[1] He was a divinity student with the Reverend Charles Backus in Somers, Connecticut.

[2] Lyon was ordained the pastor of the Congregational Church in Sunderland, Massachusetts, in 1792.

Lyon was also a tutor, and among his students was Herman R. Beardsley, who later served as a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court[4] Lyon was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1799 until 1802, 1804 until 1806 and 1808.

[6] He organized the church in South Hero and served as its first pastor from 1802 until 1840,[7] and as chief judge of Grand Isle County Courts from 1805 until 1809, 1813 and 1814.

[7] Lyon was thought to be the second-cousin of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet and lyricist.