At one point Lyman owned the property of what is now the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park.
Lyman was a Lieutenant Colonel in the State militia, and was a member of Governor Bartlett's staff and an Aide-de-camp.
They had two sons: Theodore Benedict, Jr. and William Whittingham Lyman Jr.
During this time, he was educated at the School of Mines, at Freiberg, Saxony, and at the University of Berlin.
In December 1870, he returned to America, and in 1871, he came to California, where he engaged in wine-making, general farming, milling etc.