John Lanyon was the son of David Lanyon and Margaret Shetford in St Buryan. He married Ann Hicks from St Just in Penwith and their family lived at Boscaswell in St Just. This post is about his grandsons: Thomas, William and William.

Thomas Lanyon 1767-1829

Thomas was the eldest son of Thomas and Jane Ann Bennetts, he was baptised in St Just in 1767 and he married Cordelia Bennetts (probably a relative of his mother although I haven’t found the connection yet.) They had nine children:

• Cordelia 1800-1866 married John Roberts, a tin miner, in 1821. Fourteen children!
• Jane 1803-1875 married William Nankervis, a copper miner, in 1822. Fourteen children!
• Thomas 1805-1825 unmarried
• John 1808-1855 married Elizabeth Bowden – seven children
• James 1811-1863 married Mary Nankervis & Jane Shakerley – 13 children!
• Peggy 1814-1882 married Robert Roberts, an agricultural labourer in 1841, he died in 1845 aged 23 – two children
• William 1818-1818 died in infancy
• William 1820-1858 married Aves Pearce – five children
• Hugh 1824-1884 married Mary Guy – six children

Thomas committed suicide by reason of insanity in 1829 at Pendeen at the age of 62.

William Lanyon 1788-1841

William was the youngest son of Thomas and Jane Ann Bennetts, he was twenty one years younger than his brother Thomas. He was baptised at St Just in 1788 and married Honor Davy in 1812. William was a tin miner. He and Honor had twelve children:

• William 1812-1852 married Peggy Veal & Mary Woolcock – five children
• John 1814-1838 bachelor died age 23
• Honor 1816-1838 spinster died aged 21
• James 1819-1819 died in infancy
• James 1820-1889 he was a miner, married Alice Wearn, one son William who died in infancy, emigrated to Australia and described in his will as ‘Gentleman of Ballarat’.
• Jane 1823-1827 died in infancy
• Richard (twin) 1825-1878 married Elizabeth Angwin – nine children
• Thomas (twin) 1825-1825 died in infancy
• Hugh 1826-1872 he was a tin miner, married Elizabeth Olds, one daughter
• Thomas 1827-1892 married Jane Thomas – sixteen children!!!
• Henry 1829-1902 married Grace Leggoe – twelve children
• Jane 1833-1923 married William Hockin, a tin miner – ten children, emigrated to Australia

William Lanyon 1767-1836

William was the eldest son of William Lanyon and Sarah Rowe, he was baptised in St Just in 1767. He was a labourer at Boscawen. He didn’t marry but had an illegitimate son, William, with Elizabeth Trembath in 1821.

In 1816 he appeared at the Lent Assizes and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for larceny. In 1822 at the age of 55 he was convicted at Launceston of larceny and transported for seven years to Australia. He sailed on the York.

He was freed in 1827.

Somehow he made it back to Cornwall! He was working as a fisherman at St Just when he was convicted again in 1831 of stealing 4 pieces of chain property of Boscaswell Downs Mine in the parish of St Just in Penwith. Again he was transported for seven years. (Source – CRO/AD 1676/4/1).

He arrived in Van Dieman’s Land (now Tasmania) on 15th Nov 1831 aged 64. He died at Hobart Colonial Hospital, Tasmania on 3rd Jun 1836.

He never saw his son William grow up. William was just 10 when his father was transported a second time. William junior married Mary Maddern at St Buryan in 1841. They had ten children:

• William Thomas 1843-1905 he was a tin miner, he married Elizabeth Jane Leacher at Lelant in 1863 they had seven children who all died in infancy
• Mary Jane 1846-1882 spinster died age 36
• Charles Maddern 1848-1869 age 13 he was working as an agricultural labourer, died age 21 unmarried
• John 1850-1934 was a labourer who married Caroline (possibly Lanyon) and had a son Charles born abt. 1878 and lost trace of him after 1891. John remarried Mary Ann Ausby in 1900.
• Eliza Maddern 1852- aft. 1871 no further trace
• James 1854- no trace after 1861
• Elizabeth 1857-1910 the 1901 census shows Elizabeth living with William as head of household and a widower, Elizabeth as his wife but I think it must refer to her father as William’s birth date is about 1826. Elizabeth had a son William Thomas Lanyon born 1882 at Liskeard.
• Susan 1859- no trace after 1881
• Annie 1862-1870 died young
• Edwin 1864-1864 died in infancy

Thomas, William and William have 126 grandchildren between them and possibly more as there are people we can’t trace. The St Buryan Branch of the family is definitely not at risk of dying out!

