William P. Lyon

William Penn Lyon (October 28, 1822 – April 4, 1913) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the 7th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the 12th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He also served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War.

Early life and education Born in Chatham, New York, Penn and his family moved, in 1841, to Walworth County, in the Wisconsin Territory, and settled on a farm near the present site of the town of Lyons. In 1844 he began studying law at the law offices of George Gale. In 1845, he continued his studies under Charles Minton Baker of Lake Geneva. And, in 1846, he was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin. He began practicing law near his family home and was appointed a justice of the peace. He married Adelia Caroline Duncombe in 1847. He moved in 1850 to Burlington and formed a law partnership in Racine County.

Political career In April 1855, Lyon was elected district attorney for Racine County, and he moved to the city of Racine that same year and took office January 1856. He was re-elected in 1856. In November 1858, Lyon was elected on the Republican ticket to represent Racine in the Wisconsin State Assembly for 1859.

Lyon was elected Speaker of the Assembly by the Republican majority on the first day of the session, January 12, 1859. He would go on to be re-elected to the Assembly for 1860, and was again elected Speaker for that session. He did not run for re-election in 1860.

The 8th Wisconsin was ordered to Missouri, in the Western Theater of the war, and attached to General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee. They participated in skirmishes along the Mississippi River to secure passage for Union forces south into Mississippi and Louisiana.

In August 1862, by order of Governor Edward Salomon, Lyon was made Colonel of the 13th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

At the end of the war, Colonel Lyon was given an honorary brevet to brigadier general.