\n\n\n\n
Elijah Lyons was born on 2 April 1865, somewhere in North Carolina, to unknown parents.1<\/a><\/sup>Geer Cemetery (800 Colonial St, Durham, NC), Elijah Lyons headstone, photographer unknown, shared by Nicholas Levy, 15 Sep 2020.<\/span> His first mention in the historical record is for his 1 May 1884 marriage to Caroline Geer in Durham NC.2<\/a><\/sup>Elijah Lyons marriage register: Series: Marriage Register (1882 – 1975). Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/discoveryui-content\/view\/1276420:60548<\/a> : accessed 11 Sep 2022. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Caroline\u2019s early history is somewhat better known. She was born in 1866 to Solomon and Bettie Geer, freed people of color, who had been cohabitating since 1852.3<\/a><\/sup>Caroline birthdate: 1880 US Census Durham: Year: 1880; Census Place: Durham, Orange, North Carolina; Roll: 975; Page: 131C; Enumeration District: 195. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \u00a9 Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited use license and other terms and conditions applicable to this site. https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/discoveryui-content\/view\/43188075:6742<\/a> : accessed 11 Sep 2022. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Elijah and Caroline had three children that we know of: Robert (b. June 1884), William (b. September 1886), and a third child who died before the 1900 Federal Census.5<\/a><\/sup>1900 US Census Durham: Year: 1900; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: 1193; Page: 22; Enumeration District: 0031; FHL microfilm: 1241193. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/discoveryui-content\/view\/68146400:7602<\/a> : accessed 11 Sep 2022. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.<\/span> The family settled onto Pine Street on the outskirts of the largely African American Hayti neighborhood. From 1887 through 1904 Elijah worked in a tobacco factory.6<\/a><\/sup>Various issues of the Durham City Directory.<\/span> The only factory specified is in 1892: Ream\u2019s Tobacco Factory at 200 West Main Street.7<\/a><\/sup>Ramsey’s Durham Directory, for the Year 1892<\/em> (Durham, NC; Ramsey, N. A., 1892) p.194 (Elijah) and 233 (Reams); digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https:\/\/lib.digitalnc.org\/record\/25120<\/a> : accessed 12 Sep 2022).<\/span> Later, his two sons joined him in the tobacco business. Caroline worked as a washer and ironer.8<\/a><\/sup>Various issues of the Durham City Directory.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert and William, who would have been in their mid-twenties by 1910, are not listed with their parents in that year\u2019s census. Most likely they moved away to start their own families, but their names are so common that we have so far been unable to trace them. Elijah and Caroline were living at 502 Mobile Avenue at the time of Elijah\u2019s death in 1916.9<\/a><\/sup>Address: Durham, NC Directory 1915-1916<\/em> (Durham, NC: Hill Directory Company, 1915-1916) p. 269, Lyons surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https:\/\/lib.digitalnc.org\/record\/25122 : accessed 12 Sep 2022). In 1911, Elijah was initiated into the Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free Accepted Masons Of North Carolina, Doric Lodge, No. 28, in Durham NC.11<\/a><\/sup>C.S. Brown, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons<\/em> (Greensboro, NC; December 12\u201314, 1911) p. 135. PDF in collection of Friends of Geer Cemetery.<\/span> In 1912 he rose to become Chaplain for the Doric Lodge, leading the biweekly prayers and other holy business in the chapter.12<\/a><\/sup>Elijah as Chaplain: C.S. Brown, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons<\/em> (Asheville, NC; December 10\u201312, 1912), no page number shown. PDF in collection of Friends of Geer Cemetery. The Freemason Proceedings <\/em>of 1916 are the last record we have of Elijah. The Doric Lodge noted him among those who died in 1916, and he also was marked in the financial records for not turning in his $300 dues, presumably because he died.13<\/a><\/sup>C.S. Brown, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons<\/em> (Washington, NC; December 12, 1916) p. 153 (death) p. 59 (financials). PDF in collection of Friends of Geer Cemetery.<\/span> His gravestone in Geer Cemetery is inscribed with the Masonic square and compasses and says he died on 14 October 1916. He was 51.14<\/a><\/sup>Elijah Lyons headstone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n BORN<\/strong>: 2 Apr 1865. 16<\/a><\/sup>Elijah Lyons headstone.