Patriot Story – Stephen Lyon – Teamster

The Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution celebrates America 250! In anticipation of the July 4, 2026, 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the 13 Colonies, the DAR wishes to remind everyone of the sacrifices and heroism of everyday men and women who fought for our freedoms that we enjoy today.

Many of us think about the American Revolution in a military sense – men with muskets, firing cannons and engaging in battles. However, there is a non-military aspect of the American Revolution where the people - civilians and soldiers - did not formally take up arms, but provided supplies, food, clothing, and weapons to those fighting the battles.

These patriots cooked, sewed, and purchased the supplies needed to keep the Continental Line going. Conductors, made up of groups of men in the Teamsters Units, brought food and supplies via wagons to the forts and guard posts in the colonies. Several of the major distribution places were Danbury, CT, and Peekskill and Fishkill, NY.

Private Stephen Lyon was a Teamster who carried provisions back and forth from Black Rock to Danbury to Fishkill and White Plains. In January 1777, Stephen enlisted, along with his brothers Josiah and Joseph, under Captain Andrew Wakeman of Fairfield into a company of Continental Teamsters in the Connecticut line, serving for at least 18 months. Soon after enlisting, they went to a house in Greenfield to get inoculated against smallpox. The youngest brother Nehemiah Webb Lyon wanted to enlist with his brothers but he was considered too young. Although he regretted not enlisting with them, Nehemiah did enlist at Danbury a year later. [Pension Stephen Lyon W20547]

The brothers were in team service in Danbury on 27 Apr 1777 when the British set fire to several stores and buildings on their march back to their ships in Compo Point (now Westport). Danbury was a supply depot for military stores and served forces located in the Hudson River Valley. About 4,000 barrels of pork, beef, and flour, 5,000 pairs of shoes, 2,000 bushels of grain, and 1,600 tents among other supplies were destroyed. The British troops did not destroy the rum. It was reported that a large quantity of rum was consumed by the British. [https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1777/the-danbury-raid/] These supplies would have been delivered to Danbury by Private Stephen Lyon and other Teamsters the past few months.

His youngest brother, Nehemiah Webb Lyon, enlisted in Danbury in January 1778 and served in the same company of Continental Teamsters in the Connecticut line commanded by Captain Andrew Wakeman of Fairfield. Nehemiah remembered the company consisted of a Captain, a cook, ten privates, ten carts and 20 yoke of oxen – all owned by the United States. Stephen and his brother Nehemiah served together until the first of July 1778 when they were discharged because Captain Wakeman’s teams were worn down. That same month Stephen served six months as a substitute for Joseph Hays of Fairfield, as a Private in Captain Nathan Adams’ Company of Connecticut Continental Teamsters. Abraham Morehouse served in the same team service, which carried provisions from Black Rock to Fishkill, White Plains, New York, and various other places. Stephen’s son, David Lyon, recalls a story that when the company was crossing the North River (the Hudson River), one of the oxen unyoked and jumped overboard.

In the Spring of 1779, Stephen Lyon enlisted nine months into a company of Connecticut State Guards under Captain Isaac Jarvis under Lieutenant Aaron Turney and Sergeant William Burr. He was a guard at Black Rock Fort in Fairfield and served nine months. He was in service when Fairfield was burnt by the British in July 1779.

Stephen Lyon continued to serve. In the Summer of 1780 he was in the State guards in Black Rock, and in the Summer of 1781 he was part of the North Fairfield Company under the command of Captain Najah Bennet, Lieutenant Joseph Sherwood, Ensign Samuel Bennett and Corporal Joseph Seeley when the company was ordered by the Town of Fairfield to guard Greens Farms.

Sarah Hubbell, in her affidavit for Stephen Lyon’s pension request, said she was born at Black Rock and lived near the Battery. She said her mother baked for the soldiers at the Battery for two or three years and she remembers the Artillery Officers boarded at her father’s house. She said Stephen Lyon often stayed at her father’s house and was a shoemaker by trade. He promised to make her a pair of pumps which he eventually completed for her.

Ned Freedom knew Stephen Lyon when they were soldiers lying in winter quarters in Redding and also at Fishkill and White Plains. Ned remembered Stephen used to sing songs with the soldiers.

Stephen Lyon was born in 1749 in Fairfield. His wife, Abigail Brothwell, was the daughter of Joseph Brothwell (A015148) and Hannah Fairweather of Stratfield. Abigail was born 1 Aug 1753. Stephen and Abigail were married in December 1771 in Fairfield. The family resided in Fairfield during the Revolutionary War. Stephen died in the Town of Weston on 17 May 1826 and Abigail died 5 Jun 1841 in Danbury. They were the proud parents of four children in 1777. However, three of his children died of dysentery within a few days of each other while he was away from home in service under Captain Wakeman. This traumatic event was mentioned by almost every person who gave an affidavit to support Stephen Lyon’s pension request. Stephen died in the Town of Weston on 17 May 1826 and Abigail died 5 Jun 1841 in Danbury. When Abigail died her pension benefits went to her children: William, Samuel, John, David, Anson, and Eunice Gregory.

It is hoped that Stephen Lyon and all the men, women and their families who supported the fight for independence are remembered for the service and sacrifices endured in the quest for freedom and liberty from British oppression.

The DAR is a non-profit women’s service organization dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Any woman over 18 who can prove lineal descent to an ancestor who served in the American Revolution is a prospective member. For more information on the DAR visit http://www.sarahriggshumphreysDAR.org

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution asks everyone to celebrate the 250th Birthday of the United States of America and the Patriots that achieved American Independence. For more information visit https://honoringourpatriots.dar.org/