The Penzance Cordwainers

Francis Lanyon 1653-1723

Francis was the son of Francis and Rosamon Lanyon of Penzance, he was born about 1653. When his grandmother died in 1655 she left him a ewe in her will.

We don’t know the name of Francis’ wife, their marriage wasn’t recorded but he did have a son also called Francis in 1680.

Like his father, Francis was a cordwainer in Penzance. In 1695 he is mentioned as the principal creditor of Edmund Lanyon who died whilst aboard HMS Weymouth.

Edmund Lanyon’s administration AP/L/969 signed by Francis and William Landry

We don’t know where Edmund fits on the Lanyon tree as there are many gaps in the records.

Francis Lanyon abt. 1680-1757

Francis was the only son of Francis Lanyon. His baptism was not recorded but he was probably born about 1680. He married Elizabeth Thomas at Madron in 1708. They had seven children:

Francis 1713-1758 married Anne Lutey
Ann 1716-1757 married Richard Lembry – one daughter
Hugh 1719- aft.1759
Charles 1721-1757 bachelor, no children
John 1723-1727 died in infancy
Elizabeth 1726-aft. 1759 no further trace
John 1729-aft. 1759 living abroad- no further trace

So many in this family died in such a short time period that there was probably some sort of epidemic in Penzance. Francis senior died in April 1757, in November Ann & Charles both died. Jan 1758 Elizabeth senior died and in June 1758 Francis junior died. In 1757 there was a smallpox outbreak which may have reached Cornwall and also epidemics of measles and scarlatina and in 1758 an influenza epidemic. Perhaps one or a combination of illnesses affected this family. Daughter Elizabeth had to administer her father’s estate as the widow and heir had both died.

In 1754 Vesuvius erupted and that caused poor weather and sickness in subsequent years. The 1750s seems to have been a time of natural disasters and disease. Gangrenous sore throat and Angina Maligna (an obsolete term for: Acute necrotising ulcerative gingivitis; Diphtheria; Pseudomembranous pharyngitis) are described as being ‘very fatal’.

Vesuvius erupting in 1754 – CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Francis Lanyon 1713-1758

Francis married Anne Lutey in 1734 at Madron. They had six children.

Robert 1735-
Sarah 1736- in 1767 she married Thomas Shepherd, a hatter, they had three children.
Peter 1741-1771
Henry 1743-1747 died in infancy
David 1746-1768 unmarried
Anne 1748- married Richard White no children traced

Hugh Lanyon 1719- aft.1759

Hugh was baptised at Madron in 1719 and he married Christian Williams at Madron in 1740. There are no children from this marriage and she must have died before 1747 as Hugh married for a second time to Sarah Row at Charles the Martyr, Plymouth, Devon.

Plymouth – Charles the Martyr – bombed during the blitz

From Francis’ will of 1759 he mentions son Hugh and children now living at Plymouth Dock. There are three children traced.

Mary 1749-
Sarah 1752-59
Hugh 1757-1760

There are later marriages and burials of Lanyons at Plymouth but we can’t say if they are related to Hugh & Sarah.

Marriage register Plymouth Charles the Martyr 1747

Hugh was buried at Stoke Damerel on 17 Dec 1760.

Robert Lanyon 1735-

Francis and Anne Lutey’s son Robert was baptised at Madron in 1735 and in 1759 he married Martha Dyer at Plymouth St Andrew. Perhaps after his father’s death he went to join Uncle Hugh in Plymouth?

They had two documented children:

Sarah 1764- who married William Gains at Plymouth in 1784.
Mary Jensen 1772- no further trace
Possibly John Jenkinson Lanyon 1770-1835

Baptism register Plymouth St Andrew 1772

The researcher Jane Veale Mitchell believed that John Jenkinson Lanyon (see Irish branch) was the unrecorded son of Robert and Martha. The names Jensen and Jenkinson are both unusual and don’t appear anywhere else in the tree. John Jenkinson Lanyon used a ring with the Madron coat of arms to seal his letters so he must have had a connection to this branch of the tree somehow.

Peter Lanyon 1741-1771

In 1767 Robert’s brother Peter married Mary Carpenter at Madron. Peter was a cordwainer at Madron. They had three children

Peter 1768-1768 died in infancy
Elizabeth 1768- no further trace
Peter abt. 1769-1827

Peter senior died aged 30 and left Mary to raise the children.

Peter Lanyon abt. 1769-1827

Peter, son of Peter and Mary Carpenter had three wives. He married for the first time at Madron in 1789 to Grace Cock (1771-1793). There were two children from this marriage.

Peter 1790-1852
John 1793-1857

Grace may have died, possibly in childbirth, in 1793 as Peter remarried in 1795. His second marriage was to Mary Wall (1772-1806). This marriage produced three children.

Francis 1797-1857
Richard 1799-1973 was a grocer, he married Caroline Johns at Helston in 1822, no children
Ann 1803-1886 spinster died age 82

Mary died in 1806 and Peter married for a third time in 1807 to Ann Michell (1770-1839). They had three children.

Elizabeth 1807-1886 she married Charles Andrew at Madron in 1827 – six children
William 1810-1889
David 1813-1846 was a mason, he married Catherine Rebecca Davies in 1838 – one daughter died in infancy.

Peter was aged 58 when he was buried at Penzance in 1827. He had eight children and 26 grandchildren!

Peter Lanyon 1790-1852

Peter’s eldest son was also called Peter and like his father he too had three wives! In 1810 at the age of 20 he married Ann Barnicoat Matthews (1789-1822)

Francis 1811-1888
Peter 1813-1846 he was a mason who died in Bodmin Asylum a pauper with a ‘disease of the brain’
John Matthews 1815- John married Mary Addison Edmonds at Madron in 1836, they had one daughter Rebecca Addison 1838-1898 who married James Eva in 1855

A ‘disease of the brain’ could be anything from a disease to a head injury. Clearly it was serious as he died aged just 33.

UK Lunacy Patients Admission Registers 1846-1912

Bodmin Asylum is still a forbidding place today.

In 1817 Peter senior was convicted of larceny and sentenced to be transported for seven years. His wife and three young sons were left to fend for themselves. Peter arrived at Sydney, Australia on the ship Lady Castlereagh on 1 May 1818. He was described as 5’5″, dark complexion, dark hair and hazel eyes. He was a mason.

The Lady Castlereagh’s last journey

Having served his seven years penal servitude Peter was granted his certificate of Freedom but he wasn’t able to return home to Cornwall.

New South Wales, Australia Certificate of Freedom 1818

He appears on the 1828 census:

Item: 62824 Surname: Lanyard (Lanyon) First Name: Peter Ship: Lady Castlereagh 1818

Date: 1828 Place: Patrick Plains Source: 1828 Census

Details: Stonemason aged 36. Employed by Archibald Bell

Source: https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com

In 1824 he married Sarah Whittle at Parramatta NSW, Sarah must have died because in 1836 he requested and was granted permission to marry Bridget Delaney.

NSW Register of Convicts’ Applications to Marry 1826-51

Peter died in Australia in 1852, he never saw Cornwall or his Cornish children again.

John Lanyon 1793-1857

Peter’s brother John was a miner and in 1823 he married Rebecca Jane (1795-1870) at Kea in Cornwall. They had five children.

Joseph 1826-1889 he was a tin miner, he married Cecilia Rose Emidy in 1848. Cecilia had an illegitimate daughter Julia. Joseph had no children.
William 1826-1899
Emma abt. 1827-aft. 1871 was a tailoress who had two illegitimate children
James 1828-1891
Thomas 1828-1891 was a tin miner, he emigrated to Australia, no trace of any children

John died in 1857 at Chacewater. Chacewater was the centre of the mining world and there are a number of mines in the area. In the 1860s metal prices started falling and mining declined.

Chacewater

Francis Lanyon 1797-1857

Peter and John’s half brother Francis was a cordwainer like his father. He married Catherine Rundle at Paul in 1822. They had five children.

Mary Anne 1822-1880 – There is a Mary Anne Lanyon convicted of larceny which may be her
Thomas 1825- possibly married Mary Whear. Father of Milly 1860-1941 who married Edward Ladner in 1885. No further trace of Thomas.
Catherine Elizabeth 1827-1891 married Henry Barnes at Penzance in 1855 – five children
Anne Maria 1829- In 1858 she had an illegitimate son, Edwin who died in infancy. In 1859 she married Thomas Savage and they had one daughter, Mary Ann.
Francis 1831-1895

Shoemaker – Paul Renouard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

William Lanyon 1810-1889

Peter, John, and Francis’ half brother William was born in 1810. He was described as a ‘poor shoemaker’ on admission to the dispensary in 1829. In 1830 he married Ann Wills at Madron. They had six children.

William James 1830-1924
Mary Wills 1832-1904 married Edward Williams – no children
Louisa 1836-1904 married Richard Baxter Hocken – five children and she died in Yorkshire.
Joseph Phillips 1837-1847 died young
Frederick 1839-1869
Sarah Ann 1841-1921 married John Rose – two daughters, emigrated to New Zealand

We’ll find out what happened to Peter’s grandsons in the post ‘Peter Lanyons Grandchildren and the Great Migration’.

25th Sep 202213th Nov 2025

The Reluctant Grooms!

The final branch of the Botrea tree are the sons of Thomas Lanyon 1661-1738.

Thomas was just 3 years old when his father died in 1664. Of the eight children he had only William and John survived to produce their own families and carry on the family name.

John (1711-1767) married Sarah Straight and moved to St Allen in Cornwall and founded a whole new and very successful branch of the family. (See St Allen Branch). William (1705-1791) married Margaret Richards and despite living to the grand old age of 86 only had one surviving son.