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n 2 Apr 1865\u201314 October 1916 Last updated: 13 Sep 2022 Elijah Lyons was born on 2 April 1865, somewhere in North Carolina, to unknown parents. His first mention in the historical record is for his 1 May 1884 marriage to Caroline Geer in Durham NC. Caroline\u2019s early history is somewhat better known. She was born… Read More »LYONS, ELIJAH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"full-width","neve_meta_container":"contained","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"on","neve_meta_content_width":90,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"[\"title\",\"content\",\"comments\"]","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[55,21,54],"class_list":["post-2174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-stories","tag-geer","tag-life-stories","tag-lyons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",1080,1080,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",1080,1080,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",1080,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-1024x1024.jpg",1024,1024,true],"thumblist":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"thumbrelated":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",500,500,false],"meccarouselthumb":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-474x324.jpg",474,324,true],"gridsquare":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-391x260.jpg",391,260,true],"tileview":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",1080,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone.jpg",1080,1080,false],"neve-blog":["https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-930x620.jpg",930,620,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Lew Shiner","author_link":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/author\/lshiner\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"Life Stories<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"2 Apr 1865\u201314 October 1916 Last updated: 13 Sep 2022 Elijah Lyons was born on 2 April 1865, somewhere in North Carolina, to unknown parents. His first mention in the historical record is for his 1 May 1884 marriage to Caroline Geer in Durham NC. Caroline\u2019s early history is somewhat better known. She was born… Read…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2174"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2183,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions\/2183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nFreedman\u2019s records: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https:\/\/familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-C91D-39Q1-3?cc=1726957<\/a> : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.<\/span> They lived in the township of Durham (incorporated in April 1869), then still a part of Orange County.4<\/a><\/sup>\u201cWelcome to The City of Durham,\u201d City of Durham, https:\/\/www.durhamnc.gov\/1457\/Welcome-to-The-City-of-Durham<\/a> : accessed 11 Sep 2022.<\/span> While it\u2019s likely that Elijah Lyons lived nearby, we lack the evidence to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDeath date: Elijah Lyons headstone.<\/span> The last record we can find of Caroline shows her as a tobacco worker living at 515 Mobile in 1933.10<\/a><\/sup>Hill’s Durham (North Carolina) City Directory 1933<\/em> (Durham, NC: Hill Directory Company, 1933) p. 281, Lyons surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https:\/\/lib.digitalnc.org\/record\/25150<\/a> : accessed 12 Sep 2022).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDuties of Chaplain: \u201cLodge Officer Duties and Responsibilities,\u201d Masonic Lodge of Education. https:\/\/www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com\/lodge-officer-duties.html<\/a> : accessed 12 Sep 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/friendsofgeercemetery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elijah_lyons_headstone-1024x1024.jpg\")
DIED<\/strong>: 14 October 1916.17<\/a><\/sup>Elijah Lyons headstone.<\/span>
BIRTH PLACE<\/strong>: North Carolina.18<\/a><\/sup>1900 US Census Durham.<\/span>
DEATH PLACE<\/strong>: Durham NC.19<\/a><\/sup>Assumed from death date on headstone.<\/span>
SPOUSE<\/strong>: Caroline Geer.20<\/a><\/sup>Elijah Lyons marriage register.<\/span>
PARENTS<\/strong>: Unknown.
CHILDREN<\/strong>: Robert (b. 1884) and William (b. 1886).21<\/a><\/sup>1900 US Census Durham.<\/span>
OTHER FAMILY<\/strong>: N\/A
FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY<\/strong>: N\/A
OCCUPATION<\/strong>: Tobacco worker.22<\/a><\/sup>1900 US Census Durham<\/span>
CHURCH<\/strong>: N\/A
AFFILIATIONS<\/strong>: Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free Accepted Masons Of North Carolina, Doric Lodge, No. 28.23<\/a><\/sup>Masonic Proceedings<\/em> 1911.<\/span>
ADDRESS<\/strong>: 502 Mobile Avenue.24<\/a><\/sup>Durham NC Directory 1915-1916.<\/span>
MILITARY SERVICE<\/strong>: N\/A<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nNotes<\/h3>
\n\n\n\nFreedman\u2019s records: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https:\/\/familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-C91D-39Q1-3?cc=1726957<\/a> : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.<\/div><\/li>
\n\n\n\nDeath date: Elijah Lyons headstone.<\/div><\/li>
\n\n\n\nDuties of Chaplain: \u201cLodge Officer Duties and Responsibilities,\u201d Masonic Lodge of Education. https:\/\/www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com\/lodge-officer-duties.html<\/a> : accessed 12 Sep 2022.<\/div><\/li>