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Show Made Jefferson President Matthew Lyon, Irish Boy Who Was Sold for a Yoke of Oxen and Was Congressman From Two States, Kept Burr From. White House. fice3 of the state and no man In It can be more qualified to do so, as his knowledge of the finances and situation sit-uation of the country Is scarcely to be equaled, nor does his Integrity ever suffer him to lose sight of the real good of the people. Ills friendship friend-ship and gereroslty are as great as his ambition. His passions and all his pursuits are exerted for the benefit ben-efit of mankind." Zenas II. Ellis of Fair Haven, who Hve3 In the old Matthew Lyon home, has gathered a notable collection of Colonial relics, including a copy of the above-mentioned book and one of Franklin's autobiography. "Together with Essays Humorous. Moral and Literary, chiefly In the manner of the Spectator. Printed and sold by J. Lyon, Fair naven. Vt, 179S." James Lyon was the eldest son of Col. Matthew Lyon. The book Is printed on paper made In Colonel Lyon's mill and bound In leather tannedJn his tannery. It was James Lyon who published at Fair Haven the paper In which was printed Matthew Lyon's article attacking President John Adams. Nearly two centuries ago, July 14, 1750, there was born In Ireland a boy destined to become a big business busi-ness man, to represent two of our states In congress nnd to cast the deciding vote for a President of the then unthought-of United States of America, Mary Gilbert Smith writes, In the Boston Globe. His father, a member of a prominent prom-inent family, was executed for his part In the White Hoys' Insurrection, Insurrec-tion, nis mother, married again. Young Matthew Lyon, studious and enterprising, wns well treated by his stepfather, who was proud and fond of the boy. But he had heard of the strange new land beyond the seas and longed to try his fortunes there. One morning morn-ing when he was fourteen he bargained bar-gained with a sea captain to carry him to the province of Connecticut In return for his services as cabin boy. He had a guinea which he had saved from his pocket money, and he gave this to the captain for safe keeping. The captain hid him in the hold, so that no one would find him bpfore the vessel sailed, nnd took the precaution to lock him in. find he not done so, young Matthew's adventure would have ended that same morning. When his stepfather came seeklng-hlmt seeklng-hlmt n"hd called to him effectlonately. the lad would have responded at once had he not been restrained by the locked door. When they reached Connecticut, the captain betrayed the boy's trust by selling him Into service as a "re-demptioner" "re-demptioner" one of those Impecunious Impecu-nious emigrants who paid for their passage to the New world by serving as bond-servants for a number of years. Fortunately for young Matthew, his services were secured by Jabez Ba con, one of the wealthles merchants In Connecticut; he was worth half a million when he died a vast sum for those early days. Hl3 example and precepts did much to set the ambitious ambi-tious boy on his way. Trade at that time was largely by bnrter. Bacon gave a yoke of oxen for Lyon's services serv-ices until he was twenty-one. In after years when the young Irishman was a candidate for office this Incident was distorted by his political opponents to show that he was of low origin and unGt to be n representative In congress. Lyon never apologized for the manner of his entry Into Connecticut nor told of the deception that had been practiced prac-ticed upon him. Rather, he acted as If It were something he was proud of. He swore "by the bulls that redeemed re-deemed me" to bent his opponents and he did. Of his work here, J. A. Graham, In a book published In London In 1797, says In part: "Fair Haven Joins on Skenesbor-ough Skenesbor-ough (now Whitehall, N. Y.) and is the most flourishing manufacturing town In the state. It owes Its consequence con-sequence to Its founder. Colonel Lyon, whose enterprise nnd perse verance In promoting and carrying on manufactories has been of Infinite utility to the public He has erected a furnace for casting all kinds of hollow hol-low Iron ware and two forges, a slitting slit-ting mil' for the making of nail rods, a paper mill, a printing press and corn and sawmills. "It Is a curious fact that Colonel Lyon has executed a good deal of printing at his office, on paper manufactured manu-factured by himself of the bark of the basswood tree, and which Is found to answer every purpose for common printing. "He has held some of the first of- which caused Colonel Lyons' arrest under the alien and sedition law. He wsa fined $100 and sentenced to four months' Imprisonment at Vergennes. He was In jail at the time of the congressional . election, but his con stltuents rolled up so large a majority major-ity for him that he was released to return to congress. The largest crowd assembled In Vermont In early days sped him on his way. He arrived ar-rived In time to cast the decisive vote that made Thomas Jefferson President Presi-dent over Aaron Burr. The restless spirit of the pioneer now urged Matthew Lyon to turn from things accomplished to a new country where everything was yet to be done. In Fair Haven he was at the head of a household of 16. Leaving Leav-ing his sons In charge of his many enterprises, he went to Arkansas and later to Kentucky, the next state after aft-er th original 13 to be admitted to the Union. Here he made his home for the rest of his life, and from here he was again returned to congress. |