William Lanyon 1739-1827

William was born at Paul, he married Mary Pooley at Ludgvan (near Marazion) Cornwall in 1776.

Marazion

Their children:

William 1777-1834
John 1782-1847
James 1784-1853
Mary 1787-1862 married John Strick at Ludgvan in 1810
Richard 1789-1853
Ann 1791-1860 married Christopher Trathan, a labourer, at Gulval in 1814, one son, William Lanyon Trathan b 1817
Margaret 1793-1875 spinster

William Lanyon 1777-1834

William Lanyon’s first child was illegitimate and born to Susan Dinneshorn when he was 19. William Lanyon senior and junior were charged a £30 bastardy bond by church wardens and the parish poor law overseer for Susan’s base child. The son, George, was born in 1796 and married Ann Edmonds at Ludgvan in 1827. He died in 1829 and left a will, George Lanyon yeoman of Ludgvan – 2 guineas to my father and all the rest of my goods to my wife Ann sole executrix. There were no children of this marriage but Ann Edmonds had a daughter Grace Jennings born in 1836.

William married Mary Martin in 1803 and he had a further nine children:

Juliana 1804-1877 married Matthew Trewhella 1827 – six children, emigrated to Connecticut, USA.
Margaret 1806-1887 married Jasper Allen 1834 – ten children, emigrated to Connecticut.
Mary 1806- married Richard Edmonds 1825, three children
Jane 1806-1815 died young
William Argell Perrow Lanyon 1808-1884 was a farmer, he never married but lived with his illegitimate son, Alfred Lanyon, who was born about 1856. No further trace of Alfred.
Joseph Martin Lanyon 1811-1870
Henry Lanyon 1814-1871
Jane 1815-1837 died at Rospeath (family home) age 21
James 1822-1885

Of those nine children only four sons had children of their own who carried on the Lanyon name, William, Joseph, Henry and James.

Joseph, Henry and James all emigrated to Connecticut, USA.

The Great Emigration

Between 1815 and 1915 many thousands of people emigrated from Cornwall to seek a better life. They headed to countries like the USA, Australia and South Africa. They were ‘economic migrants’. When tin mining was no longer profitable and mines closed many Cornish men moved to mining areas all over the world. As a result of the Great Emigration, there are now more than six million people of Cornish descent around the world, some of them are called Lanyon!

Three of William’s sons emigrated to Connecticut, USA.

Connecticut

Joseph Martin Lanyon 1811-1870

Joseph married Mary Thomas Harry in 1835 at Ludgvan and by 1844 they had emigrated to Connecticut, USA. Joseph was a miner. Their children

Joseph Martin 1837-1837 died in infancy
Mary 1838-1900 married James A Crase in 1857 at Connecticut and moved to California. Five children.
Louisa 1840-1876 married Llewellyn Michell who died in 1874. Five children who all died in infancy.
Jane 1843- married Henry Rowe at Connecticut. One child.
Bethulia 1847-1931 married Josiah Champion in 1865. Three children.
Joseph H Lanyon 1851-1900. Married Caroline Harris. Six children.
William T Lanyon 1854-1908 a stonemason, married Alice Sophia Leavenworth. Three children.

And there we must leave Joseph Martin Lanyon’s family. His brother Henry also emigrated to Connecticut.

Henry Lanyon 1814-1871

Henry was born at Ludgvan, married Elizabeth Sarah Wills at Bath in Somerset in 1840. He died at Connecticut in 1871.

Mary Jane 1841-1913 born in Gloucestershire, England – spinster who died in Canada.
Emily Millicent 1843-1927 also born in Gloucestershire. Three marriages: Nathaniel Williams – one daughter; William Taylor – eight children; John Catron – two children. She died in Pennsylvannia in 1927.
James M 1845-1903 a butcher, born in Connecticut married Emma Bristol – 2 sons Wilbur & James.
William Wills 1847-1905 married Sarah Bronson Thrall – four children. William died in Los Angeles.
Joseph M Lanyon 1849-1850 died in infancy
Arabella 1852-1933 spinster died in California
Julia 1854- no trace
Elizabeth 1856- no trace
Susan Gertrude 1858-1923 married in 1876 to Herbert Rudy Hawley – three children. Susan died in New Jersey.
Henry John 1866- no trace

James Lanyon 1822-1885

James was the third son of William Lanyon and Mary Martin. He was also born at Ludgvan in Cornwall and emigrated in the 1840s to Connecticut. There he married Lucretia Brooks in 1843. They had three children.

William J 1844-1844 died in infancy
Mary 1846-1846 died in infancy
Wesley 1848-1928 married Eleanora Harriett Allen in 1848 and they had three children.

That’s where we leave William and Mary Martin’s branch of the tree and move to his brother John Lanyon.

John Lanyon 1782-1847

John was a farmer and miller, he lived at Tregarthen at Ludgvan. In 1815 he married Ann Hosken. They had four children.

Henry 1817-1834 died young no children
Mary Ann 1819-1888 she was a spinster and died at Mithian in 1888
John 1821-1864
Richard 1824-1874

Farming-Städel Museum, PDM-owner, via Wikimedia Commons

John Lanyon 1821-1864

John was also a farmer at Tregarthen, he married Mary Reed at Ludgvan in 1852. He died when he was just 42.

William John 1853-1857 died in infancy
Thomas James 1855-1941 no trace of a marriage or children, he died in Alabama
Elizabeth Margaret 1857-1885 died unmarried
William John 1860-1867 died in infancy
Eliza Jane Reed 1863 1920 married Samuel A Bice, no children. Died in Alabama

Without any surviving children this branch died out.

Richard Lanyon 1824-1874

Richard was a farmer in 1854 he married Anne (Nanny) James. They had seven children but only one child ever married.

James 1855-1932 never married and lived with his unmarried siblings. He died age 77 at New Farm in Crowan.
Emily 1856-1916 spinster lived with unmarried siblings
Anne 1862-1870 died young
Jane 1864-1937 married John James Liddicoat – one child.
Richard 1865-1932 never married and lived with unmarried siblings
John 1867-1951 he was a farmer, he never married but was living with Maude Lanyon, a widow, in 1939.
Emma 1870-1930 spinster lived with unmarried siblings

With so many unmarried children it’s not surprising that this male line died out!

Richard Lanyon 1789-1853

We go back to William and Mary Pooley’s children. Richard was a farmer at Rospeath, Ludgvan. At Zennor, in 1826, he married Elizabeth Stevens and had eight children.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Stevens 1827- married Thomas Richards no further trace
John 1829-1829 died in infancy
John 1831-1902
Mary 1833-1833 died in infancy
Mary 1835- married William Bennetts – eleven children
James 1837-1837 died in infancy
James 1839-1912
Margaret 1841-1842 died in infancy

Richard died in 1853 and his will specifically excluded his son in law Thomas Richards. “Thomas Richards shall not receive any benefit from my daughter Elizabeth Richard’s part”.

Of Richard and Elizabeth’s eight children only two sons had children of their own, John and James.

John Lanyon 1831-1902

John was a farmer at Rospeath, Ludgvan and his ‘claim to fame’ is that he had two wives, both called Jane!

Jane Matthews – married Jan 1857. Jane died nine months later in Sep 1857 so it is possible she died in childbirth with their first child.
Jane T Chellew was his second wife. He married her in Jan 1858. They had five children and four of them died in infancy. Only John 1860-1933 survived. Jane died in 1869, leaving a nine year old son.

John Lanyon 1860-1933

John was baptised at Ludgvan 29 Dec 1861, the only surviving son of John Lanyon and Jane Chellew. He was a farmer at Rospeath, Ludgvan. He married Priscilla Trembath in 1883. They had six children.

William John 1881-1949 married Ada Mary Tilly – no children.
Richard Henry 1886-1940 married Honor Jeffrey – four children
Robert Henry 1886-aft. 1911 farm labourer no further trace
Mary Annie 1888-aft. 1911 no further trace
Bessie 1894-1921 bessie died at Bodmin Asylum age 27.
Priscilla 1898-1987 she married James Leonard Noy in 1931 – no children

We must leave this branch of the family here.

Bodmin Asylum – Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

James Lanyon 1839-1912

James was the son of Richard Lanyon and Elizabeth Stevens. He worked as a farmer and a miner. In 1863 he married Mary Carlyon Corin at Ludgvan and they had seven children.

Grace Jane Corin 1865-1930 married Samuel Semmens – no children
Mary Elizabeth 1866-1877 died young
Elizabeth 1866-1949 spinster died at St Erme in 1949
James 1869-1935 bachelor of Chy Vellan farm at Ludgvan.
Matilda 1872-1949 married 1901 William Ernest Semmens – one son Ernest Semmens. Matilda married for a second time in 1923 to William A Curtis, at Penzance.
William John 1876-1951 never married
Richard 1879- never married

Yet again with so many unmarried children this branch of the tree died out.

In just eight or nine generations this branch of the Lanyon tree has almost died out in Cornwall due to the reluctant grooms. Why did so many of them remain unmarried?

24th Sep 202217th Apr 2026

The Diminishing Tree

John Lanyon and Mary Ellis had a large family but their descendants quite often left no traceable issue.

Francis Lanyon 1651-1725 had six sons.

Francis 1686-1723
Thomas 1691-1755
William 1693-1756
Nicholas 1695-1706 (died young)
John 1697-1738 never married
Tobias 1702-1778 never married

Only three of them, Francis 1686-1723, Thomas 1691-1755 and William 1693-1756 had sons of their own.

