Letter from John Radcliffe Lyon to his brother Samuel Lyon in Oxford, with additional note by Hamon Massie, 16 September 1843

MLMSS 10210

fonds

16 September 1843

9630271

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder) - manuscript

John Radcliffe Lyon was born in England in 1818 and arrived in Sydney on the Camden in 1836. He became a notable figure in Paterson in the lower Hunter Region where he was a magistrate and landholder. In 1842 he was elected member of a committee of local identities to petition the colonial secretary to allow the importation of coolie labour from India. A year later he was a signatory to an address of appreciation to the Paterson Police Magistrate, Major Johnstone from the magistrates, landholders and inhabitants of Paterson. He appears to have returned to England shortly after this letter was written as he was married in Cheshire in 1845. He died in 1906.
References:
Sydney Herald, 6 June 1836
The Australian, 14 November 1842
Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 21 January 1843
Vendor’s catalogue

Bought from an unknown eBay dealer in 2007 and then sold at Cavendish auctions as part of a group.

Three-and-a-half page, handwritten letter from John Radcliffe Lyon, Sherwood, New South Wales, to his brother, Samuel Lyon, Wadham College, Oxford, 16 September 1843. The letter is cross-written on paper watermarked ‘J Rump 1840’, and includes postal stamps and a red wax seal.
Lyon shares his concerns about the state of the New South Wales economy and the hardships of colonial life in general.
Includes a handwritten postscript from Hamon Massie to Samuel.

Copyright status:: Unpublished textual material is out of copyright where the author(s) died more than 70 years ago, or else, it is in copyright for the life of the author(s) plus 70 years. Duration of copyright differs for material that has been made public.