William Lanyon 1763-1836

William’s parents Richard and Margery both died young and the children must have been raised by relatives. William was baptised at Madron in 1763, by 1770 he was an orphan. he married Mary Webb at St Buryan in 1787 and they had three children, a small number for the time.

• Robert Webb 1788-1836 he married Jane Hosking – eight children
• Mary 1793-1881 she married William Nicholls, a victualler – six children
• William 1801-1888 he married Rachel Brownfield Matthews – nine children

William senior died at Boscowan, St Buryan in 1836 aged 74.

Margery Lanyon 1764-

Margery was William’s younger sister. She had an illegitimate son:

• William 1791- he married Margaret Mitchell – four children

William Lanyon and Mary Webb’s sons

Robert Webb Lanyon 1788-1836

Robert married Jane Hosking at St Buryan in 1815. Robert was a labourer at Mousehole. They had eight children:

• Elizabeth Hosking 1815-1891 married William Harvey in 1832 they had fourteen children! They emigrated to Australia.

• Uriah 1817-1877 he married Elizabeth Jane Nobel – six children
• Jane 1820- possibly married Charles Johns
• Mary 1822-1881 married Michael Edwards in 1858 – one son
• John 1825-1826 died in infancy
• Philadelphia 1827-1910 married James Thomas at Paul, ten children
• John 1830-1896 he was a farm labourer, married Amelia Hosken no children and died in the Madron Union Workhouse
• Sarah Hosking 1833-1904 married Thomas Wills at Paul in 1852 – eight children

William Lanyon 1801-1888

William was the youngest child of William Lanyon and Mary Webb, he was baptised at St Buryan in 1801. In 1829 he married Rachel Brownfield Matthews at St Buryan. They had nine children:

• William Albert 1829-1885 married Bridget McGrath at Victoria Australia in 1851 – four children
• Mary Anne Matthews 1832-1914 married George Maddern in Australia in 1853 – twelve children
• Rachel Brownfield 1835-1905 married John Wadsworth Roberts in Australia – twelve children
• Elizabeth 1838-1852 died young
• Joseph 1840-1895 married Maria Hogan Ogenarks in Australia in 1860 – six children
• Robert Matthews 1844-1859 died young
• Christiana Matthews 1847-1873 married James Thorogood – two children
• Francis 1851-1918 married Mary Ann Opie in 1875 – six children
• George 1853-1896 not married

William died in Australia in 1888 but left a large family to continue the Lanyon name.

Margery Lanyon’s Son

William Lanyon 1791-

William was the illegitimate son of Margery Lanyon. He was baptised at Madron in 1791. He worked as a labourer and married Margaret Mitchell at St Buryan in 1823. Later he was a mariner and in 1835 the Boscawen pilot. They had four children:

• John 1823-1893 he married Maria Williams in 1853 at St Levan – three children
• Eliza 1827-1907 had an illegitimate son, John Lanyon in 1851 and then married Richard Carbis, a labourer, in 1853, they had one daughter. John took the surname Carbis. They emigrated to Australia .

• Richard 1832-1907 married Ann Semmens – three children
• Mary Mitchell 1835-1852 died young

By 1841 the family were split up, William may have died before 1841 but I can’t find a record of that.

