Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/78

58 work than that of preaching, that he declined to accept some of the most important offices in the gift of his denomination.

LYDIUS, Johannes, clergyman, b. in Holland; d. in Schenectady, N. Y., 1 March, 1709. He had held the pastorate of a Reformed church in Ant- werp, Belgium, but came to this country in 1700, and was settled at Albany. He also labored in Schenectady after 1705, and from 1702 till his death did missionary work among the Indians. Robert Livingston, the Indian agent, had promised the Mohawks in 1700 that he would engage Lydius to learn their language and preach the gospel to them, and that he hoped soon to have the Bible translated for their benefit. In 1702 the " praying Indians" represented to the agent that Lydius " had exhorted them to live as Christians," and that his teachings had so wrought on their spirits that " they were all now united and friends." They returned hearty thanks for the pains that he had taken with them, which they acknowledged with a belt of wampum, and when Lydius died they pre- sented four beaver-skins to the agent as an expres- sion of condolence. Lydius ministered among the tribes of the B^ive Nations, and received from the governor and council suitable compensation for his services. About thirty Indian communicants were connected with his church when Lydius died. The latter is represented by Thomas Barclay, his contemporary, and a clergyman of the Church of England, as " a good, pious man," who " lived in entire friendship " with him, and " sent his own children to be catechized." — His son, John Henry, Indian trader, b. in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1693 ; d. near London, England, in 1791, became an In- dian trader in the province of Xew York, and un- derstood several native dialects, among them Cher- okee, Choctaw, and Catawba, besides speaking Dutch, French, and English iiuently. He was a counsellor of Sir William Johnson, and for several years governor at Fort Edward. An English writer is responsible for the statement that the Lydius family were possessed of considerable land- ed property in the province under an original grant from James I., and that the Indians, grateful for the services of the father as a missionary, added to these domains a large tract of country in central New York. Lydius is said to have gone to Eng- land in 1776 to solicit arrears for services that he had rendered the government and money that he had expended, and to visit Holland. Before leav- ing New York he gave homesteads to many fami- lies, and urged his children to pursue the same policy. He never returned to this country, but resided in Kensington, London, until his death.

LYELL, Sir Charles, bart., English geologist, b. in Kinnordy, Forfarshire, 14 Nov., 1797 ; d. in Lon- don, 22 Feb., 1875. He was the eldest son of Charles Lyell, of Kinnordy, and was graduated at Oxford in 1819. He then studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but abandoned the profession and gave himself to his favorite study of geology. He made extensive geological tours in Europe in 1824, and again in 1828-30, giving the results of his observations in the " Transactions of the Geo- logical Society " and elsewhere. In 1830 appeared the first volume of his great work. " The Princi- ples of Geology," which in scientific circles at- tracted much attention. The second volume appeared in 1832, and the third in 1833. Meantime he was named professor of geology at King's col- lege, London, but he filled the office only for a short time. Another remarkable work from his pen appeared in 1838, entitled '• The Elements of Ge- ology." These works, which efcected a revolution in geological science, went counter to the univer- sally accepted Huttonian theory, that the former changes of the earth and its inhabitants were due to causes differing in kind and intensity from those now in operation, and taught that the true ke.y to the interpretation of the geological move- ments was to be found in a correct knowledge of the changes now going on. Sir Charles visited this continent on two occasions, and made exten- sive explorations in the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia. His " Travels in North America " appeared in 1841, and his '"Second Visit to the United States," in which he treats of the social as well as geological characteristics of the New World, was published in 1845. Sir Charles was president of the Geological society in 1836 and 1850, and in 1864 of the British association. In 1848 he was honored with knighthood, and in 1864 he was made a baronet. In 1855 his own university con- ferred upon him the title of D. C. L., and" from Cambridge he received the degree of LL. D. His latest work was " The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man. with Remarks on Theories of the Origin of Species by Variation " (1863).

LYELL, Thomas, clergyman, b. in Richmond county, Va., 13 May, 1775; d. in New York city, 4 March, 1848. His parents were members of the Protestant Episcopal church, but. as there were no clergyman of that denomination in the neighbor- hood, young Lyell was early thrown with the Methodists. When only fifteen years old he be- gan to exhort, and after teaching for two years he saved enough money to purchase a horse, and in 1792, after examination, was admitted to preach on trial as an itinerant. He labored on the Fred- erick circuit in Virginia, and subsequently in Providence, R. I., and was chaplain to congress during the closing years of the administration of John Adams and the early part of that of Thomas Jefferson. He often spoke of the shock he experi- enced at the first official dinner that was given by the latter on finding the usual blessing omitted, although both congressional chaplains were pres- ent. Subsequently Mr. Lyell received orders in the Protestant Episcopal church from Bishop Claggett in 1804, and at the close of that year he became rector of Christ church. New York city, where he remained for over forty years. He was given the degree of A. M. by Brown in 1803 and that of D. D. by Columbia in 1822. He was sec- retary of the convention of the diocese from 1811 until he declined re-election in 1816, a member of the diocesan standing committee from 1813 until his death, a deputy to the general convention from 1818 until 1844, a trustee of the General theological seminary from 1822, and an active member of nearly all the institutions of his diocese.

LYLE, John, clergyman, b. in Rockbridge county, Va., 20 Oct., 1769; d. in Paris, Ky., 22 July, 1825. He was graduated at Liberty Hall in 1794, and after teaching, studied theology, and was licensed to preach as a Presbyterian in 1797. He was ordained two years later, and in 1800 took charge of the churches of Salem and Sugar Ridge, in Clark county, where he remained several years and opened a school. In May, 1807. he removed to Paris, Ky., where he established an academy, at the same time preaching to the churches of Cane Ridge and Concord. About 1810 he withdrew from the academy, as well as from the churches, and soon after began preaching near Cynthiana, Harrison co. He subsequently gave up pastoral work and devoted the rest of his life to missionary labors. Mr. Lyle was a thorough scholar and did much for the cause of education in the This page needs to be proofread