Francis Lanyon 1686 – 1723

Francis married Jane Edwards at Morvah in 1715. They had five children, the fifth was born following the death of Francis in 1723.

Jane 1716 – 1716
Dorothy 1717-1778 married John Tellum (three children)
Francis 1719-1730
Jane 1722-1807 – spinster
Benoni John 1723-1777 (Benoni means ‘son of my sorrow’)

Benoni was baptised three months after his father’s death. He was an attorney and married Sybella Tremenhere, the daughter of James Tremenhere and Catherine Lanyon, a grand-daughter of John Lanyon and Mary Ellis.

Benoni John had no children.

Thomas 1691-1755

Thomas married Ann (surname unknown) and worked as a pewterer in Bristol (see separate post for his life story.) He had one son, Francis, born 1725 – no further trace of him.

William 1693-1756

William was a yeoman of Madron and married Jane Philips at Zennor in August 1725.

They had four children:

William 1725-1790
Ralph 1727-
Jane 1730
Hugh 1732-1769

William 1725-1790

William was baptised at Zennor in February 1725. He married twice, first to Joan Esterbrook in 1751. Joan died before 1758. They had two children:

William 1751- aft 1770. William inherited the estate at Boswarthen but there is no further trace of him
Mary 1752- ? there is no mention of her in her father’s will so presumably she died young.

William then married for a second time to Elizabeth Murrish (1736-1796) on 2 Aug 1758. They had four children.

Elizabeth 1759-1779. She married James Edwards.
Hugh 1764- mentioned in his father’s will of 1770 but no further trace
Sarah 1767-1767
Sarah 1769- she married Thomas Harvey

There are no traceable male heirs of this line.

Hugh Lanyon 1732-1769

Hugh was baptised at Zennor in 1732. In 1762 he married Anne Eady at Sancreed and they had two sons, Hugh and Ralph. Hugh senior was a yeoman which meant he owned some land. Hugh died in 1769 when his youngest son was just two. He died intestate and his wife renounced administering his estate to Martyn Angwin, Richard Harvey and William Lanyon 1725-1770 (her brother-in-law) his principal creditors.

Ann renouncing Hugh’s estate – Source – CRO AP/L/1753

Hugh Lanyon (Junior) 1762-1838

Hugh and Anne’s eldest son was also called Hugh, he was baptised at Sancreed in 1762, three months after his parents marriage. Hugh was an agricultural labourer and he married Alice Ladner at Sancreed in 1805. They had four children:

William 1806- no further trace
Francis 1808-1865
Nancy 1810 – no further trace, she may have died in infancy
Nanny 1813- Nanny married James Hodge, an agricultural labourer at St Buryan in 1837 and they had 3 children.

In 1819 Hugh and Alice were imprisoned for six weeks for larceny.

Hugh died in 1838 at the Penzance Union Poorhouse aged 80, the cause of death was debility. Alice died in 1854 at the Union Workhouse Madron age 90.

Francis Lanyon 1808-1865 & Betsy Lanyon 1808-1892

Hugh and Alice’s only surviving son Francis married Elizabeth (Betsy) Leah at Paul in 1834. Francis was a Newlyn fisherman and Elizabeth Leah was featured in a series of photographs and paintings depicting Newlyn fishwives.

Source: The photos are of Betsy Lanyon and Blanche Courtney taken in the Gibson Mount’s Studio in Penzance circa 1885. Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance.

Francis and Elizabeth had three children: Grace, Elizabeth and Francis. Only Francis survived to adulthood.

Francis senior died in 1865 and Elizabeth/Betsy died at Newlyn in 1892 but Betsy Lanyon lives on… she is now a ‘living’ part of history and talks to visitors at the Penlee House Gallery & Museum about life in Newlyn in the 19th century.

Betsy Lanyon appears to have been the model for the old woman in this Walter Langley painting. Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance.

Francis Lanyon 1842-1872

Betsy and Francis’ son Francis was born at Paul in 1842. The 1871 census for Paul in Cornwall shows that he was living with his mother who was a widow and he was described as age 30 and a ‘cripple and has been for 20 years.’

In 1858 at the age of 16 Francis was found guilty of willfully destroying a tree, the property of Rev. Wm. Veale, clerk at Gulval. He was sentenced to 3 weeks hard labour or a fine of approximately 20 shillings which he couldn’t possibly pay. He had no previous convictions but was sentenced to three weeks on the treadmill. (We’ve already noted that he had been a ‘cripple’ since the age of about ten so three weeks on a treadmill was particularly harsh.)

He was described as 5’2″, dark hair, dark eyes and a dark complexion. Unable to read or write. Freckled, thick lips, scar on nose and left wrist, large eyebrows and slightly pock marked. He was already working as a labourer at Penzance. His weight on entering prison was 133lbs and 3 weeks later it has fallen to 129lbs. Bodmin Gaol was tough. (Source AD/1676/4/5).

British Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Treadmill Punishment

Poor Francis died, aged 31, of Scrofulus abscesses (scrofula was TB of the lymph nodes in the neck) and diarrhoea. His mother Betsy lived for another 20 years.

Ralph Lanyon 1767-1842

Ralph was the younger son of Hugh Lanyon and Anne Eady. He worked as an agricultural labourer. His first marriage was to Margaret Pearce in 1796 at Paul. There were two children from this marriage.

Mary 1798- 1842 Mary had 3 illegitimate children: Mary Ann 1825, James 1830 and Matilda Bluett 1834-1841. No further trace of the first two children. She died age 46 of TB.
Hugh 1801-1846 – follow him in the post ‘More Brawn than Brains’

Ralph senior married for a second time in 1805 to Alice Chirgwin 1774-1869. There were two children from his second marriage:

Ralph 1807-1868
Sarah 1810-1867 married Francis Nicholls in 1827 and they had four sons.

Ralph senior died at the Penzance Union Workouse in 1842. He was a pauper and suffering from TB. Alice his wife died at Lelant in 1869, she was still working as a labourer age 64.

The family has come quite a way from the days of the ‘Golden Lanyon’ and his great wealth.

The forbidding looking Penzance Union Workouse

Penzance Union Workhouse at Madron

Ralph Lanyon 1807-1868

Ralph was a tin miner. He married Mary Ann Nicholls 1806-1881. They lived at Newbridge, Sancreed. They had six children:

COL439186_2022-2-Elizabet_Potter Download

Ralph 1831-1843 died young
Elizabeth 1833-1869. Elizabeth was a dressmaker and a charwoman. In 1869 she married William Potter, a widower. She died whilst on honeymoon (of nephritis and congestion of the lungs) at Portsea and William was a widower for a second time!
Hugh 1838-1857, Hugh died age 20.
James 1839-1862 he was a tin miner like his father and died of TB age 22.
Thomas Henry 1840-1896
Ralph 1843-1843 died in infancy

Ralph died in 1868 of TB. Tuberculosis was very common at this time and, whilst it could affect anybody, it was particularly rife amongst the poor who lived in cramped conditions.

Thomas Henry Lanyon 1840-1896

Of the six children of Ralph and Mary only Thomas had children of his own. He married Emma Elliott and they had nine children.

Ellen 1857-1889 She married Robert Chirgwin in 1879, they had two children but Ellen died in 1889 and Robert in 1890 leaving their children orphans. They were split up and taken in by separate families.
Thomas Henry 1858-1937
Elizabeth 1864- she was on the 1871 census but after that there was no further trace
John 1866-bef. 1871 died in infancy
James 1866-1935 he worked as both a tin miner and a farm labourer, no marriage or children traced
Annie 1870-1956 she worked as a dressmaker and never married
Jessie 1872-1937 in 1896 she married Robert Molesworth Thomas and they had two daughters
Mary Eveline 1880-1962 she married Arthur James Thomas in 1911 and they had a child
Laura 1888-1954 in 1906 she married Albert James Pearce and they emigrated to Pennsylvania in the USA.

Thomas Henry was fined for not sending his children to school, he explained that he couldn’t afford shoes for them which shows how poor they were. In 1877 Thomas was imprisoned for debt in Bodmin Gaol. Source: AD 1676/5/2

1879 newspaper cutting-Petty Sessions Nov 1879

Thomas was also seriously injured in a mining accident. Mining was a dangerous occupation but often it was all that was available.

Cornish Miners – John Charles Burrow (1852—1918), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Out of nine children only one son had children to carry on the family name.

Thomas Henry Lanyon 1858-1937

Thomas was also a tin miner like his father. Later he became a farm labourer. He married Annie Chirgwin in 1890 and they had eight children.

Laura 1880-1967
Annie Jane 1882-1919
Thomas 1885-
Elizabeth Ann 1886-1965
Ellen 1889-1967
William James 1895-1954
Caroline 1899-1985
Gwendoline 1902-1919

That’s where we must leave this branch of the family. There were grandchildren so this branch of the family has survived.

24th Sep 202213th Nov 2025

The Fowey Boys

Despite having fourteen children the Golden Lanyon had only twelve great great great grandsons to carry on the family name on the Botrea branch of the Lanyon family. There may be unrecorded children, and children who have moved away from Cornwall and not been traced, but it is a diminishing tree.

The Fowey Boys

John and Thomas (the sons of William Lanyon 1680-bef. 1776) both lived in Fowey, initially I couldn’t find their parents or where they fitted on the tree. It was the wills of William’s brother Robert and his wife Grace Chennall which helped me resolve the problem.

We don’t know the name of William’s wife but as both his eldest grand daughters are called Mary we may surmise that is her name or perhaps they were named after their great grandmother, Mary Ellis.

