Publisher's Synopsis
DARK DAYS OF 1861.-A FATHER WHO GAVE HIS CHILDREN TO THE COUNTRY.-RALLYING TO THE FLAG.-RAISING VOLUNTEERS IN SOUTHERN INDIANA. "The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect and rely upon myself."-Charlotte Bronte ALLENTOWN is a beautiful little city of 10,000 inhabitants, situated on the Wabash River, in Vigo County, Ind., in the vicinity of which several railroads now center. It is noted for its elevated position, general healthfulness, and for its beautiful residences and cultivated society. Daniel Lyon located here in 1850. He was a man of marked ability and undoubted integrity; was six feet two inches in height, well proportioned, and of very commanding and martial appearance. In 1861, he was surrounded by a large family, seven grown sons-James, David, Jackson, Peter, Stephen, Henry and Harvey-all of whom were well educated, fond of field sports and inclined to a military life. The mother, "Aunt Sarah," as she was commonly called by the neighbors, was a charming, motherly, Christian woman, whose heart and soul seemed to be wrapped up in the welfare of her family. She was of short, thick build, but rather handsome, with dark brown hair and large blue eyes, gentle and kind. Her politeness and generosity were proverbial. She thought each of her seven sons a model man; her loving remarks about them were noticeable by all. Daniel Lyon is at present 85 years old, and lives with one of his granddaughters-Jennie Lyon-now married to a man by the name of James Wilson, in Oakland, Ind., a small town conspicuous only for its rare educational facilities.
