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Lyon Family Business Papers

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 1960

Scope and Contents

Account books, journals, and waste books kept by multiple members of the Lyon family and relating to personal and professional financial or business matters in New Haven, Connecticut, 1714-1830. Among those identified as using the volumes are William Lyon (1716-1767), William Lyon (1748-1830) and business partner Jeremiah Atwater, Nathaniel Lyon (1762-1836), and William Lyon (1772-1841). Volumes dating between 1788 and 1795 document William Lyon (1748-1830) and Jeremiah Atwater's woolen manufacturing business.

Dates

  • 1714-1830

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Lyon Family Business Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source unknown.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Extent

3.75 Linear Feet (22 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.lyonfamilybusiness

Abstract

Account books, journals, and waste books kept by multiple members of the Lyon family and relating to personal and professional financial or business matters in New Haven, Connecticut, 1714-1830. Among those identified as using the volumes are William Lyon (1716-1767), William Lyon (1748-1830) and business partner Jeremiah Atwater, Nathaniel Lyon (1762-1836), and William Lyon (1772-1841). Volumes dating between 1788 and 1795 document William Lyon (1748-1830) and Jeremiah Atwater's woolen manufacturing business.

Biographical / Historical

William Lyon (1716-1767) was married to Elizabeth Maltby Lyon (1727-1810), with whom he had two sons: William Lyon (1748-1830) and Nathaniel Lyon (1762-1836). He was active in both Boston, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, before removing to Barbados for his health.

William Lyon (1748-1830) was a lottery agent, merchant, and banker, as well as a founding member of the Second Company of the Governor's Foot Guards. In 1788, Lyon and Jeremiah Atwater (1744-1835) established a woolen manufacturing business in New Haven, Connecticut. This manufactory was in operation until 1795, when Lyon became the first cashier of the newly organized New Haven Bank.

William Lyon was married to Lois Mansfield Lyon (1745-1821), with whom he had five children--among them William Lyon (1772-1841), who was a clerk at the New Haven Bank.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.

Volume titles have been taken from volume spines, covers, title pages, and the like. These titles are typically in the hand of members of the Lyon family, but some appear to have been assigned by unidentified individuals.

Former call number: Z35 005

Title
Guide to the Lyon Family Business Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Lerner
Date
March 2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.