John Lanyon abt. 1720-1762

John was born about 1720 but there is no trace of a baptism, he married Elizabeth Joans from Fowey, at Lostwithiel, on 26 Jul 1753. John was the Officer of Excise in Fowey.

They had five children:

Mary 1754-1809
Elizabeth 1756- no further trace
John Hewet 1757- no further trace
William 1759- no further trace
Francis Joans (Jones) 1761-1841

It is possible that only Francis and Mary survived to adulthood and he is the only ‘nephew’ mentioned by Grace Lanyon (Chennall) in her will.

Francis Joans Lanyon 1761-1841

Francis Joans Lanyon was a shipwright and married Jane Turner in 1786 at Charles the Martyr, Plymouth, Devon. Their children:

John 1788-1791 died in infancy
John Francis 1792-1863 married Jane Hicks at Plymouth in 1815, they had no children but lived with her widowed mother Betsy and nieces. From the 1859 census we can see that John was a bread baker. He died in 1863 and left an estate valued at under £200.
Jane 1795-1872 was baptised at Devonport and married Edward Wills. They had four sons two of which were called Napoleon and Horatio! Perhaps Edward fought at Trafalgar? Edward died before 1826 as Jane remarried William Honey and had another five children including William Lanyon Honey and John Francis Lanyon Honey.
Eliza 1798-1799 died in infancy
Elizabeth 1805- no further trace
Francis -1791 died in infancy

Then in 1831 Francis Joans Lanyon married Ann McFarline at East Stonehouse, Devon. They are shown on the 1841 census he is aged 80 and she is aged 30! The 1841 census doesn’t show their relationship.

Thomas Lanyon abt. 1720-1770

William’s second son was Thomas born about 1720, he was a victualler and maltster in Fowey. Thomas married Mary Varco at Fowey in 1752. Their children:

Mary 1753- was born at Fowey and she married Walter Colmer at Fowey in 1774 and had 9 children, the eldest was called John Lanyon Colmer.
John 1755- no further trace
Thomas 1758-1790 he married Jane Williams by licence at Fowey in 1784. He was a ‘salt officer’. He and Jane had a daughter Elizabeth. Jane died Nov 1787, Thomas died Sep 1790 and Elizabeth died Oct 1790 aged just 6.
William 1762- no further trace

Thomas Lanyon and his wife Mary Varco ran the Dolphin Inn at Fowey, the Dolphin’s biggest competitor was the Ship Inn (John Rashleigh and Alice Lanyon’s first town home.)

Thomas died in 1770 and left a wonderfully detailed inventory of goods which gives a real glimpse into their lives. The will describes the furnishings in each room.

Part of the inventory of Thomas’ administration- Source: CRO AP/L/1772

1771 Lanyon Thomas Fowey Download

Following Thomas’ death Mary continued to run the inn and in 1771 Philip Rashleigh’s expenses listed ” the widow Lanyon’s bill for the entertainment on election day £2 4/-“. Source – Old Cornish Inns by H.L Douch. 1966.

The Dolphin was taken over by her son in law Walter Colmer and daughter Mary but by 1817 it was defunct.

Mary was buried on 12 Aug 1818 at Fowey aged 99! (Royal Cornwall Gazette.)

That is the end of this branch of the tree, there are no further male heirs traced to pass on the family name.

22nd Sep 202212th Nov 2025

The Golden Lanyons Grandsons

The Golden Lanyon had six surviving sons and sixteen surviving grandsons.

John Lanyon & Mary Borlase

His eldest son John married Mary Borlase. They had three sons who survived to adulthood and married. John, William and Tobias.

John Lanyon 1664-aft. 1708

John and Mary Borlase’s eldest son, also called John, married Lady Frances Brydges. They were married by licence on 14 Jun 1697 at Trinity Church, London, Frances Clarke widow aged 45 and John Lanyon bachelor of St Ives age 28. The ages on the marriage register don’t quite match the baptism records. If John was baptised in 1664 he would have been 33 not 28. But Frances was also somewhat economical with the truth about her age!

She was born circa 1644 at Wilton Castle, the daughter of John Brydges, 2nd Baronet of Wilton and his wife Lady Mary Pearle. Frances’s first husband was Dr William Brabourne and by him she had 4 sons and a daughter. William died in 1684 and she then married Henry Clarke. He must have died sometime before 1697 when she married for the third time to John Lanyon. She was aged about 53 and John was about 33.

London & Surrey Marriage Allegations and Bonds

Frances was the sister of James, Lord Chandos 1642-1714.

James Brydges Lord Chandos Government Art Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

James was the father of the James Brydges the first Duke of Chandos

Duke of Chandos by **Herman van der Mijn, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons**

John and Frances had no children and there is no trace of their deaths. John appears to still be alive in 1708 and Frances was still alive in 1713.

Tobias Lanyon 1675-1709

Tobias married Ann Walscombe at Truro in 1696. (Name is spelt Leanion in the parish register.)

Their eldest child was John baptised 12 May 1699 at Truro. In 1722 Philip Webber of Falmouth, attorney was paid £52.00 to take on John as an apprentice. John married Grace Luke in 1716. Their children-

Ann 1717- no futher trace
Jane 1720 – married Roge Harding. Her sister Susannah’s will calls her Jane Harding.
Grace 1722-1724 died in infancy
Elizabeth 1725- no further trace
Tobias 1727-1796 he married Elizabeth Gray in 1752 at Redruth and they had one daughter Jane born in 1753. No further trace of Jane. He then married Catherine Brown in 1786. In 1742 a consideration of £8 was paid to Richard Stone for an apprenticeship for Tobias. He was later described as a shopkeeper of Redruth.
Susannah 1730-1780 spinster

John’s second wife was Mrs Ann Bolithoe, they married at Kenwyn near Truro in 1744.

We don’t know when John died but Ann died at Maker in Cornwall in 1782, Susannah also died at Maker so perhaps they were living together.

William Lanyon & Jane Keigwin

William was the Golden Lanyons second son, he and Jane had three sons that married. William, Martyn and Robert.

William Lanyon 1680-bef. 1776

William was baptised in Sancreed in 1680. I couldn’t trace a marriage, however a William Lanyon of Sancreed is excommunicated on 16 Jan 1722 for contumacy (stubborn refusal to obey or comply with authority, especially disobedience to a court order or summons.) Source: NA ARD/160/24 (National Archives – Archdeaconery of Cornwall.)

There is no trace of a marriage for William however Grace Chennall’s will leaves enough information for us to place John and Thomas Lanyon as his sons. John and Thomas lived in Fowey and it is possible that the family moved there following William’s excommunication.

William died before 1776 as he is mentioned in his brother Robert’s will as ‘my late brother’.

See more about John & Thomas in the post ‘The Fowey Boys.’

Martyn Lanyon 1682-1734

Martyn was baptised at Sancreed in 1682 and married Margery Luddard at Liskeard in 1722. (Name spelt Laynion in the register.) Forty was quite old for a first marriage but I haven’t found any trace of a previous marriage. There was a Martyn Lanyon who married a Grace Bonyface on 5 Aug 1736 at Plymouth St Andrew and a Martyn Lanyon married Grace Luddra at Yealmpton, Devon on 8 Aug 1742. Could this Martyn be a son of Martyn Lanyon of Liskeard? Liskeard is close to the border between Devon and Cornwall. Martyn is an unusual name in the Lanyon family, Jane Keigwin’s father was called Martyn so this seems to be the origin of the name.

Martyn was an innkeeper at Liskeard and was buried there on the 11 Aug 1734.

Liskeard

Robert Lanyon 1688-1776

Robert was baptised at Sancreed on 29 Sep 1688. He married Grace Chennall on 14 Oct 1755 at Perranarworthal, Cornwall when he was 67 years old! If he had an earlier marriage I haven’t yet found it.

On 21 Jun 1757 he took on Joan White age 13 as an apprentice in housewifery. She was indentured to him until the age of 21.

He was buried on 23 Feb 1776 at Feock in Cornwall. There is a tablet over the side door of Feock church “Robert Lanyon of Sancrete of this county, gent, 1776 age 83”.

St. Feock’s church, St. Feock, Cornwall by Derek Voller, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

His will mentions no children but it does mention other relatives.

Transcript of Will: Exeter Consistery Court 30 Aug 1773 – Proved 1776

Robert Lanyon yeoman of Penryn.

First my kinswoman Isabella Rogers, wife of John Rogers of St Michael
Kinsman Mathias Andrews. (the husband of his deceased sister Isabel) of St Michael, also Mathias Andrews my cloathes chest and all my wearing apparel.
To kinswomen Jane, Margery and Isabella, daughters of Mathias Andrews
To William Lapp, Plymouth and his two sisters Mary and Elizabeth.
To John Lanyon, grandson of my late brother William Lanyon, my silver goblet and my two handle silver cup and silver tankard.
To younger brother of said John Lanyon £10
To before named kinsman John Lanyon, his heirs and assigns, my messuage and tenement called Ennis-an-Mannen, St Creet, and dwelling house etc at Penryn called Chennalls House, also my several tin bounds called Ennis-an-Mannen bounds, Church lane Bounds and Tronach Mill Bound, also 1/5 part or share in all other tin bounds called Great Vrane, Wheal reeth, Wheal Yelt, and Wheal-an-Speeren Bound, St Crett, according to the customs of the Stannary of Penwith and Kirrier.
I give and bequeath to my old friend and acquaintance Samuel Tresidder, town of Falmouth, one guinea to buy him a mourning ring.
The rest to my beloved wife Grace.

Seal shows falcon’s wing extended over two large towers and a large door castle with one hole above each side of door and waves of the sea.

