Ernest Lyon
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (May 2018) |
Ernest A. Lyon | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Liberia | |
In office March 16, 1903 – August 25, 1910 | |
President | Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft |
Preceded by | |
Succeeded by | William D. Crum |
Founder of Maryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths | |
In office 1901–1902 | |
Personal details | |
Born | October 22, 1860 Belize City, British Honduras |
Died | July 17, 1938 Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland | (aged 77)
Cause of death | Lobar pneumonia |
Nationality | United States of America |
Political party | Republican |
Children | 3; including Maude A. Morris |
Residence | North Laurel, Maryland |
Education | New Orleans University (AB) Union Theological Seminary (AM) Wiley College (DD) University of Liberia (LLD) |
Ernest A. Lyon (October 22, 1860 – July 17, 1938)[notes 1] was an African-American minister, educator and diplomat.
Early life and education[]
Lyon was born on October 22, 1860, in on the coast of Belize, British Honduras to Emmanuel Lyon and Ann F. Bending.[1][2][3][notes 2] As a child, Lyon attended an English school in Belize.[4] His father died when he was young.[4] Lyon "became a Christian by experience October 24, 1875."[4]
Lyon immigrated to the United States in mid 1870s to increase his education opportunities.[4] For three years he attended the in , Louisiana.[5] In 1880, Lyon attended Straight University. From 1881 to 1883, he attended the Gilbert Seminary while serving as the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Baldwin, later called Winston.[4] It was here that he met his first wife, Abbie J. Wright who reluctantly married Lyon in a wedding officiated by Rev. W.D. Godman, the president of Gilbert Seminary.[4]
Lyon graduated with A.B. degree in the classics from New Orleans University in 1888.[5][6][notes 3] He later earned an A.M. degree in theology from Union Theological Seminary.[6] Lyon has a D.D. degree from Wiley College and a L.L.D from University of Liberia.[6]
Career[]
1882–1900: Career beginnings[]
Lyon joined the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1882.[5] The next year, in 1883, Lyon became the first charge in La Teche.[5] In 1894, he "was appointed Sunday School Agent of the Louisiana Conference."[5] He also served as the Conference statistical secretary and the reserve delegate of the General conference for several years.[4] He was an editor of the Sunday school column in the Southwestern Christian Advocate.[4] By 1895, Lyon was the "special agent of the Freedman's Aid and Southern Educational Society."[5] Later he served as a pastor in multiple churches in New Orleans including the Mallalieu Methodist Episcopal Church in 1886, the Thompson Church in 1889, and the Simpson Church in 1891.[5] In 1896, he was the pastor of St. Mark's Church in New York City.[5] Lyon was a member of the New York City Missionary and Church Extension Society.[1] While pastor of St. Mark's Church, Lyon was the only African American among 300 members of the New York Conference.[7]
As an ardent Republican, Lyon was appointed as an auxiliary member of the Republican National Committee in 1884.[5] In this role, all matters about the "colored vote" in the Eastern United States were referred to him.[5] In 1890, Lyon was appointed by the RNC as a member of the advisory board.[5]
1901–1902: Foundation of Maryland school for colored youths and Morgan College[]
In 1901, Lyon was the pastor of the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland.[5][8] That same year he worked as the professor of church history at Morgan College.[1] He was among the founders of the Maryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths, a school for African-American youth in North Laurel, Maryland.[5][6] He later served as the first president of the school.[6]
1903–1910: Politics and U.S. Ambassador to Liberia[]
The civil rights leader Booker T. Washington recommended Lyon to President Theodore Roosevelt, who appointed him U.S. Minister and Consul General to Liberia in 1903.[5] He served in this capacity until 1910. Following his diplomatic service, he returned to Baltimore to become the minister of Ames Methodist Episcopal Church.
1911–death[]
Lyon was "member committee" for the which "invited President Woodrow Wilson to deliver address on opening day of 50th anniversary exposition and celebration of emancipation at Fort Lee, Virginia."[1] Lyons was one of ten people to represent the intellectual contributions of African Americans in an international lecture course hosted by the Maryland State Department of Education in Baltimore.[1]
In 1915, his office was located at 141 West Hill Street, Baltimore, Maryland.[1]
Personal life[]
Lyon was first married to singer Abbie J. Wright in 1883. Together they had three children, Maud Amelia, Annie Belle, and Ernest Harrison Monroe.[4] In 1903, Lyon married Clara Florida Bacchus (1878-?) of Wilmington, Delaware.[1][5] He was married for a third time on March 28, 1912, to Marie Wright of Baltimore.[1] In 1915, Lyon resided in Laurel, Maryland.[1] He died of lobar pneumonia on July 17, 1938, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.[9]
Works consulted[]
- William Davis Godman, A. H. Dexter Godman, Ines A. Godman. 1893. Gilbert Academy and Agricultural College, Winsted, Louisiana: Sketches and Incidents.
- William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. 1917. The Crisis, Volumes 15–18 (p. 29).
- Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston. 1910. The Negro in the New World.
- John William Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis (eds). Who's Who in America, Volume 4.
- The Journal of Negro History.
- The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 14. 1910.
- Accomplished: African American Women in Victorian America, 2014, BIG BYTE BOOKS
- 1900 United States Federal Census
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mather, Frank Lincoln (1915). Who's who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. publisher not identified.
- ^ The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association papers. Hill, Robert A., 1943-, Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940., Universal Negro Improvement Association. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1983. ISBN 0520052579. OCLC 8670153.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Godman, William Davis; Godman, A. H. Dexter; Godman, Inez A. (1893). Gilbert Academy and Agricultural College, Winsted, Louisiana: Sketches and Incidents: Selections from Journal. Hunt & Eaton.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly. 1909.
- ^ a b c d e "Biography" (PDF).
- ^ "Appointment for Dr. Lyon?". The Baltimore Sun. January 7, 1903.
- ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. James T. White & Company. 1910. p. 421.
- ^ "DR. ERNEST LYON; Former Minister to Liberia Was Named by Theodore Roosevelt". The New York Times. 1938-07-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
Footnotes[]
- ^ Some sources state that Lyon was born September 22, 1860.
- ^ There are a few accounts that Lyon was born in Honduras but most state British Honduras.
- ^ In 1934, New Orleans University merged with Straight College to form Dillard University.
External links[]
- 1860 births
- 1930 deaths
- American people of Belizean descent
- American consuls
- African-American Methodist clergy
- American Methodist clergy
- African-American academics
- African-American educators
- Belizean emigrants to the United States
- Belizean expatriates in the United States
- Ambassadors of the United States to Liberia
- 20th-century American diplomats
- British Honduras people
- 19th-century American educators
- 20th-century American educators
- 19th-century Methodist ministers
- 20th-century Methodist ministers
- University of Liberia alumni
- Wiley College alumni
- Dillard University alumni
- Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni
- People from Laurel, Maryland
- People from Howard County, Maryland
- Religious leaders from Baltimore
- Educators from Maryland
- Morgan State University faculty
- Religious leaders from Louisiana
- People in 19th-century Louisiana
- People from New Orleans
- Educators from Louisiana
- Theodore Roosevelt administration personnel
- Taft administration personnel
- Founders of schools in the United States
- African-American founders
- Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland
- Straight University alumni