By LUCILLE JOHNSON

     Chatham Calhoun Lyon is re-
membered as a distinguished judge
of Bladen County.

     The well-known tavern operator
and merchant Robert Lyons (sic.) of
Lyon's Landing, located on the
western banks of the Cape Fear
River, was his grandfather. His
parents were Joseph Lyon, born in
1807, and Mary Jane (Lucas) Lyon.

     The immigrant James Lyon,
ancestor of the area Lyons, came
from England prior to the Revolu-
tionary War. He settled on a large
tract of land on the west bank of the
river where he built his home,
"White Marsh." This land joined
"Owen Hill," plantation home of
John Owen, governor of North
Carolina 1828-1830.

     Mary Jane Lucas Lyon was the
daughter of a prominent French
Huguenot family who settled in
Charleston, S.C.

     The maternal uncle of Chatham
Calhoun Lyon and brother of Mary
Jane was J.J.D. Lucas, who also
owned a river plantation called
"White Hall." Here Chatham spent
much of his early life; his mother
died when he was 5 years old.

     His uncle entered the War Be-
tween the States, becoming a colo-
nel over North Carolina troops.

     Chatham's early education was
in the home. He attended the
Maysville private high school, later
reading law in the office of his
brother, Robert H. Lyon, who was a
practicing lawyer in Elizabethtown.

     In 1872, at the age of 22, he
passed the bar exam and with his
brother formed the law firm of
Lyon and Lyon. It's said he soon
earned a reputation "for strict
integrity and fair dealing, for
diligence in attending to busi-
ness....His council was sought not
only in matters of a legal nature,
but businessmen came to him for
advice. For more than 30 years he
was the mentor in Bladen County in
its business and political life."

     In 1906 he won election as a
Superior Court judge and was
re-elected in 1914. Prior to his
election to the bench he was a
solicitor for five years.

     A portrait of Judge Lyon was
presented to Bladen County in 1935
with Judge Henry A. Grady making
the presentation. In making the
presentation he said: "He was just
what I always thought a judge
ought to be. I can pay him no higher
tribute than that. ...In his private
life he was the the (sic.) most unassuming
man I ever knew. He was gentle and
kind to everybody. Judge Lyon
loved his children; he loved his
home and his people. He had a
profound patriotism for the state.
He was a home lover, a man who
was fond of stock; he loved to see
things grow in the field. It was a
delight to him to walk over his
farms and breathe the fresh air of
the country. He would come in from
such a trip, dressed in his shabbiest
garments and, perhaps, soiled with
dust, and shake hands with the
president of the United States,
unashamed."

     A tribute to Lyon is found in the
History of North Carolina Biogra-
phy by Lewis Publishing Co. Vol.
IV. It says: "To the work of the
Jurist, Judge Lyon has served as a
dignified and impartial judge. Such
public service on the part of such a
man must necessarily mean self-
sacrifice. He gave up to a large
extent his profitable law practice to
attend to his duties on the bench."

     In 1943 a liberty ship, "S.S.
Chatham Lyon," was launched at
Wilmington honoring him.

     Chatham Calhoun Lyon was
married first to Margaret Plum-
mer Richardson, daughter of Col.
John A. Richardson, and his wife,
Elizabeth O'Neill Purdie Rich-
ardson of "Harmony Hall." The
children of Chatham and Margaret
were Joseph Alden Lyon, John
Richardson Lyon, Homer LeGrand
Lyon and Terry Alexander Lyon.

     Following the death of his first
wife, he married Mary Eliza
(Robinson) Stedman, widow of
Nathan Stedman of Fayetteville.

     Terry Alexander Lyon settled in
Fayetteville and became a member
of the law firm of Rose and Lyon.
When the United States entered the
first world war, he received a
commission as a captain and was
appointed first assistant judge ad-
jutant with a division of troops from
Ohio, accompanying them
overseas. He was promoted to
major, then lieutenant colonel.
After the armistice was signed, he
was detailed with the army of
occupation as judge adjutant in
Germany.

     He returned to the United States
but was retained in the adjutant
general's department and sent to
Camp Bragg, later being assigned
to Washington. He was appointed
assistant to the solicitor general of
the United States but resigned to
return to private practice. After
practicing law briefly in the capi-
tal, he returned to Fayetteville and
his former firm.

     Children of Terry and Pauline
Horton Lyon are Jean Thomas and
Hannah Dawson of Fayetteville.
 

     Mrs Johnson is a local histori-
an. Her stories about interesting
people and places of the past
appear monthly in the Sunday
Observer-Times.