His wife Grace was 25 years younger than her husband and lived on at Feock until 1791. In 1784 she took in Jenefer Williams age 12 as an apprentice indenture for Housewifery. Grace was described as a widow of Perranarworthal.

Reproduced by kind permission of OPC Cornwall – transcribed by John Warren

Source: Source:- LDS Film No. 1596395 – Poor law records for Perranarworthal, 1724-1860

Grace died in 1791 and left a will which helps clarify her brother-in-law William’s grandson.

Partial Transcript: Will of Grace Lanyon widow of Robert Lanyon of Penryn

My silver tankard and silver goblet to my nephew Francis Jones Lanyon (in fact he was her great nephew) of the borough of Looe to keep in remembrance of me.
My niece Grace, daughter of my late brother John Chennall and Maria her sister, wife of William Mitchell of Penryn

(William Mitchell was a mason and Grace Lanyon appears very worried about her niece Grace Tiss ? marrying this man.) Source – Jane Veale Mitchell note.

Tobias Lanyon & Jane Tresilian

Tobias, the third son, married Jane Tresilian and had one surviving son, Charles.

Charles Lanyon 1689-1768

Charles was baptised at Sancreed on 8 Mar 1689. He married Joan Noye at Morvah on 5 Oct 1713. The parish register notes that they were both from the town of Paul. Charles was a merchant at Paul. They had four children: Sarah b.1716, Charles b.1718 and Mary b.1719 and Thomas b.1722. There is no further trace of any of the children.

Charles died at Penzance in 1768 and his wife died the following year.

Francis Lanyon & Phillipp Nicholls

Francis was the fourth son, he married Phillipp Nicholls and they had five sons.

Francis Lanyon 1686-1723

Francis was baptised at Sancreed 29 Dec 1686, he married Jane Edwards of Penzance at Morvah on 10th Aug 1715. They had five children:

Jane 1716-1716 died in infancy
Dorothy 1717-1757. She married John Tellum at Lostwithiel in 1750. They had 3 children and he died before the third was born. She died seven years after the marriage.
Francis 1719-1730 died young
Jane 1722-aft. 1778 She is mentioned in her aunt’s will of 1778.
Benoni John 1723-1777 Born three months after the death of his father. Benoni means ‘son of my sorrow’. He was an attorney and married Sybella Tremenheere at Madron in 1769. No children.

Thomas Lanyon 1691-1743

Thomas was baptised 10 Feb 1691 at Sancreed. He became a pewterer in Bristol. You can read all about him in the post ‘Thomas Lanyon Pewterer of Bristol.’

William Lanyon 1693-1756

William was baptised at Sancreed on 3 Mar 1693. He was a yeoman and married Jane Philips on 18 Aug 1725 at Zennor. They had four children.

William 1725-1770 He married Joan Esterbook 1751 and Elizabeth Murrish 1758.
Ralph 1727- no further trace
Jane 1730-1799 She married Thomas Woolcock. One daughter Grace.
Hugh 1732-1769 He married Anne Eady and had two sons.

1756 Lanyon William Madron Download

John Lanyon 1697-1738

John was baptised at Sancreed 15 Sep 1697 and was buried there in 1738. No trace of a marriage or children.

Tobias Lanyon 1702-1778

Tobias was born in 1702 and in 1717 he was apprenticed to John Tonkin of Penzance, a tobacconist, for a fee of £20. Tobias never married.

In 1769 Richard Carew’s book ‘Survey of Cornwall’ was rereleased and Tobias was listed as one of the subscribers. ‘Tobias Lanyon Esq of Penzance.’

He also left a will which details some of the family relationships.

Abstract: Tobias Lanyon of Penzance, gentleman.

Sister in law Jane Lanyon (Edwards) widow of my late brother Francis and his daughter Jane Lanyon.
Remembers his late housekeeper and gives her land in Camborne and Illogan
Nephew James Tellum
Godson John Tresilian Reichenberg, son of John Rodolpus Reichenberg, gent, his interest in tenement of Treledvas, Buryan.
God daughter Grace Pendar, daughter of Benjamin Pendar gent, £100
To my kinsman William Nicholls of Trereife, Esq. and his sister Mrs Francis Harris, wife of William Harris of Kenegy Esq.
To my kinsman John Nicholls Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn Fields
To sister Mary Lanyon of Penzance, spinster, and then to my nephew William Wayne, gent, late of Bristol (bought to Cornwall to teach the Cornish metallurgy) and niece Anna Maria Wayne, his daughter. In the end she inherits all his wealth and married Samuel Bird Esq.

William Wayne 1725-1787 married Ann Lanyon and their daughter Anna Maria Wayne 1763-1803 is the person mentioned in Tobias’ will. Ann Lanyon was the daughter of Thomas Lanyon, pewterer of Bristol.

Tobias’ sister Mary was born 1690 and died in 1779 a spinster. She left a detailed will which shows how wealthy she was.

Mary Lanyon’s will Source: NA PROB 11/105/117

Sister-in-law Jane Lanyon of the parish of Paul, widow of my brother Francis Lanyon annuity £10
Niece Jane Lanyon daughter of my brother Francis annuity £10
Nephew John Tellum late of Penzance annuity of £10
Mrs Sibilla Lanyon widow of my nephew Benoni John Lanyon £100
Joan Tresilian widow of John Tresilian £100
Sarah Lanyon of Penzance spinster daughter of the late Charles Lanyon £100
Spinster Jane Bullock who used to live with me £100
Nephew James Tellum carpenter £300
Jane and Catherine Ustick daughters of late Stephen Ustick Esq of Botallack in St Just £100 each
Cousin William Nicholls of Trereife £100 guineas
Mary Stewart Nicholls daughter of my cousin William Nicholls Esq. £20 guineas
Frances Harris wife of William Harris Esq £20 guineas
Mary Ustick widow of the late Henry Ustick of Breage £5 guineas
Catherine Lanyon daughter of late Henry Lanyon of Breage £100 (Gwinear branch)
David Dennis of Penzance gent £100 guineas
David Carthors of Penzance gent £100 guineas
Cousin John Nicholls of Lincoln’s Inn London Esq £1000
Nephew William Wayne late of Bristol and now of Penzance £1000
Mrs Olive? Gubbs of Penzance £10
Niece Anna Maria Wayne £2000
William Wayne & David Dennis executors £100 each

Thomas Lanyon & Margaret Paule

The Golden Lanyon’s youngest son was Thomas who married Margaret Paule in 1681 at Breage. They had two sons who survived to adulthood: William and John.

William Lanyon 1705-1791

William was baptised at Paul on 25 Mar 1705. 1733 he married Margaret Richards. They had three children:

Margaret 1737-1823 Married Thomas Cattran 1757 at Paul six children
William 1739-1827 Married Mary Pooley 1776 at Ludgvan, seven children
Henry Lanyon 1743-1748 died in infancy

John Lanyon 1711-1767

John was baptised at Paul on 8 Apr 1711, married Sarah Straight at St Erme in 1735. They moved to St Allen and lived at their farm at Henver Wartha.

They had a large family and this was the start of the St Allen branch of the tree.

Copy of the marriage entry of John Lanyon and Sarah Straight issued in 1906

See St Allen branch to continue with this family.

22nd Sep 202212th Nov 2025

The Children of The ‘Golden’ Lanyon

The Golden Lanyon was so named due to his great wealth. His first wife Ann/Nan Jopp died as did his first child, Alsen. He then married Mary Ellis and they went on to have 13 children (displayed over two trees below.)

John 1641-1720
Mary 1643-1723
Hugh 1644-1645
Phillip 1645-1646
William 1647-1726
Tobias 1648-1698
Jane 1648-1722
Francis 1651-1725
Joanne 1653-
Rebecca 1656-1705
Charles 1658-1721
Phillip 1659-1710
Thomas 1661-1738

John Lanyon 1641-1720

John was the eldest, born in Sancreed in 1641. Aged twenty he married his cousin Mary Borlase. Mary was the daughter of John Borlase and Cheston Pawley and the granddaughter of Walter Borlase and Mary Lanyon of Breage (see Breage branch). They married at Morvah on 27 Dec 1661.

John was Mayor of St Ives in 1685, 1690 and 1696. In 1697 there is a legal agreement between John Lanion gent of St Ives and his brother William Lanion gent of Botrea over the Balleswidden mine at St Just.

Balleswidden Mine

John and Mary had eight children:

Mary 1662-1733 married John Ustick at Morvah in 1883 – 11 children
John 1664-
Tobias 1666-1675 died young
Cheston 1670-1733 married Martyn Gubbs at St Ives in 1698
William 1673-1706 no marriage found.
Tobias 1675-1709
Jane 1678-1736 married John Hichens at St Ives in 1705 – 7 children
Elizabeth -1687 died young

Mary Lanyon 1643-1723

Mary married John Perrow at St Buryan in 1662 and they had one child also called John. Her husband died in 1668 and in 1673 Mary married Richard Tresilian, they had two children, Marye and James.

William Lanyon 1647-1726

In 1670 William married Jane Keigwin at St Burian. Jane was the great grand daughter of Jenkin Keigwin and Thomasine Rawe of Mousehole. Jenkin was killed by canon fire on 23 Jul 1595 when his home at Mousehole was attacked by Spaniards who sacked the town.

The Story of Jenkin Kegwin

The Spanish Raid on Cornwall 1595

Jenkin’s house is still standing in Mousehole, the oldest building in the village.

William and Jane had 10 children.