Robert Webb Lanyon & Jane Hosking’s Son

Uriah Lanyon 1817-1877

Uriah was baptised at St Buryan in 1817 and in 1838 he married Elizabeth Jane Nobel at Madron. They emigrated to Pennsylvania, USA in 1848 on the ship ‘Mountaineer’. They had six children:

• Uriah 1839-1839 died in infancy
• Eliza Jane 1845-1907 born at Lelant and baptised at St Ives Primitive Methodist. She married Charles Wrenshall at Georgia in 1865 – four children
• William Henry 1851-1913 married Kate Lindon and one son, William. William senior was a school janitor and died at Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1913
• Ida Ella 1854-1900 married Lewis Garner – at least two children
• Lilly Lanyon 1860- married William Lacard (possibly Lockard) no further trace
• Edwin W 1863-1941 bachelor

William Lanyon and Rachel Brownfield Matthews’ Sons

William Albert Lanyon 1829-1885

William was baptised at St Buryan in 1829 he emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1849. He married Bridget McGrath in 1851. They had four children:

• Emily 1854-1894 had an illegitimate son Samuel Albert born in 1874 then she married Joseph Frost at Victoria in 1879 and they had seven children.
• Elizabeth Rachel 1855-1890 married Joseph Lawrence Minogue in 1874 at Victoria – nine children the last born the same year Elizabeth died.
• William Patrick 1857-1946 married Mary Ryan in 1882 – four children
• Edwin Joseph 1859- no further trace

Bridget left William in 1860 and he placed an advert in the paper to announce that he would no longer be responsible for any debts incurred by her as she ‘has left my bed and board without just cause’!

Francis Lanyon 1851-1918

Francis ‘Frank’ was born in 1851 is Portland, Victoria, Australia. He married Mary Ann Opie at Victoria in 1875. They had six children:

• Edith Mary Ethel 1877-1918 married William Alexander Waller – two children
• Ann Maude 1880-1969 spinster
• Elizabeth Amy 1883-1953 spinster
• Francis William 1885-1942 bachelor
• Mabel Eliza 1887-1976 married Walter Edgar Brand – two children
• Gertrude 1891-1952 spinster

There we must leave this branch of the family, there are descendants in Australia and the USA.

The more a family grows the less there is to pass on. Thomas Lanyon may have been a gentleman farmer in St Buryan but his great grandsons and their children are much poorer.

The names Thomas and Richard are popular and it can be difficult to pinpoint the correct one in the records. This is my attempt to sort out this branch of the St Buryan tree.

Thomas Lanyon 1722-1781

Thomas was the son of Thomas and Mary Rowe. He was baptised at Sancreed in 1722 and married Avis harry at Madron in 1754. They had two daughters:

• Ruth 1760-1823 she had an illegitimate daughter, Sabina baptised at Sancreed in 1781. Ruth married Richard Lavars at Sancreed in 1786 no trace of any children. Sabina married William Olds, a husbandman in 1812 and they had five children. Sabina died in 1831 at St Buryan.
• Grace 1763-1786 Grace didn’t marry and died as a pauper at Sancreed in 1786.

Avis died in 1766 and a Thomas Lanyon married Honour Bottrel at Sancreed in 1772. It may not be this Thomas but I can’t fit this marriage in anywhere else! Thomas and Honour had four children:

• Ann 1773- possible marriage to John Bawden at Madron in 1798?
• Thomas 1775- no further trace
• Honour 1779-1842 married John Hosken in 1818 at Sancreed and died at St Just in 1842
• William 1779- William was baptised on the same day as his sister Honour so she was probably born a couple of years before him. No further trace of William

Richard Lanyon 1732-

Richard was the youngest son of Thomas Lanyon and Mary Rowe. He was baptised in 1732 at Sancreed and married Margery Riccault at Madron in 1757. They had four children:

• Richard 1758-1842 married Jane Thomas at Madron in 1779, they had one son Jacob Thomas Lanyon baptised in 1780, no further trace of Jacob
• Thomas 1760- no further trace
• William 1763-1836 married Mary Webb at St Buryan in 1787 – three children
• Margery 1764- illegitimate son William baptised in 1791

There are two possible dates of burial for Richard 23rd Sep 1766 at St Buryan or 16th Dec 1767 at Sancreed. Either way he died in his early thirties and Margery died in 1770 so all four children must have been raised by relatives.

