Graduated Greenfield, Iowa High School in 1945
Served in the U.S. Army in Fort LeonardWood, Mo
Farmed many years in Greenfield, Iowa

Lawrence Clair Lydon (2009)

LYDON, NELSON, JOHNSTON, BOHAN, SLOSS, COX, ROGERS, PETTIT, JENSENLYDON, NELSON, JOHNSTON, BOHAN, SLOSS, COX, ROGERS, PETTIT, JENSEN

Posted By: Ida Morse, Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/1/2010 at 09:27:31

Steen Funeral Homes
Greenfield-Fontanelle-Massena, Iowa

December 2009

Lawrence Clair Lydon was born on October 6, 1926, in Adair County, Iowa, to Bernard and Velva (Nelson) Lydon. He passed away on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, at the Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, at the age of 83.

Lawrence was raised and educated in Adair County graduating from Greenfield High School in 1945. Following graduation he served his country in the U.S. Army. He was the company clerk at Fort Leonard wood, Missouri, during the Korean War. He returned home and farmed many years on the family farm near Greenfield.

Lawrence had a talent for growing various plants and flowers. His favorite was the African violet. He loved to bake and over the years his family enjoyed his buttermilk brownies and pumpkin pie. He had a big heart, contagious laugh and beaming smile. He was a favorite uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Lawrence was a man of few words. He taught us how to love through his actions by caring for his mother for many years.

He enjoyed having coffee with his many friends. We are sure he has joined a coffee club in heaven.

He was preceded in death by his parents; six sisters, Lucile Johnston, Louise Bohan, Veronica Sloss, Gladys Cox, Delores Rogers, and Lois Pettit; and five brothers, Leo, Tommy, Ernest, Donald, and Earl Lydon.

He is survived by his brother, Robert Lydon and wife Ardis of Greenfield; his sister, Arlene Jensen of Ankeny; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

The family of Lawrence Lydon wishes to express their gratitude for all acts of kindness shown to them in their time of sorrow and invites you to join them for a luncheon at the St. John's Catholic Church following services at the cemetery.

Transcriber note: Interment in the Greenfield Cemetery.

From: "sherri"
To:
Subject: Re: thank you so much
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:54:57 -0700

Barbara,

You are free to share any of this with who you choose. I would say Gary is
your Dad's first cousin, so he is your first cousin once removed. I am
trying to write a fictional story that features the lives of the women that
comprise -so far- my mom's side of the family. Most of it goes back to the
1600's mostly Scotland, then N. Ireland and then Pennsylvania , and Conn.,
N.Y., N.J., etc. The main surnames are of course from the husbands' family
names, even many of the wife's (and so the mothers) are listed without a
last name or even a birth date! Huh! Many of them had ten or more children!
She should be acknowledged.

One thing I can remember about Mary Hickey is that her dad was a Seaman and
had sailed to China. He was Dad to Mary, her brothers Michael, Mathew, and
Phillip. Her mom was Margaret Delaney, and she re-married to (Patrick ?)
O'Meara and had at least another son, (Thomas?) O'Meara I do not have my
files here to reference each thing though to double check. It quickly
becomes very complicated. In Joliet, Ill. a John Hickey died (was working on
a digging project and got sick? around 1839). Then a Margaret Delaney and a
(Patrick?) O'Meara were married in 1844 at a church in Joliet, Ill. In the
cemetery that your Grandpa Ed and Wayne visted, Margaret and Patrick O'Meara
are buried with John and Mary Bohan! John and Mary Bohan stayed in Ireland
until 1850/51, since her grandmother would have been all alone if she left.
(Grandma Delaney or Grandma Hickey?) Mary was in a convent in Templemore, or
was educated in the convent. She was well educated and could read and write
English, (John Bohan could as well). She was born in 1833, married John in
1848. The first baby was a son, Patrick. The next baby was another son,
John, born in New York in 1854. That is a long time between, so I suspect
she lost a baby, maybe two. That would have been during the immigration and
first settling in America. She was only 15/16 in 1848, her brothers were
younger than her, so they were with her mom in America. The two youngest are
in census records as being born in Upper Canada. (Many other Hickey
relatives were also born those years in Upper Canada.) I found out that
Upper Canada is now Ontario. then in the 1840's those same Hickeys were all
in Joliet, Ill.

John Bohan was born in 1824, (or 1822?) then his brother William, and a
sister Mary. Patrick Bohan and Catherine Alicia Teirney were their Parents.
Patrick Bohan died before Mary was born- 1827. I can't trace anything about
baby Mary Bohan, (or how Patrick died.) Catherine Alicia Tierney re-married,
to a Michael Delaney, in Ireland. (Was he Margaret's brother? Was Seaman
Hickey his freind he introduced to his sister?Mary Hickey Bohan wasn't even
born yet.) Catherine Alicia was called Alli. She had at least one more baby,
Thomas Delaney (of Rowling, IA) born in Ireland. They also immigrated to
Joliet, then Independence IA area.