John 1671-1727 – mentioned in his father’s will of 1727 but no further trace.
Isabel 1673-1756 married Matthias Andrew and had six children.
Mary 1675-1679 died in infancy
Elizabeth 1677- no further trace, the name Elizabeth Lanyon is very common.
William 1680-1776 (he died aged 96!)
Martyn 1682-1734
Tobias 1685-1685 died in infancy
Francis 1686-1687 died in infancy
Robert 1688-1776 married Grace Chennall in 1755 when he was 67 years old! A second marriage perhaps but no trace of any children.
Jane 1691-1692 died in infancy

Jane Lanyon 1648-1722

In 1670 Jane married Richard Bosustowe at St Buryan. They had two daughters, Mary and Jane. Jane died at St Levan in 1722.

Tobias Lanyon 1648-1698

In 1670 Tobias also married at St Buryan to Jane Tresilian. They had seven children but only four Lanyon grandchildren and we don’t know what happened to them.

Jane 1672- married Abel Angove of Illogan (see post ‘Abel Angove’)
Tobyas 1674- still alive in 1714
James 1676-1684 died young
John 1678-1684 died young
Charles 1682-1683 died in infancy
Mary 1685-1691 died in infancy
Charles 1689-1768 married Joan Noye at Morvah in 1713, they had three children: Sarah, Mary, Thomas and Charles and no further trace of any of them.

I did find a legal dispute Lanyon v Lanyon – Chancery Proceedings Ante 1714

Tobias Lanyon gent having died, his wife Jane and his brother Charles said that the deceased had paid John Trewren for conveyance but that John Ustick (the husband of his niece Mary Lanyon) had not given Tobias the elder the receipt for Reprovance Vean asked for, and which Jane asked for after his death. (John Ustick would rather be torn by wild horses than do it!).

This legal dispute implies that Tobyas the younger was still alive at 1714.

Inventory of Tobias Lanyon will of 1698 – Source CRO AP/L/1003

Tobias’ inventory was signed by John Ustick and Richard Tresilian.

Francis Lanyon 1651-1725

Francis married Phillipp Nicholls on 31 Dec 1681 at Madron. They had ten children.

Dorothy 1685-1687 died in infancy
Francis 1686-1723
Phillipa 1689-1689 died in infancy
Mary 1690-1779
Thomas 1691-1743
William 1693-1756
Nicholas 1695-1706 died in infancy
John 1697-1738
Jane 1699-1738
Tobias 1702-1778

I found a reference to Francis Lanyon in ‘A Compendium of the History and Geography of Cornwall’ by Rev JJ Daniell 1908.

p 454 Sancreed

The author talks about the poor state of this parish church and adds the following footnote:-

“This question of seating was a trouble in many parishes. the vicar here, John Smyth, was sore tried…at a later time even Francis Lanyon of Sancreed, gentleman, being a man of considerable estate and married into a very worthye family, viz., Mrs Phillip Nicholl, niece to the worshipful Colonel Godolphin esq ‘was actually without a convenient seat.’ The Lanyons of Botrea and later Tregonebris were for many generations the leading family in Sancreed.”

These comments were apparently penned by Bishop Sparrow after his visitation to Sancreed on 15 July 1671.

Sancreed Church by Jowaninpensans, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Francis died at Tregonebris in 1725.

Joane Lanyon 1653-1703

Joane married John Edwards at Ludgvan in 1674, no further trace.

Elizabeth Lanyon 1654-1737

Elizabeth married Francis Elies at Sancreed in 1681, they had three children: Bennet, Anne and Caterina.

Rebecca Lanyon 1656-1705

Rebecca married her cousin Thomas Trenwith at Towednack, Cornwall in 1676. (Her name is spelt Rovena in the register). Thomas was the son of Renatus Trenwith and Joan/Johanna Lanyon of Gwinear. (see Gwinear branch.)

Thomas went to Oxford University and was Mayor of St Ives in 1684.

Thomas and Rebecca had eight children.

Charles Lanyon 1658-1721

The Sancreed parish register lists his baptism as Charels son of Mr John Leanyne and Marie.

Charles married Sarah Tresilian about 1686 and they had four children:

Mary 1688- married Paschoe Hockin at St Buryan 1710
Sarah 1690-1793 (age 102!!) she never married (see post ‘Sarah’s Pew’)
Catherine 1698-1751 married James Tremenhere at St Levan in 1720 – five children.
Abraham Lanyon 1699- no further trace.

Charles Lanyon’s will of 1722 (Source Bodmin Probate Registry) lists the following:

A purse, girdle and wearing apparel, one pair of pistols, one gun, one sword, to a friend.

Phillip Lanyon 1659-

Phillip was the seventh son but he still managed to inherit land in Sancreed and money from both parents.

There is an Ann Lanyon d/o Philipp baptised at Madron in 1678, she could be a daughter of this Philipp, it isn’t clear. Phillip married Mary Edwards at Ludgvan in 1683 but no further children traced.

There is a burial of a Phillip Lanion at Eastern meeting Society of Friends at Liskeard on 16 Jul 1697, also an Elizabeth Lanion buried 29 May 1689 of Liskeard. It is possible that it is the same Phillip. Could the Phillip buried at Liskeard be a woman?

Thomas Lanyon

Thomas was born in 1661 just three years before his father died. He was left land and money by both parents. He married Margaret Paule at Breage in 1681.

Phyllis 1695-1750 – spinster
Anne 1698-1699 – died in infancy
Jane Lanyon 1700-1782 – married John Tremethick
Jone Lanyon 1702-1784 – married William Perrow – 2 children
William 1705-1791 – married Margaret Richards – 3 children
John 1711-1767 – married Sarah Straight and started the St Allen branch of the family.

And just like that the Botrea branch of the family has grown! With so many children and grandchildren I have concentrated on the male grandchildren and their families. It becomes a journey of wealth to poverty over the course of the generations.

21st Sep 202218th Apr 2025

The ‘Golden’ Lanyon

John ‘Golden’ Lanyon was the eldest surviving son of William Lanyon who died at Sancreed in 1624 and the grandson of John Lanyon Esq. He was “commonly called ‘the Golden Lanyon’ as having gotten great riches by tin, which he divided among his numerous issue”. source – ‘The Parochial History of Cornwall’ – Davied Gilbert 1838 – Volume 2. He was also according H.L Douch in his article on John Smyth the vicar of Sancreed, a moneylender. (See the post ‘The Scandalous Vicar of Sancreed’).

His siblings were:

Elizabeth 1593- who married John Nowell alias Peares at Sancreed in 1617.
John 1596-1601 died in infancy
Jane 1602- married Thomas Flavell 21 Nov 1619 at Sancreed.
William 1603-1687 married Grace at Illogan 24 Nov 1636 (when he was aged 33), and was buried at Illogan 27 Feb 1687. (There is a Catheren Lanyne buried at Illogan in 1623, could this be a first wife to William?)
Paskas abt. 1606 – we’ll cover her in a separate post.
Elizabettie abt. 1607- Elizabettie was still alive in 1624 as she was mentioned in William’s will but we don’t know what happened to her.

John ‘Golden’ Lanyon’s baptism wasn’t recorded but he must have been born after the death of his elder brother in 1601 and before his brother William in 1603.

His first marriage was to Ann (Nan) Jopp on 29 Oct 1636 at Sancreed. Ann died in childbirth, she was buried on 2 Feb 1637 aged just 17. Her daughter also called Ann was baptised the same day. Baby Ann was buried on 2 Sep 1638 at Sancreed.

On 17 Feb 1639 John and Mary Ellis, the daughter of Charles Ellis and Alice Penwarne, were married by licence at Sancreed.

Mary was aged 20 and went on to have fourteen children of which only two died in infancy.

John 1641-1720
Mary 1643-1723
Hugh 1644-1645
Philippa 1645-1646
William 1647-1726
Jane Jan 1648-
Tobias Nov 1648-1698
Francis 1651-1725
Joane 1653-1703
Elizabeth 1654-1737
Rebecca 1656-1705
Charles 1658-1721
Phillip 1659-
Thomas 1661-1738

John & Mary were the founders of the Botrea branch of the Lanyon family and with twelve surviving children it was quite a branch!

The children of John Lanyon and the Botrea branch of the Lanyon tree.

John and Mary lived at Botrea house in Sancreed.

In 1659 his cousin John Lanyon of Morvah sold John Lanyon of Botrea House, Sancreed the Manor of Tregaminion for £1500. – Source Henderson MSS Vol XII p83 Bundle 15.

John was buried on 17 Apr 1664 at Sancreed. After his burial John Smyth the unconventional vicar at Sancreed stated ‘the old hog is dead!’ Mary Lanyon, his widow, prosecuted John Smyth in the Consistory Court in 1668 (see post ‘Scandalous Vicar of Sancreed’).

He left a detailed will – note the name Johannes Lamon!

In the name of God Amen Johannes Lamon Dated the Eleaventh day of Aprill In the yeare of our Lord God One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty and Foure 1664 I John Lamon of Bottreth in the parish of St Crett in the County of Cornwall gentleman being now in perfect mind and memory Thanks be to God doe make this my last will and Testament in manner and forme following First I doe bequeath my soule into the hands of my Redeemer And my body to receive Christian burial Amen First I doe give and bequeath to the reparacion of the parish Church of St Crett Twenty shillings Item I doe give and bequeath To the poorest sort of the Parish of St Crett Twenty shillings Item I doe give the whole houses that I have built in the Trerise in the parish of St Crett to the poorest sort of people of St Crett parish for ever to remaine and the little plott of land which is excepted upon my deed for ever To be disposed by my Executor or their Assigns for ever.