Thomas Lanyon 1736-1791

Thomas was the second son of John Lanyon and Ann Hicks, he was baptised at St Just in Penwith in 1736. In 1766 he was married to Jane Ann Bennetts. They had nine children:

• Thomas 1767-1829 married Cordelia Bennetts – nine children
• John 1769-1791 bachelor died young
• Hugh 1770-1791 bachelor died young
• Jane 1774-1827 married John Thomas – twelve children
• Ann 1774-1827 spinster
• Grace 1779-1863 married Richard Oats, a tin dresser, one son traced
• Margaret 1781-1851 married John Hallo, a tin miner, in 1806 – eight children
• James 1783-1822 yeoman, never married and died age 39, bequeaths everything to his sister Grace Oats (Source – CRO/AP/L/2243)
• William 1788-1841 married Honor Davy at St Just in 1812 – twelve children

William Lanyon 1742-1807

William was the youngest son of John Lanyon and Ann Hicks, he was a tinner. In his father’s will he was left £20 and one half of Martin Edwards stamps on tenement of Trewellard. In 1763 he married Sarah Rowe at St Just in Penwith and they had three children:

• William 1767-1836 married Elizabeth Trembath
• Sarah 1775-1856 baptised at St Ives, married William Jennings – eight children
• Ann Row 1780-1864 baptised at St Ives married George Bryant in 1800 – eight children

Sarah Rowe died in 1786 and the following year widower William married Jane Colliver at St Ives. They had five children:

• John 1788-1791 died in infancy
• Jane 1790-1795 died in infancy
• John 1792- no further trace
• Mary 1794-1801 died young
• Jane 1796-1799 died in infancy

As far as can be ascertained none of the children from his second family survived to adulthood. In 1805 his brother John left him 1/- in his will. William of St Ives drowned at Newquay in 1807 and was buried at St Columb Major. Jane Colliver lived to the age of 86.

Richard Lanyon 1739-

Richard was the eldest surviving son of Richard Lanyon and Grace Phillips. He was baptised at St Buryan in 1739. He married Mary Gomer at Paul in 1766. They had seven children:

• Richard 1766-1766 died in infancy
• Richard Lanyon 1767-1767 died in infancy
• David 1768-1846 married Elizabeth Carter – two children
• Mary 1771-1771 died in infancy
• Richard 1773- was a farmer, he married Anne Chapple at Paul in 1809 no children
• Mary 1776 married Richard Crocker no children traced
• John 1779-1831 married Grace Lanyon his cousin – four children

Charles Lanyon 1740-1822

Charles was the youngest son of Richard Lanyon and Grace Phillips. He married Martha Ellis at St Buryan in 1765 and they had nine children:

• Charles 1765- no further trace
• Sarah 1769- married Thomas Roberts at St Buryan 1795 – no children traced
• Richard 1774-1802 he was a mariner and died on HMS Excellent in Asia
• Martha 1778-1859 married Robert Gibbs in 1824, a carpenter and widower – no children
• David 1780-1788 died young
• Grace – 1782 died in infancy
• Grace 1784-1810 married her cousin John Lanyon the son of Richard and Grace Phillips
• David 1788- no further trace
• James 1795-1858 married Grace Harvey at St Buryan in 1822 – no children

Thomas Lanyon and Elizabeth Jonnes of St Buryan had eight children, of them only two sons had children that we can trace, Richard and David. This post is about their sons.

Richard Lanyon & Margery Baynard’s Son

Thomas Lanyon 1695-1738

Thomas was the youngest son of Richard and Margery Baynard and the only son to survive to adulthood.

He married Mary Rowe at Sancreed in 1716. They had eight children:

• Mary 1717- no further trace
• Grace 1719-1719 died in infancy
• Jane 1720-1722 died in infancy
• Thomas 1722-1781 married Avis Harry & Honor Bottrell – six children
• William 1725- no trace
• Ruth 1729-1798 married William Hitchens/Hutchens – five children
• Richard 1732- married Margery Riccault – four children
• Margery 1736-1767 married John Nicholas, husbandman.

There are two possible burials for Thomas one on the 14th Aug 1737 at St Just and the other 11 Feb 1738 at Paul, either is possible!

David Lanyon & Margaret Shetford’s Sons

John Lanyon 1696-1768

John was the eldest son of David Lanyon and Margaret Shetford. He was baptised at Sancreed in 1696. In 1730 he married Ann Hicks at St Just in Penwith.

They lived at Boscaswell at St Just in Penwith and he was a yeoman of the tenement of Trewellard.

