In the 17th and 18th centuries there were five Jonathan Lanyons. The first was born aft. 1649 and died in 1655, the second was baptised in 1657, both the sons of Francis and Rosamon. The third born in 1689 and the fourth in 1690 and the last in 1714. This was the only time the name was used in the family. The name was spelt Joanithon and it’s possible it was in honour of Francis Lanyon’s mother, Joan Shutford, who died in 1655.
The first Jonathan to survive to adulthood was born abt. 1657 and like his father he was a cordwainer. He moved the family to Helston where there was an established tannery. He married Mary and had three children:
- Joanithon 1689-1690 died in infancy
- Joanithon 1690-1767
- Mary 1694- no further trace
- David 1699-1759 no trace of a marriage
We know almost nothing about Joanithon senior but he lived to about 95 years of age and was buried 11 Oct 1751 at Helston.
Joanithon Lanyon 1690-1767
Joanithon was baptised 11 Mar 1690/1 at Helston. He was the second son to be called Joanithon. He too was a cordwainer. He married Avis Lobb 5 Aug 1713 and the following year they had a son, Jonathan. By July 1715 Avis was dead and on 13 Sep 1716 Joanithon married for a second time, to Elizabeth Nichol. They had ten children, of which, only half survived.
- Jonathan 1714-1768 unmarried
- John 1717-1751 married Rebecca Treloar – two children
- Elizabeth 1719-1740 unmarried
- Mary 1722-1801 married Peter Lobb – two daughters
- Sarah 1725-1748 unmarried
- David 1728-1730 died in infancy
- Jane 1731- married William Angel soldier 35th regiment
- Charles Francis 1734-1810 married Alice James – ten children (see post ‘The Old Shoemaker of Truro)
- Grace 1737-1738 died in infancy
- Grace 1739-1739 died in infancy
- William 1741-1811 married Jane Davies
Joanithon was buried on 30th Oct 1767 and left a will.
Source: CRO AP/L/1734
The last Jonathan never married, he was buried a year after his father in 1768. He too was a cordwainer but, without children, the heir was his younger brother and the third son, Charles Francis Lanyon.
John Lanyon 1717-1751
John was Joanithon’s and Elizabeth Nichol’s eldest son. He was baptised at Helston in Aug 1717 (name spelt Lanyne). He was a cordwainer at Helston and in 1749 he married Rebecca Treloar. They had two children:
- Sarah 1750-1802 Rebecca left her estate in trust for her daughter Sarah as she was of unsound mind. Sarah never married.
- John 1751-1829 married Elisabeth Miners
John was just a baby when his father died in Aug 1751, aged just 34. He died intestate. His widow lived another 52 years alone and outlived her daughter by a year.
William Lanyon 1741-1811
William was born in 1841, when his father Joanithon, was 50. In 1775 he married Jane Davies of Helston and they had one daughter Elizabeth who died in 1789 aged 8. At the time of her burial her father was described as a pauper. He was a cordwainer but clearly was unable to work. Perhaps whatever killed his daughter affected his health too.
In 1801 at the age of 59 he volunteered for the 1st Helston Volunteers militia. Ten years later he was dead. There were no other children so his branch died out.
John Lanyon 1751-1829
John was the son of John and Rebecca Treloar. He was also a cordwainer and married Elisabeth Miners at Helston in 1774. They had six children:
- John 1775-1818 he married Mary Briant at Helston in 1805, one son Bryant (1810-1880) who was an ostler. He never married but was living with Mary Pascoe between 1851-71, no children
- Rebeckah 1777-1852 married William Scorse in 1798, he was a soldier in the Somerset Regiment of Militia. One daughter, Caroline Scorse.
- Thomas 1779-1844 married Ann (Nanny) Waters – four children
- William 1782-1861 he married Ann Gilbert – six children
- Elizabeth 1784- married John Heydon in 1822 – no further trace
- Sarah 1786- married Joseph Packer – no further trace
In 1829 John was described as a pauper at the time of his death.
Thomas Lanyon 1779-1844
Thomas was 55 when he married Ann (Nanny) Waters at St Gluvias in 1835. He was a painter. They had four children, the first may not have been his child as she was born twelve years before their marriage, she was given the surname Lanyon.
- Letitia/Lavinia 1823-1841 she died age 18.
- Elizabeth Jane 1836-1861 married James Moyle in 1860 and died the following year.
- Thomas 1839-1913 married Lavinia Ann Praed – eight children
- Mary 1844-1910 also married James Moyle!
Elizabeth died in quarter 1 of 1861 and James her widower married her younger sister in quarter 2! He was a tin miner and obviously didn’t hang around! They went on to have six children.
William Lanyon 1782-1861
William worked as a shoemaker and a bailiff. In 1820 in Helston he married Ann Gilbert. They had six children:
- William 1821-1861 married Ann Clarke
- Edward Gilbert 1822-1855 not married
- Lavinia 1826-1898 married Thomas Edwards – four children
- Amelia 1827-1829 died in infancy
- John Thomas 1831- married Elizabeth Rowe Stevens no children traced
- Amelia 1842-1921 was a fruit seller, she married George Hellings – five daughters, emigrated to New Zealand
Thomas Lanyon 1839-1913
Thomas was born in Helston in 1839 in 1859 he married Lavinia Ann Praed in Falmouth. Thomas had a variety of jobs: age 11 he was a shoemaker, then a green grocer and a dealer selling sand for floors. We have a wonderful photo of him!
He and Lavinia had eight children:
- Charles Henry 1860-1917 he worked as a labourer and never married
- Frances (Fanny) 1864- in 1891 she was a servant working on St Mary Scilly Isles
- Tamsy 1865-aft. 1881 she’s on the 1881 census but no further trace
- William 1867-aft. 1911 he was a quarryman, married Annie Susan Treloar – five children
- Emmeline 1871-1958 married Leonard Hicks – six children
- Sidney 1873-1921 he was a mason, married Emma Dunn – eight children
- Clara 1875-1948 she was a charwoman who never married
- Thomas 1877-1961 married Laura Jane Moyle – one daughter
William Lanyon 1821-aft. 1861
William was baptised at Helston in 1821, the son of William Lanyon and Ann Gilbert. He married Ann Clarke in 1851. He was a journeyman mason. He had six children:
- Lavinia 1850-1852 died in infancy
- Edward Gilbert 1853-1855 died in infancy
- Lavinia 1855-1895 married Andrew William Coulman no trace of children
- William John 1857-1931 unmarried
- Edward Gilbert 1859- married Bessie Screech no trace of children
- Amelia Hannah 1861- married 1880 in Devon no further trace
This branch of the family continued on into the 20th century but we must leave them here.
The Lanyons 