Sertius A. Lyman, a respected figure in China Township, Illinois, was born on March 13, 1812, in New Hampshire. After moving to Illinois in 1846, he cultivated 320 acres in Lee County before settling on a well-maintained 64.5-acre estate in China Township in 1869. Married to Sarah P. Codding in 1834, they had five children. Lyman, a former carpenter turned successful farmer, is recognized for his contributions to local affairs and the Congregational Church.
Sertius A. Lyman. We are pleased to present to the consideration of our readers an old settler of China Township, who stands high in the estimation of his neighbors and is justly considered one of the prominent men in the county. He is a progressive and successful farmer whose beautiful estate of sixty-four and one-half acres on section 35, is exceedingly productive and most thoroughly cultivated.
This gentleman was born in Winchester, Cheshire County, N.H., March 13, 1812. He made that place his home until 1846, when with his family he came to Illinois and made location in Lee County, where in Bradford Township he purchased a tract of three hundred and twenty acres. He continued to live there and cultivate his land in a most satisfactory manner until 1869, when he came to China Township where he has since made his home.
The subject of this sketch was married in Winchester, N.H., to Miss Sarah P. Codding, the date thereof being March 13, 1834. Mrs. Lyman was a native of the county in which she was married, her birth occurring October 19, 1809. She received a good education and has been a helpmate in the truest sense of the word to her worthy husband, for his removal West was at a time when the country was but thinly populated and hardships were everyday occurrences. She bore them all bravely, doing what she could to make the home bright and comfortable, and now in her later years can look back with pride to what has been accomplished by her aid.
Mr. and Mrs. Lyman have become the parents of five children, of whom we make the following mention: Sarah A. is the wife of Charles Wilber; George A. married Miss Mary E. Jones and is a very intelligent young man and is at present editing the Amboy Journal; Levi H. married Miss Sarah F. Bruce and is residing on a fine farm in China Township; Cyrus O., who married Miss Jane Evitts, met his death at Dubuque, Iowa, while in a sailboat on the Mississippi River; at the time of his death he was thirty-one years old; Clymea O. died in infancy.
In political matters the gentleman of whom we write is independent, reserving the right to vote for the man whom he thinks will best fill the office rather than for party principles. He has always taken an interest in local affairs and is liberal in his contribution to all good works. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman are conscientious and influential members of the Congregational Church, having identified themselves with that religious denomination when twenty years of age.
When fifteen years old our subject, in choosing an occupation for himself, learned the trade of a carpenter, working successfully at that calling for a number of years in New Hampshire and wielded the hammer and saw for two years after coming to the Prairie State. But after locating here, feeling that he was better fitted to pursue the life of a farmer and the duties of that occupation agreeing in every way with his tastes, he gave up the carpenter trade and became an agriculturist. That he chose wisely and well cannot be doubted by those who have the opportunity to view his beautiful farm, for in every department is displayed the thrift and enterprise of the owner. He has placed upon it good and substantial buildings of every description which are necessary for the successful prosecution of a first-class estate and is enabled to live comfortably and well in his later years. He is well known in Lee County and is universally esteemed and honored.