Background
Lyons was born on the island of Antigua. His father, John Lyons (1731-1775), was an eminent figure on Antigua, being a member of council from 1764-1775. His mother, Jane Harman (1733-1792), was the daughter of Colonel Samuel Harman, who was elected a Member of Assembly for Nonsuch in 1727 and later a Member of Council and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
Career
John Lyons died 6 February 1816 in England. A memorial inscription to him exists at Boldre, near Lymington, Hampshire. Lyons married Catherine Walrond in 1784, daughter of Maine Swete Walrond, 5th Marquis de Vallado.
Following Catherine"s premature death in 1803, John married Elizabeth Robbins (26 November 1767 – 18 October 1820), daughter of William Robbins of Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 17 March 1804.
The following are those children by John"s first marriage to Catherine Walrond:
Jane Lyons, (1785-1803)
Eliza Lyons, (1786-1786)
John Lyons, (1787-1872), Admiral, Mid-shipman onboard Victory at Trafalgar. Married 1810, Caroline Bowen and 2ndly, Anna Maria Fergusson
Theodore Lyons, (1788-1825), daughter
East Indies
Henry Lyons, (1789-1807), killed in action at Copenhagen
Edmund Lyons, (1790-1858), Admiral, created Lord Lyons (1856)
Anne Lyons, (1792-1816)
Catherine Lyons, (1794-1857), Artist
William Lyons, (1795-1795)
George Rose Lyons, (1796-1828), Honourable East India Company’s Service
William Mills Lyons, (1797-1881), married Mary Ann Adams
Maine Walrond Lyons, (1798-1827), Lieutenant, Registered Nurse, killed at Battle of Navarino
Caroline Lyons, (1800-1879), married 1820, Henry Shepherd Pearson (d1840)
Humphrey Lyons, (1802-1873), Lieutenant-General, Indian (Bombay) Army
Charles Bethel Lyons, (1803-1864), married 1826, Mistress Susannah Elizabeth Sockett (d1847), and 2ndly 1848 Henrietta Moore (d1880)
Samuel Athill Lyons, (1805-1881), Lieutenant-Colonel, Indian (Bengal) Army.
Married 1827, Sophia Logie (d1840) and 2ndly in 1842, Mary Wall (d1893)
Frances Walrond Lyons, (1806-1884)
Edward Robbins Lyons, (1807-1849), Captain, Indian Army.
Membership
Lyons was himself a member of council for the island in 1782.