Item I doe give and bequeath to the reparacion of the parish Church of the parish of St Just Tenn shillings
Item I doe give and bequeath to the poorest sort of St Just Tenn shilling
Item I doe give and bequeath to my daughter Mary the wife of John Perrow Five pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my daughter Joane Lamon Three Hundred pounds of good English money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my daughter Jane Lamon Two hundred and Fifty pounds of good English money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my daughter Rebecca Lamon Two Hundred and Fifty pounds of good English money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne William Lamon All my Estate in Bottreth and in Bossence and in Deanerall Chegwine vean Treronacke and Treronacke Mill and Lanes and Mannen within the parish of St Crett Lease and Fee And all my Estate of the houses and Land that I Did buy of Thomas Chergwine of Penzance And the Fee land that I did buy of David Graffe being the land that Mrs Margery Rogers hath a Lease of it in Penzance And the One halfe of all my houshould goods And the One halfe of all my Tynn Bounds And Two Hundred pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne Tobias Lamon all my Estate in Tredgion issueing Lease and Fee in Tregenebres within the parish of St Crett And all my Fee land in Brane in St Crett parish and two Hundred and Fifty pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne Francis Lamon All my Estate in Reynald Madderne ?‐‐‐ living in Trigenibres within the parish of St Crett and my Fee land in Cardeney within the parish of Burian And Two Hundred pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne Charles Lamon All my Estate in Bowanante and Bowanante Vean within the parish of St Crett and the Fee Estate of Boddeneak within the parish of St Crett and Two Hundred pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne Philipp Lamon All my Fee land in Laves Treaven and Nanceathon within the parish of St Crett and three Hundred and Fifty pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath To my sonne Thomas Lamon All my Fee land in Terdeny in Burian parish which I did buy of Mr William Keygwine and Mr William Madderne And Two Hundred and Fifty pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to the Child That is in my wife if shee be with Child att the tyme of my death Two Hundred pounds in money
Item I doe give and bequeath to my sonne John Lamon the Fee Estate of the Land in Keygwin within the parish of St Just which I bought of Mr Peeter Cely and Foure young mares which I have att Tregenminion And the one halfe of all my Tynn bounds
Item I doe give and bequeath To my wife Mary Lamon the living in Sennen parish called Bussume (words illegible) But if she doe stay Unmarried I doe make her my Childrens (words illegible) doe give her all my goods and Chattells moveable and unmoveable (words illegible) given But if shee doe marry she is to have the living in (words illegible) called Busume during her life and noe longer and Thirty pounds (words illegible) if doe stay a widow woman she is to have the benfitt and profits of the (word illegible) of Bownonce and Bownance vean And the one halfe of all the profits of Reonald Madderne is living and the one halfe of all the profits of ?‐‐‐ living in Tregenebres And the one halfe of the profits of Bottreth (words illegible) of yeares And the one halfe of all the benefit All the rest of my Children is portions towards their maintenance until they come of yeares But if shee doe not marry I doe make her my full and whole Executor and to fulfil this my last will and Testament But if shee doe marry I doe make my sonne William Lamon and my sonne Tobias full and whole Executor Joyntly and to fulfil this my last will and Testament ?‐‐‐ call their mother to give a Just ?‐‐‐. of what she did re come which should be due to them as to any of their brothers or sisters That they may have it from her to pay them I doe give to my man Francis Ellis Twenty shillings I doe appoint and ordaine my brother in Lawe Pascoe Ellis and my sonne John Lamon to see that my wife may be carefull to maintain my Children and to put their ?‐‐‐ in good hands whereby they may have it when they come to yeares.

By kind permission of the Cornwall OPC – Transcription: Kath Chaveli/Judith Upton

https://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/more-info/?t=wills_transcriptions&id=7744

His will shows just how wealthy he was and how many of his children were still very young at the time of his death. His youngest child Thomas was just three years old.

His wife Mary outlived him by twelve years, she never remarried. She left a will which gives us the names of a number of her grandchildren and helps us to build the next generation on the tree.

Will of Maria Lanyon widow of St Levan – Source NA PROB/11/351

20th Sep 202212th Nov 2025

The Children of John Lanyon Esq

John Lanyon Esq had at least three wives (see the post ‘The Two Johns’) but surprisingly few documented children. His first marriage to Phelype Myliton produced two sons: Francis and William.

Francis Lanyon abt. 1563-1593

Francis Lanyon was born about 1563; in 1584 he married Alice (Ales) Trewren, the daughter of John Trewren and Elizabeth Chiverton. There were three documented children of this marriage: Richard baptised 8 Sep 1585 at Sancreed, (see the post ‘Richard Lanyon Esq ‘Outlaw’ ‘), John baptised 10 Dec 1587 and Anne born about 1590. Francis also had an illegitimate daughter who was baptised 11 Nov 1587 at Sancreed, a month before his son John was baptised. We don’t know what happened to Elizabeth or what his wife Alice thought!

Less than six years later Francis was dead, he was aged about 30. Administration of his estate was granted to his widow on 17 Oct 1593 (will lost). Eight year old Richard Lanyon becomes the heir to John Lanyon Esq. Alice appears to have raised her family at Sancreed, staying close to her own family.

Their daughter Anne Lanyon married John Tonken on 8 Nov 1612 at Madron. No further trace of their son John.

William Lanyon abt. 1570-1624

William was the second son, we don’t know when he was born, perhaps the early 1570s. On 19 Nov 1592 he married Jane at Sancreed. Their children were: Elizabeth, John, John, Jane, William, Paskas and Elizabettie. (Two daughters both called Elizabeth and both survived!)

See the Post about Paskis Lanion for more information.

William was buried on 17 Jan 1624 at Sancreed, fortunately he left a detailed will which helpfully names his children. He also leaves a great inventory of goods and chattels worth £170, a considerable sum at that time.

Source – CRO AP/L/256

1624 Lanyon William Sancreed Download

George Lanyon abt. 1586-aft. 1633

John Lanyon’s esquire’s second wife was Katherine Kekewich and they had at least one son called George who was blind. George was born about 1586 and was still alive in 1633 (see post “The Two Johns”).

We don’t know what happened to George, there is no record of his burial, no will and he’s not mentioned in any Lanyon wills.

Elizabeth Lanyne -1659

See post ‘The Neilder Connection’

Elizabeth lived at Menheniot in Cornwall. There is one other Lanyne living there at the same time, a woman called Grace Lanyne who married James Short in 1620. She may be a sister to Elizabeth as she doesn’t fit anywhere else on the tree!

John Lanyon – 1587

The Madron parish register records the burial of John Lanyon the son of John Lanyon Esq on 2 Jul 1587. This must be the burial of a child but there is no record of a baptism so we have no idea if he was baptised before or after Phelype’s death or whether his mother was Phelype or Katherine, he may even have been an illegitimate child.

Four, possibly five, children seems a small number of children for the time, perhaps John Lanyon Esq had others who weren’t recorded.

See also the post ‘John Lanyon of Penwinnick Estate’ under the Breage branch.

19th Sep 202212th Nov 2025

The Children of Richard Lanyon Esq

Richard Lanyon married Margaret Treskillard and they had at least twelve children, including two sons both called John!

His children were: John, John, Richard, William, Raphe, Edward, Clement, Syman, Thomasine, Maude, Joane and Jane.

To find out more about his sons see separate posts “The Two Johns’, ‘John the Younger’ and ‘Richard, Edward and Raphe Lanyon’. This post is about his daughters.

Thomasine Lanyon

Richard’s eldest daughter was Thomasine, named after her grandmother Thomasine Tregian. Thomasine married Simon George and they had at least two children: Simon and Salathiell George of Trenouth who was still alive in 1620.

Mention of Salathiell is found in a book of illustrations by Hans Holbein called Facsimiles of original drawings by Hans Holbein, in the collection of His Majesty for the Portraits of Illustrious Persons of the Court of Henry VIII, Francis Bartolozzi, 1884. This painting below is said to be of Simon George, Salathiell’s father, a minor figure in the court of Henry VIII.

Simon George by Hans Holbein the Younger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From the Bartolozzi book;

“Simon George, of Quocoute, in the country of Cornwall, was the son of a private gentleman of his names, who acquired property at that place, and lived there, and whose father came from Gloucestershire into Dorsetshire, and settled at Osmondton, in the latter country; his mother was descended from a good family of the name Hussey. He married Thomasine, daughter of Richard Lanyon, a gentleman of an ancient Cornish house, and had by her two sons, Simon, who died without issue; and Salathiel, who settled at Trenouth, and was living there in 1620, having at that time three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and Thomasine.”

Maude Lanyon

Maude was the second daughter and born about 1539. She married Henry Rosewarne from Camborne, Cornwall. Their daughter Elizabeth was baptised 9 Feb 1558 at Camborne. There may be other children but I haven’t traced them. Henry died in 1570 and Maude was buried 24 Feb 1619 at Camborne.

Joane Lanyon

Joane was baptised 24 Jun 1548 at Gwinear. On 15 Feb 1567 she married Otes Merefeild (sic), gent of St Columb and St Ives and the son of Walter Merefild (sic) and Jane Beare, at St Columb Major/Gwinear. They had at least four daughters: Marye, Johan, Johane, Alse. No further trace of their daughters. Otes was still alive in 1605 as he ‘prayed’ over the will of his brother in law, John Lanyon Esq. Joane was still alive after 1630 as her brother Edward’s will mentions a legacy ‘to my sister Jane Merefield’. She would have been 82 at the time of his death.