John and Ann had seven children:

• Ann 1731-1806 married William Peak – three children
• John 1733-1805 married Phyllis Warren, no children traced. His will however mentions his various siblings. Source – CRO/AP/L/2067

• My sister Ann Peak £10
• My brother William 1/-
• My sister Margery Williams £2. 12/- 6d
• My sister Jane Lanyon 1/-
• My brother-in-law Edward James 1/-
• James Lanyon the son of Thomas and Jane £10
• Everything else goes to his ‘well beloved wife Phyllis’

It’s great to find a will like this that names siblings and helps confirm if a person is still alive and who they married.

• Thomas 1736-1791 married Jane Ann Bennetts – nine children
• Elizabeth 1739-1822 married John Michell – no children traced (not mentioned in John’s will)
• William 1742-1807 married Sarah Rowe & Jane Colliver – eight children
• Margery abt. 1743-1809 married Henry Williams – no children
• Mary 1745-1747 died in infancy

Richard Lanyon 1702-1766

Richard was the youngest son of David and Margaret. He married Grace Phillips at St Buryan in 1728. They had four children:

• David 1729-1730 died in infancy
• Grace 1739- no further trace
• Richard 1739- married Mary Gomer – seven children
• Charles 1740-1822 married Martha Ellis – nine children

We don’t know what Richard’s occupation was or if he left a will but when we see what happens to the next generation we can see the effects of wealth watered down over time. Thomas Lanyon may have been a gentleman farmer but his descendants were not so fortunate.

Thomas was the eldest son of David Lanyon and Joan Shutford, he was born about 1620 but there is no record of his baptism. His father died in 1641 and his will suggests that Thomas is 21.

His father David bequeathed Thomas land that can be traced back to Richard Lanyon Esq and Margaret Treskillard.

Thomas was a gentleman and yeoman. He married Elizabeth Jonnes at St Buryan in 1658. They had eight children:

• John 1659-1663 died in infancy
• Richard 1661-1720 married Margery Baynard – four children
• John 1663-1702 died unmarried but left a will which mentions his siblings: Richard, David, Thomas, Grace, Alice and Joan wife of Edmund Eva, Uncle Barnard and mother Elizabeth.

• David 1665-1744 married Margaret Shetford – five children
• Joane 1667-1745 married Edmund Eva – four children
• Grace 1669-aft. 1703 – no further trace
• Thomas 1672 – married Mary Edwards – four children
• Alice 1675-1705 married Richard Olivie – one son who lived for a day, Alice was buried eight days later so probably died of puerperal fever.

Thomas died in 1695 his estate was valued at £113 5/- and he left a will which mentions:

• Son Richard Lanyon of Sancret 2/- 6d and his daughter Grace 5/-
• Third son David
• Eldest son Thomas
• Daughter Jane £40
• Daughter Alice
• Brother Barnard, large chest , woolen clothes
• wife Elizabeth and son John executors
• His son David and daughters were to have meat and drink and lodging at my house at Bolanken

The church wardens account at St Buryan lists the following properties connected to the Lanyons:

• Treviddron – held by Mr Charles Lanyon between 1690-1700 and up to 1711. Charles left the Parish in 1711 and the property passed to Mr Henry Davies.
• Bolanken – In 1693 in the possession of Thomas lanyon, by 1699 it was in the possession of William Lanyon and remained there until 1703 when possession was transferred to Paynter.
• Treve – In possession of John Lanyon in 1699 and is again mentioned in 1702. By 1703 it was in Thomas Lanyon’s possession and it remained there until 1711.
• Cardinney – In 1734 David lanyon held Cardinney as far back as 1711 it was listed as belonging to Robert Shutford and David Lanyon jointly.
• The rector comments that the social status of these Lanyons in the parish in the 17th and 18th centuries was that of gentlemen and non-working farm owners.

