James Lyons (1783-1785)

The first minister after the Revolution was James Lyons, who graduated from the College of New Jersey (also known as Princeton College, which is now known as Princeton University) in 1759. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in 1762. In December, 1764, Lyons went to Nova Scotia, where he preached for several years. In 1771 he moved to Maine, where he became pastor of a Congregational church in 1782.

He was quite a patriot. Being the pastor of a church in Machias, Maine in June 1775, he wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, requesting help, telling of his town's capture of a threatening British schooner and the subsequent battle in which four died and 11 were wounded. This was a year before the Revolution started, but there had been troubles with the British for some time.

In another letter to the Provincial Congress about the same time, he urged the invasion of Nova Scotia, Canada. He and many others from New England had been granted land there in the 1760s, and American residents were being forced to swear allegiance to the king. A Nova Scotian history book speaks of Rev. Lyons. During the Revolutionary War, Rev. Lyons had a very hard time, supporting his family only by digging clams.

Lyons came to Newtown in 1783 and remained at FPCN for two years. He is spoken of as a man of sincere piety and faithful labors. During his pastorate at Newtown, he published a small Manual of Devotion. Lyons left Newtown in the spring of 1785. Nobody knows what happened to him afterwards.

Marjorie Melikian contributed to this article.