farm until Dad sold out to the Bank.Then farmed the Westby farm and carried the mail from Almeria to Brewster for 4 years.  In 1938 I filed again for County Clerk of Loup County and was elected.  Was elected for a second term and was then appointed Deputy Tax Commissioner by then Governor Griswold. I took over the office of Deputy in March of 1943.

I believe one of the Cone men now own our farm inDry Valley.

Transcribed by: Melody Beery
Source: Loup County Cenntennial 1883-1983

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