Two Lanyon brothers (Richard & Henry) married two Searle sisters (Elizabeth & Mary) and each couple had ten children. This post is about Richard and Elizabeth’s sons who had children.
Five of Richard’s and Elizabeth’s sons had children to carry on the Lanyon name.
William Lanyon 1777-1850
William was the eldest son and in 1803 he married Peggy Exter Richards at St Allen. They had eleven children:
- Isabella 1806-1874 married Andrew Batten, a farm labourer at St Allen in 1809 – eight children (Isabella and Sarah may have been twins as they were both baptised on the same day in 1806)
- Sarah 1806-1876 married Richard Benny, a farm labourer, at St Allen in 1835 – three children
- Elizabeth -1809 died young
- Elizabeth 1811-1873 no trace of a marriage and date of death is possibly not correct
- William 1812- aft. 1846 married Elizabeth Gill Bishop at St Allen in 1835 – five children but can’t trace any of them after 1846, perhaps they emigrated?
- Josiah 1815-1846 married Charlotte Mae Mitchell
- John 1818-1882 married Johanna Roberts
- Francis 1821-1876 married Alice Meryfield
- Reuben 1824-1846
- Jocelyn Joseph 1827-1882 married Grace Coplestone
- Hubert 1829-1848 died young
William also had an illegitimate child with Ann Jolly a farm servant:
- William 1816-1883 married Nanny Swan
Two sons called William just adds to the confusion!
His father Richard died in February 1838 and he had changed his will and left his estate to his son Richard and a codicil removed an annuity of £7 for William. In Mar 1838 he was sent to Bodmin Debtor’s Prison as he had a debt of £93. 3/-1d owed to Thomas Nicholas.
Perhaps the will was changed to protect the estate from legal action from Thomas Nicholas to recover his debt?
He was released from jail in Oct 1847 almost ten years later! He was permitted to remain at the jail for one extra night as neither his family nor his friends had come to pick him up and he was too weak to proceed alone. His wife Peggy had died in 1842.
He died at Little Trevalsa, St Allen in 1850 aged 72.
Richard Lanyon 1783-1860
Richard was the fourth son of Richard and Elizabeth (second son John was a bachelor). He was a farmer and inherited his father’s estate, Polstain. He married Elizabeth Vincent at St Allen in 1803, so father and son were both Richard Lanyons married to women called Elizabeth! He and Elizabeth had thirteen children:
- Paul Vincent 1804-1882 was a farmer and agricultural labourer at Lanner Mill. He married Jane Truran at St Allen in 1854 at the age of 50. There were no children.
- Elizabeth 1805-1807 died in infancy
- Mary 1807-1866 married Paul Clark a farmer and a widower in 1838, they had one daughter, Elizabeth Jane Vincent Lanyon Clark.
- Richard 1809-1878 married Catherine Lanyon
- Elizabeth 1810-1873 married Henry Lanyon
- Catherine 1812-1895 spinster
- Robert Vincent 1814-1894 married Elisabeth Bowden
- Bella 1816-1894 married Thomas Johns – emigrated to Ballarat, Australia – seven children
- Oliver Vincent 1818-1821 died in infancy
- Samuel 1821-1875 farmer at Lanner, married Elizabeth Hosking Gill at Perranzabuloe in 1860 – no children
- John 1824-1846 died young (Asthenic Fever – fatigue and lethargy, could be from TB) may be the twin of Eliza as they were baptised together
- Eliza 1824-1897 married Thomas Northcott, a farmer of 50 acres – ten children
- Louisa 1826-1911 married her widowed brother-in-law Paul Clark in 1872 at St Mary’s Wesleyan Chapel – no children
Simon Lanyon 1785-1839
Simon was baptised at St Allen in 1785 and married Dorothy Hoskins there in 1810. He died at St Neot, Cornwall on 26th Dec 1839 aged 52. His will described him as a yeoman of St Neot. They had eleven children:
- Ann Buckland 1810-1896 married John Skewes – six children
- Dorothy Hoskins 1813-1883 married John Clyma at St Neot in 1834 – seven children
- Simon 1814-1837 died age 22, killed by a kick from a horse, no children
- Josephus 1816-1817 (twin) died in infancy
- Josiah 1816-1839 (twin) died age 22 of a seizure, no children
- Josephus 1819-1844 died at Bodmin Asylum age 26 of a brain fever, no children
- Elizabeth 1825-1883 spinster, lived with brother John and his family
- Mary Ellen 1825-1898 married George Clyma – four children
- Catherine 1825-1894 (3 sisters baptised on the same day so may be older than born in 1825) married Richard Lanyon (son of Richard Lanyon, her uncle) confused yet?
- John 1826-1908 he was a saddler he married Louisa Smith Upward in Dorset in 1873 – no children
- Charlotte 1827-1843 died age 16 of spasms. The death was mistakenly recorded as Caroline Lanyon by the undertaker. The entry was corrected in the parish register by G. Morris, Vicar in the presence of Dorothy Lanyon, her mother and Mary Pellow who were present at her burial. (Recorded as Caroline at GRO.)
Simon left a will. Source – CRO/AP/L/2393
Partial transcript:
- To my wife Dorothy one fourth part of residue of said property
- To son Josephus one eighth part of residue of said property
- To son John one sixth part of said residue
- To each of the rest of my children namely: Ann, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary and Charlotte one eighth residue
- My wife sole executrix with power to execute the sureties herein required under the control of my brother Henry Lanyon, William Gill of Erme and John Francis of Par, St Cleer whom I appoint as trustees
Robert Lanyon 1786-1834
Robert was the youngest son of Richard and Elizabeth and a farmer at Trevascus in Gorran, he married Grace Roberts at Probus in 1817.
They had nine children:
- Grace 1818-1893 married age 53 Walter Langford Williams a widower – no children
- Robert 1819-1920 married twice
- John Robert 1821- not on 1841 census and no trace
- Edwin 1822-1870 married Ellen Brewer
- Julia Roberts 1823-1852 married John Wills – three children, she died of ‘decline’ which could be TB
- Amy 1825- not on 1841 census and no trace
- Emma 1826-1889 married Nicholas Westcott at Probus in 1858 – four children
- Caleb 1828-1856 died young no children, he died of Phthisis (TB)
- Frederick 1829-1851 died young no children, he died of Consumption (TB)
Henry Lanyon’s story is told in a separate post ‘Captain Cork!‘
We’ll see what happens to the grandsons of Richard and Elizabeth in another post.
The Lanyons 