John Bohan and Mary left Ireland with Baby Patrick, 1851. Baby John was born
in New York. John Bohan's brother William was working in Rutland Vermont
driving an oxen team as a hauler (digging the canal?) and married to
Catherine Devlin. Catherine had many sisters and they were pretty much all
living in Seneca Falls New York. (In separate residences, and married) So, I
believe that John Bohan, Mary and Patrick went there in the eginning,
prbably up the Hudson by boat, maybe the mattress fell then. Mary had baby
John there. Then they went to Joliet, to her side of the family, and that's
where baby William Charles was born.

The traditional pattern for how Irish people named their children is strong,
and John and Mary followed it with the first three boys. The first Girl
should have been Catherine, for his mother. Instead she is Margaret, for
Mary's Mother. But her middle name is Alicia... for his mother? Did they
have a baby girl before baby John, and named her Catherine but lost her? The
next girl is named Mary then, named traditionally for the father's oldest
sister.In his case, his only sister, and Mary Hickey only had brothers. The
first daughter, Margaret Alicia was nick-named M. A . When she had her
confirmation, she had her name changed to Emma. This is all still the
1850's. Baby John died young, age 17- no not a baby by then, -1871- but it
gets a little hard when everyone has the same name!- and Patick was grown
and worked in Independence, in a bank. When he was 22, he came home to
assist with the harvest, got sunstroke and wasn't able to live independently
after that. He lived until he was 77, and was known to collect Autographs,
and had a collection of autograph books, He was also known for his own
excellent Pennmanship.

When William Charles got old enough, he and one of his Hickey cousins, left
Iowa to mine for silver in Colorado. They did well too, and came home by
train. Then the story goes, that as the train passed through Western Iowa,
he, and his cousin, Martin Hickey, fell in love with the landscape, and when
the train stopped in one of they little towns, they got off and went to the
land office and each bought an eighty acre piece. (Adjoining eighties, 160
acres is a quarter section, and section is a mile by a mile) They both kept
it a secret from their parents all winter, and when Spring came they told
them and took off to work their land. William's sister, Mary ran off with
them and cooked and kept house for them while they each plowed and built
houses. They also set out a corner of their pieces for a school, and Mary
taught school in it. That's our relatives in Sanborn, IA (or Sheldon?) W.C.
Bohan married and had a big family. Martin married and he and his wife never
had their own baby. In 1998 I posted that I was looking fo any info on Mary
Margaret Hickey, etc. One of the people that responded was a man named
Donald Harrington. His father was Leo Harrington, son of Michael Harrington.
Michaels wife was Martin Hickey's sister. She died in childbirth with Leo -
1890's- and Michael left the baby with Martin and his wife to raise. They
did. Donald and I shared info, he even sent me photos, and quite a while
into it, months I remember, I sent him the story of the boys going to
Colorado, etc. He emailed me back --Dear Sherri, You have just about
knocked my socks off!!! All these years (he was in his seventies) I've known
the Bohan's as my great uncle's close nieghbors, but never has anyone
pointed out the fact that W.C. and Martin Hickey were related. I never knew
the Bohan's were my relatives for my whole life, until you sent me your
information.--

That is one of those great surprises that I find very rewarding. He really
went gung-ho then and found alot of great info and mysteries solved. We
corresponded often for a while. I think that was when Wayne's Barbara Bohan
(Thompson) also was writing me too. I don't know what happened though, but
after five or six several page letters she stopped and hasn't responded. She
was last living near or in Soho, New York City.

There are some other its I'll try to write about.

~~Sherri

----- Original Message -----
From:
To: "sherri"
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 6:25 PM
Subject: thank you so much


Sherri,
You far surpassed my expectations with the information you provided. I am
so happy. Is it okay if I forward this to Gary Pettit who is the nephew of
my Grandma and Grandpa Bohan? His mom was my Grandma's youngest sister.

I have long wanted to have more details about the Ireland trip and have
more of a feel for the trip now. And I'm glad to hear the family stories
again. That is so scary to think of a toddler nearly drowning. I know what
you mean about lines and missing names and knowing that this is bigger
than yourself. Just seeing a name of a relative is moving let alone
getting biographical information. On my Grandpa Rickels line of Holland
relatives, they mentioned in a family history book about someone signing
their mark after witnessing a wedding because they didn't know how to
read. I just can't imagine not being able to read. I'm glad I was born
when education is so available to average people. In the book, there is
also a vivid detailing of the voyage to America and the storm that nearly
consumed them at sea.

I don't know if you have ever watched Generation's Project so I wanted to
send a link of the episode that I think is of Ireland. This is how I dream
it would be if I went there.

You said that you are quite close to Wayne's Barbara Bohan. I have met her
and have longed to have more contact with her and not because we happen to
have the same name. If you could possibly forward my email to her or ask
her permission to write her, I would so appreciate it. I am in contact
with Wanda a lot. I would also like to be in contact with Connie as I have
enjoyed meeting her in the past.

The link is below.

http://www.byutv.org/watch/1791-108

Until later,

Barb