Richard Lanyon 1661-1720

Richard was the eldest surviving son of Thomas and Elizabeth Jonnes, he was baptised at St Buryan in 1661. He married Margery Baynard at Sancreed in 1688. They had four children:

• Richard 1686-1687 died in infancy
• Thomas 1690-1693 died in infancy
• Grace 1693-1777 married William Mason of St Just in 1715 and they had five children
• Thomas 1695-1737 or 1738 married Mary Rowe – eight children

Richard died in 1720 and left a detailed will:

Partial transcript:

• Parish of St Burian 5/-
• Wife Margery £5 and bedroom furniture in hall chamber in Trovean and other furniture, brass pots and pewter marked with the letters MB belonging to her before marriage
• Son-in-law William Mason, St Just
• To daughter Grace, wife of William Mason, hanging press in Trevean (sic)
• To granddaughters Mary and Grace the daughters of Thomas Lanyon £5
• To granddaughters Mary and Joan Mason
• All the rest to son Thomas

David Lanyon 1665-1744

David was mentioned specifically in his father Thomas’ will of 1696 ‘to have meat and drink and lodging in my house at Bosanken’. It seems strange to put that in a will and not mention his other brothers. David married Margaret Shetford at Sancreed in 1695, had there been a family falling out? Did they expect David to need board and lodging?

David was a yeoman of Cardinney, St Buryan. According to the church warden’s accounts David owned this house jointly with Robert Shetford, Margaret’s father.

David and Margaret had five children:

• John 1696-1751 married Ann Hicks – seven children
• Elizabeth 1697-1779 married William Hutchens – four children
• Robert 1699-1700 died in infancy
• Mary 1701- married John Vingoe – three children
• Richard 1702-1766 married Grace Phillips – four children

Thomas Lanyon 1672-

Thomas was the youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth yet his father’s will calls him the eldest! He lived at the Tenement of Kerrow and was called a gentleman. He married Mary Edwards at St Buryan in 1703. They had four children:

• Isabella 1703- possible marriage in 1738 at Madron to Thomas Teague?
• Francis 1704-1705 died in infancy
• Jane 1706- married John Inch at St Buryan in 1728 no further trace
• Francis 1708- no further trace

We’ll follow this family in the post ‘Thomas Lanyon’s Grandsons’.

George Peter Lanyon was born in St Ives in 1918, the son of William Herbert Lanyon and Lilian Priscilla Vivian. He was a leading figure in the St Ives group of artists and is best known for his abstract landscapes of Cornwall. He died at Taunton in Somerset following a gliding accident at the age of 46.

He studied at the Penzance School of Art and in 1939 he met Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth and was tutored by Nicholson. He married Sheila Margaret St John Brown in 1946. They had six children some of whom also became artists.

‘When Lanyon returned to St Ives after active service in the second world war, he fell out with most of the other artists. As the only native Cornishman among them, he saw them as incomers who did not share his interest in getting under the skin of the landscape – which he attempted literally, scrambling down mine shafts as well as soaring above them. 

The rift became so bitter that, according to local legend, every time he passed Nicholson’s house on the coastal path, he urinated on the gable wall – hoping that the house would eventually fall down.’ Source -The Guardian 17th Aug 2015)

He taught at the Bath Academy of Art and held his first exhibition in London in 1949. In 1959 he began training as a glider pilot  “to get a more complete knowledge of the landscape” and this became the basis for his art.

He was buried at Lelant in Cornwall and his headstone bears the inscription:

I will ride now
The barren kingdoms
In my history
And in my eye

The poet W S Graham wrote a poem about Peter, The Thermal Stair.

The chapel is a 13th or 14th century building over an ancient Celtic site. The well is a ground level natural spring said to have healing properties.

The well is about 200 metres from the chapel and the trees are often hung with strips of cloth or ‘clouties’ as offerings to appease the spirits.

An old May Day tradition, which was still being observed in 1879, was for many young folks to head from Penzance before sunrise, to perform a ceremony, to learn the number of years they would have to wait before they got married. (Source – The Cornishman. No. 43. 8 May 1879. p. 4)

The Rev R.S Hawker even penned a poem about the well.

"PLUNGE thy right hand in St. Madron's Spring,
If true to it's troth be the palm you bring;
But if a false sigil thy fingers bear,
Lay them the rather on the burning share"

Loud laughed King Arthur when as he heard
That solemn friar his boding word;
And blithely he swore, as a king he may,
"We tryst for St. Madron's at the break of day."

How many Lanyons walked over the fields to visit the holy well near their manor house?