Re: WILLIAM (BILLIE) LYMAN IRE>PA>IL

Shawn,

I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to you.I got sidetracked on an even more frustrating family line -- or two or three.

If you look up "Josephine Sullivan b. 1880" in Ancestry.com, the first entry it will present you with is the 1920 Census for William and Josephine Lyman.This usually happens when they've been able to cross-reference a woman's married name to her maiden name.Unfortunately, I couldn't find the date of the marriage of William Lyman and Josephine in the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index (ISMI) online -- possibly they married in another state.

According to the 1880 Census in LDS Family Search, the only William Lyman of the correct age was the son of Thomas Lyman, who lived in Cook County:

1880 CENSUS - Cook Co., IL [from LDS Family Search]:
Thomas Lyman, b.c. 1840 in Ireland, plumber
Ann Lyman, b.c. 1844 in Wisconsin
James Lyman, b.c. 1867 in Illinois
John Lyman, b.c. 1869 in Illinois
Clara M. Lyman, b.c. 1871 in Illinois
Thomas Lyman, b.c. 1874 in Illinois
William J.(?) Lyman, b.c. 1877 in Illinois
Ann Lyman, b.c. 1879 in Illinois
John S. Hall (nephew), b.c. 1874 in Illinois
Dan'l Quigly (nephew), b.c. 1850 in Ireland, shoemaker
Sarah Quigly (niece), b.c. 1867 in Wisconsin
John Quigly, b.c. 1880 in Michigan

According to the ISMI, Thomas and Ann were not married in Illinois; possibly they were married in Wisconsin, Ann's home state.

By the next Census, in 1900, William was still unmarried and living with his parents in Cook County:

1900 CENSUS - Cook Co., IL [from Ancestry.com]:
Thomas H. Lyman, b.c. 1839
Annie Lyman, b.c. 1846
Thomas J. Lyman, b.c. 1875
William Lyman, b.c. 1878
Annie Lyman, b.c. 1880
Robert Lyman, b.c. 1883
Estella I. Lyman, b.c. 1886

William must have married Josephine about 1900.In the 1910 Census, William and his wife Josephine were living in Cook County:

1910 CENSUS - Cook Co., IL [from Ancestry.com]:
William Lyman, b.c. 1877
Josephine Lyman, b.c. 1880
Isabel Lyman, b.c. 1901
William Lyman, Jr., b.c. 1906

William's mother Annie appears to have been living alone in the 1910 Census.She may be the "Anna M. Lyman" who died 2 May 1914, aged 73, in Cook County, according to the Illinois Statewide Death Index (ISDI).Her husband Thomas H. Lyman, according to the ISDI, had died in Cook County 28 Dec. 1900, aged 60.

In the 1920 Census for Cook County, William's daughter Isabel is listed as "Isabell Sullivan" -- possibly Sullivan (her mother's maiden name) was Isabel's middle name.

1920 CENSUS - Cook Co., IL [from Ancestry.com]:
William Lyman, b.c. 1878
Josephine Lyman, b.c. 1880
Isabell Sullivan [Lyman], b.c. 1901
William Lyman, b.c. 1907

The ISDI shows a "William H. Lyman" who died 20 May 1928 in Cook County, possibly your great-grandfather.There was a Josephine Lyman living alone in Cook County in the 1930 Census, and a "Josephine Lyman" died there 19 Mar. 1949, aged 69, possibly William's wife.

The 1930 Census also showed a "William Lyman b.c. 1906" living in Cook County with his wife Bessie (b.c. 1909); they had no children at that time.The only other possible William Lyman in that Census was b.c. 1904 and his wife's name was Dolores (b.c. 1910); they had two children: Leroy Lyman (b.c. 1926) and Hannah Lyman (b.c. 1929).Are either of these couples your grandparents?

That's as much as I've been able to dig up.If this is your family line, it's one of the few named Lyman that originated in Ireland -- and may connect in some way to my family.It's a rare name in Ireland, apparently.If you are able to track back to your Irish origins, I'd appreciate hearing from you.We don't even know which province or county our John Lyman came from (sigh).

Peggy