I spent many months bemoaning the fact that Lanyon parents were not terribly adventurous about naming their children. There are over 300 John Lanyons on my tree and trying to distinguish between them is a nightmare! There are also an awful lot of Williams, Richards, Elizabeths, Janes and Marys but there is definitely only one Elcana Lanion!
I first came across Elcana/Elcaner when I saw a baptism entry in Millet’s transcript of the Madron register:- ‘4 Apr 1670 Bernard son of Eleana Lanion’. I automatically assumed it should be Eleanor and that Bernard was illegitimate. Then I discovered Elcana’s marriage to Honor in 1666. I couldn’t find a baptism or a burial for Elcana despite him having probably the most unusual name in the whole Lanyon family.
A quick trawl on Google revealed that Elkanah was a minor biblical character who was mentioned in the Book of Samuel for having two wives.
I couldn’t find anything else so I tucked the name away and moved on. Some months later I came across a will which mentioned him.
William Lanyon yeoman of Madron died 1674
Transcript:
- To my son Hugh, lease of Bosollow Veor after mother’s death.
- Jane my wife
- Thomas my second son
- William my third son
- Daughter Jane £10
- Mary the daughter of Elcana Lanyon
- Margaret wife of Thomas Tonkin
- Mary wife of Edward Primrose
Where does this William Lanyon fit on the tree? He is the grandson of Raphe Lanyon.
From this will and the Madron parish register we can put together this tree.
Madron parish register lists the baptism of Hugh son of William Lanion of Gulvall in 1648. Hugh is the eldest son according to the will so presumably his parents were married before 1648 but I can’t find a record of this anywhere.
William’s will mentions Mary daughter of Elcana but not the relationship of Elcana or Mary to William. Could Elcana be William’s son and Mary his granddaughter? Or perhaps Elcana is William’s younger brother or even a cousin?
William was probably born in the 1620s if he married in the 1640s. Elcana married Honor in 1666 almost a generation later so could be a son or younger brother. We know from the will that he had a daughter Mary and from the Madron parish register a son called Bernard.
Presumably Margaret (who married Thomas Tonkin) and Mary (who married Edward Primrose) are married daughters of William.
Hugh Lanyon 1648-1709
Hugh was a ‘tynnor’. He married Mary Tonkin from Paul in 1689 but they didn’t have any children.
Hugh’s will (Source – CRO AP/L/1104)
- Bequeathes 1/- to several named widows
- To Mary my beloved wife, the house that I do live in and garden adjoining, with liberty of commons for cattle
- To brother Thomas 10/-
- Sister Jane wife of William (possibly Harris)
- Sister-in-law Margaret Tonkin and to brother William Lanyon all the estate I have in land what is not formerly bequeathed to my wife and executor
- 2/- 6d for the poor man’s box, parish of Madron
- Inventory mentions Bosollow: one old life left on small tenement. Inventory apparently signed by Thomas Lanyon and Thomas Tonkin.
Brother Thomas Lanyon was baptised on 10 Apr 1652 but there is no trace of a marriage or burial. No trace of a baptism for brother William Lanyon. A possible marriage: William Lanyon married Susanna at Madron in 1675 and she died several months later.
Mary Primrose, wife of Edward was buried at Gulval 8 Mar 1729. She had two daughters: Kathren and Mary.
There is no further trace of Elcana, Honor or Bernard so presumably they died (probably before 1674 as they are not mentioned as beneficiaries in William’s will) and their burials are not recorded. There is no further trace of Elcana’s daughter Mary.
The Lanyons 