Jane Lanyon

Jane married Richard Crane on 5 Oct 1561 at Camborne. The register records the name as Lawyne. She had three sons: Richard, and twins John and Richard. The twins were buried a day after they were baptised on 10 Sep 1578. Her first son also called Richard was baptised and the Herald’s Visitation shows him as the father of 5 children. Richard senior died in 1606 but there is no record of Jane’s burial.

Camborne

Syman & Clement Lanyon

Syman was the seventh son and Clement was the eighth. They were recorded on the Herald’s visitation so presumably they were still alive at that time however there is no trace of either man in any other records. Like many younger sons they may have been sent out of Cornwall or even overseas to find their fortune.

18th Sep 202212th Dec 2025

William ‘Generosi’ Lanyon of Breage

William Laniene and Thomasine Tregian had four sons: Richard, William & Walter and a previously undocumented son – Edward.

Richard was the son and heir, Walter lived at Madron, we lose track of Edward after 1586 and William founded the Breage branch of the Lanyon tree.

William ‘Generosi’ Lanyon had 8 children and with the exception of Baldwin it’s not clear who gave birth to each child. I’ve noted the dates of marriage as we don’t have dates of baptism for any of them except Baldwin.

William was probably born about 1520 in Gwinear. There is no mention of any Lanyon on the Breage Subsidy Roll of 1543 so his move to that area happened after that date, possibly 1569.

William’s first wife was Tamson, we don’t know the date of marriage nor how many children they had. William and Tamson had a son Baldwin who was buried on 24 Jun 1563 at Gwinear aged 2 and Tamson was buried two days later.

Sometime after 1563 William married Margaret. Variously I’ve seen her named as Margaret Tresilian or Margaret Kekewich but can’t find any proof for either.

There are a further seven children but it is not clear if they are from the first or second marriage.

William abt. 1550-1630
Phelype abt. 1558-
Mary -1614
Elizabeth abt. 1560-
Margaret abt. 1560-1634
Bennett abt. 1566-
Francis abt. 1566-

In 1553 William is mentioned in a pre-marital settlement on Benedict Penrose and Jone Lanyon, his sister. William is a trustee and is called ‘junior’ as his father William Laniene is still alive.

William is listed on the 1569 Muster Roll for Breage, Cornwall. “Furnished long bow sheaf arrows steel cap and black bill. Willm Lanyne”

In 1581 William Lanyon of Tregonen in Breage, gent, and William Lanyen (sic) junior his son and heir to William Painter of Trelysick heir in St Erth ‘Trelysick Walbert in Erghe’. (Source – Royal Institution of Cornwall.) This is the only mention of their home ‘Tregonen’ that I’ve come across. Tregonen may be Tregonning today.

In 1582 William was appointed overseer by John Rashleigh of Fowey (his brother-in-law).

William appears in the records again in 1595 at Helston, William Lanion (sic) gent of Breage, 4 pieces of tin of 1726lbs for coining.

He was buried on 7 Aug 1597 at Breage and left a will which is now sadly lost. In the Breage parish records he is described as ‘generosi’ due to his generosity.

Jane Veale Mitchell suggests that George Lanyon, gent, of Sancreed is the son of this William. I have found no documentary evidence but she did have access to wills which are now destroyed.

William Lanyon’s Children

William Lanyon abt.1550-1630

William Junior (eldest son and heir) married Elizabeth Kerne alias Tresilian the daughter of Paskowe Kerne alias Tresilian and Margaret Vivyan. They married at Breage in 1572 which makes it likely that he was born in the 1550s. They had two children:

William -1591 died in infancy
Maria -1592 died in infancy

William died at Breage in 1630 with no other heirs.

Mary Lanyon -1614

Mary married Walter Borlase at Breage in 1576 so was probably born in the 1550s. They had nine children:

William 1577-1653
Philippa 1579-1682 married Nicholas Hicks
Thomas 1583-
Walter 1584-1679
Harry 1585-1653
Mary 1586-1681
Dorothie 1587-1684 married John Keigwin
John 1600-1664 married Cheston Pawley, their daughter Mary Borlase married John Lanyon of St Ives (Botrea branch of the tree.)
Ann

Walter Borlase died in 1601 and Mary married William Chiverton.

Elizabeth Lanyon abt. 1560–

Elizabeth married Mychell Trelobus at Breage in 1581. No further information about them.

Phelype Lanyon abt. 1558-

Phelype Lanyon married Rychard Herryes at Breage in 1583. No further information about them.

Margaret Lanyon abt. 1550-1634

Margaret married John Code at Breage in 1584. They had five children: John, Blancia, Loveday, Thomasin and Elizabeth. John’s grand daughter Patience married Ralph Lanyon (the son of Thomas Lanyon and Mary Levelis of Madron.)

Francis Lanyon bef. 1566-aft. 1587

Francis is mentioned in a legal document of 1587 which shows he is at least 21 and therefore born 1566 or earlier. There is no further trace of him.

“ME Edgcumbe family of Cotehele, Calstock and Mount Edgcumbe, Maker.

Ref No ME/501Title: Quitclaim, land in Menyghye Veor, Wendron

Date 1 May 1587

Description

Parties: 1) Bennett Lanyen and Francis Lanyen, gentlemen of Breage

2) William Lanyen of Breage, gentleman, father of party 1.

Property: Land held of demise of Edward Sparnan, gentleman, deceased, in Menyghye Veor in Wendron.”

Bennett Lanyon bef. 1566

Bennett married in 1589 to Katheren Cocke and they had four children:

John aft. 1589-aft. 1626
Bennet 1601-1601 died in infancy
Grace 1609- no further trace
William – 1616 died young

His second marriage was to Margeri Wake in 1620 at St Michael Penkevil. No children traced from this marriage.

John Lanyon aft. 1589-aft. 1626

John, the son of Bennett, married Judith Nowell at St Michael Penkevil on 26 Apr 1618. They had four children:

In 1641/2 he or his son John, signed the Protestation Return for St Michael Penkevil – name spelt John Lanine. If he signed the protestation return he must have been alive in 1641/2. There is only one Lanyon that signed the Protestation Return so it seems likely that it was signed by his son and he was dead by this date.

Margrie 1622- a Margery Lanyne married Thomas Langdon at Truro St Mary in 1654, it’s possible that it is this Margery
Agnes born abt 1620. there is no evidence that Agnes was John & Judith’s daughter but she married William Ceely at St Michael Penkevil 22 Jun 1646 and there is no other Lanyon family in the town at that time.
John 1624- aft. 1664 married with five children
Kateren 1626-1626 died in infancy
Bennodine -1629 died in infancy

St Michael Penkevil Church is close to Lamorran on the map.

Lamorran

John Lanyon 1624-aft. 1664

John was the son of John & Judith. He is probably the person who signed the 1641/2 Protestation Return. In 1664 he paid Hearth Tax in St Michael Penkevil.

The Parochial History of Cornwall by Davies Gilbert. 1838 described him thus:

“Mr. John Lanyon of this parish, a sea sand barge daily labourer.”

John married Mary, we don’t know the surname of John’s wife as his marriage wasn’t recorded but they had five children:

Johane 1648- no further trace
John 1652-1726
Elizabeth 1657- no further trace
Anne 1662- no further trace
Bennett – 1661 died young

We don’t have any record of what happened to his daughters, but we do know what happened to his son John.

John Lanyon 1652-1726

John was the eldest son and heir of John Lanyon, a ‘sea sand barge daily labourer’ and his wife Mary.

The Parochial History of Cornwall stated that John senior:

“ had a son named John Lanyon who having had his education under Hugh Boscawen, gent, Master of arts, who kept a school at St Michael Penkevill Church, became afterwards a steward to Trefusis, St Aubyn, Coryton and lastly came into the service of Brook Lord Chandos, and having by these services accumulated considerable riches he gave lands and built and endowed an almshouse for poor people.”

The almshouses built in 1726 are still there today.

John may have married Sarah Symons although I cannot find a record for this. He didn’t have any children and died in 1726 at St James in London but left a very interesting will naming lots of Cornish people.

The Will of John Lanyon of St James Westminster – Source NA/PROB 11/620/334

In his will he asks to be buried ‘as near as may be to my wife Sarah.

Mentions brother -in-law Jonah Symons of Mylor (he was a clothier).

Niece Anne Tresidder, wife of Nicholas Tresidder of Budock.

Brother-in-law Richard Oliver, Wymouth, wool stapler.

Codicil dated 1726 mentions sister-in-law Mesdames Francis and Jobson.

Benjamin Brown, son of late brother-in-law Benjamin Brown.

My kinswoman Mrs Lanyon, widow of Thomas Lanyon and daughter. We don’t know which Thomas Lanyon he is referring to.

There is also a property transaction dated 29 Sep 1683 (Source – CRO CY/378) which links John to the Symons family.

James Tillie – Middle Temple Esq
Richard Symons of Kea, yeoman and John Lanyon of Kea, yeoman. Bargain and sale Lanner Wood and Lambe Wood in Kea, part of Manor of Landegay. To have two years ‘for the rynding, felling, cutting down, coaling, working upp and faggotting’ these coppice woods.
This was witnessed by a John Lanyon as well.

(See the post ‘Poisoned?’ in The Black Sheep category, for more information about John.)

And here ends the Breage branch of the tree.

In many parishes, during the Civil War and Interegnum, records were poorly kept or omitted altogether. The government appointed lay people to take on this task rather than priests and as there was a charge for registering births – 4d (and it was births, not baptisms at this time), marriages 1/- and burials 4d many people did not record their family’s life events. The Breage branch may end here but there were probably descendants of this branch that we just cannot trace.

The History of Parish Registers