Private John Ralph Lyons
10th Cavalry, Troop D
U.S. Army

John Ralph Lyons, ca 1939,

daughter, Claire, and granddaughters on Hickok Street in Winooski, VT.

John Ralph Lyons was born February 22, 1888 in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania to James Levi and Harriet (Baptist) Lyons. John is the great-grandson of a runaway slave, Benjamin Lyons (1780-1859), and Mary "Polly" Heck, who settled in Salemville, Bedford County, PA around 1825. John's grandfather, James H. Lyons, was the first postmaster of Salemville, PA. His grandmother, Sarah (Forsythe) Lyons, came from Indian Springs, MD.

John was a barber and a musician, as were his father and brothers. He played the mandolin and sang. My mother often sang songs he taught his children and their friends.

After serving in the U.S. Army, 10th Cavalry, Troop D, at Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, VT, he reenlisted during WW1 in Co. F 807 Pioneer Infantry. After his WW1 service, he worked as a barber at Fort Ethan Allen for many years. The last few years of his life he worked for the American Woolen Mill in Winooski, VT.

John married Elizabeth Connell, an Irish immigrant, from Dover, New Hampshire. He "passed for white" around 1918, just before reenlisting in WW1. His death at home in Winooski, VT on March 16, 1941 resulted from being kicked in the chest by a mule while hauling coal for the Mill. (per story by his daughter, Claire)

World War 1 Draft Record for John Ralph Lyons

John R. Lyons is buried in the Lakeview Cemetery, North Avenue, Burlington,VT. His stone reads:
John Ralph Lyons, CPL Co. F 807 Pioneer Inf., World War 1, Feb. 22 1886 [sic 1888] - March 16, 1941

rev. 11/1/2007