Lucius LYON, Congress, MI (1800-1851)

LYON, Lucius, a Delegate, a Senator, and a Representative from Michigan; born in Shelburne, Chittenden County, Vt., February 26, 1800; attended the common schools; moved to Bronson, Mich., in 1821; became a land surveyor; elected as a Democrat Delegate to the Twenty-third Congress (March 4, 1833-March 3, 1835); served as a member of the convention which framed the State constitution in 1835; upon the admission of Michigan as a State into the Union was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from January 26, 1837, to March 3, 1839; was not a candidate for reelection; moved to Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1839; member of the board of regents of the University of Michigan 1837-1839; appointed Indian commissioner at La Pointe, Wis., in 1839; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1845); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1844; appointed by President James K. Polk in 1845 surveyor general for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, moving the office from Cincinnati to Detroit for his convenience, and serving in this capacity until 1850; died in Detroit, Mich., September 24, 1851; interment in Elmwood Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dodge, Elise F. “Pioneers of the Statehood Era: Lucius Lyon.” Michigan History 71 (November/December 1987): 39-40; Shirigian, John. ”Lucius Lyon: His Place in Michigan History.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1961.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present