Bernard Cerf Lyon
1822 – 1886
Timeline
1822 – Birth
FRYMENGEN, FRANCE
He was born in Frymengen, France, near Metz, to Frederic Lyon and Rosa Lyon. He had six siblings: Simon Lyon, Saul Lyon, Leopold Lyon, William Cerf Lyon, Pauline Lyon Loeb, and Adele Lyon Kuntz.
1864 – Immigration
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA
Bernard, his wife, and their six children immigrated to the U.S. on the ship Elena from Le Havre, France, to New York.
1864 – Naturalization
CENTRE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Bernard became a naturalized U.S. citizen on October 1, 1864.
1886 – Death
LINN STREET, BELLEFONTE, CENTRE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Bernard died at his home on Linn Street on February 6, 1886, from a fatty degenerate disease of the heart he developed in November of 1885.
Family Tree
Parents
◦ Frederic Lyon (1789-1872)
◦ Rosa Lyon (Unknown-1854)
Spouse
◦ Estelle Hanan Lyon (1833-1918)*
Children
◦ Melanie Lyon Lehman (1850-1916)
◦ Gustave Lyon (1852-1935)
◦ Moyer Lyon (unknown-1901)
◦ Pauline Lyon Lichten (1856-1934)
◦ Mathilde “Tillie” Lyon Grauer (1858-1942)*
◦ Victorine Lyon Gordon (unknown-1936)
Siblings
◦ Simon Lyon (1825-1897)
◦ Saul Lyon (1827-1893)
◦ Leopold Lyon (1830-1905)
◦ William Cerf Lyon (1837-1901)
◦ Adele Lyon Kuntz
◦ Pauline Lyon Loeb (1841-1880)
* = Buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery (click the name to view their biography)
Residences
1870 Census
DWELLING NUMBER 75, MILESBURG, CENTRE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Lived with Estelle (wife, 42), Pauline (daughter, 12), Matilda (daughter, 10), Victorine (daughter, 7) and Lydia E. Korney (domestic servant, 18).
1880 Census
DWELLING NUMBER 37, BELLEFONTE, CENTRE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Lived with Estelle (wife, 52), Augustus (son, 26), Moyer (son, 23) Pauline (daughter, 21), Tillie (daughter, 18), and Victorine (daughter, 16).
Profile
Click here to view a PDF version of Bernard Cerf Lyon’s biography.
Bernard Cerf Lyon was born to Frederic Lyon and Rosa Lyon in Frymengen, France, near Metz, in 1822. When Bernard’s obituary was written in 1886, however, Frymengen was considered a part of Germany. Bernard married his wife, Estelle Hanan (click here to view her biography), in France and they had their six children, Melanie Lyon Lehman, Gustave Lyon, Moyer Lyon, Pauline Lyon Lichten, Mathilde “Tillie” Lyon Grauer (click here to view her biography), and Victorine Lyon Gordon, there. Bernard, Estelle, who was referred to as “Bernardine” on the ship’s manifest, and their children immigrated to the U.S. in 1864. They arrived in New York on August 5, 1864, via the ship Elena from Le Havre, France. Bernard became a naturalized U.S. citizen on October 1, 1864.
Bernard’s parents and siblings also immigrated to the U.S. Both of his parents are buried in the Bnai Zion Old Cemetery in Danville, Pennsylvania. His siblings included: Simon Lyon of Altoona, Pennsylvania; Saul Lyon of Danville, Pennsylvania; Leopold Lyon of Camden, New Jersey; William Cerf Lyon of Sunbury, Pennsylvania; Pauline Lyon Loeb of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania; and Adele Kuntz of Chicago, Illinois. It is unclear when his family immigrated to the U.S.
According to Bernard’s obituary in the Bellefonte Republican, the Lyon family settled in Danville after arriving in New York. Bernard, Estelle, and their children moved to Milesburg, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1865 and to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, in 1870. In the early 1870s, Bernard and his two sons, Gustave and Moyer, established Lyon & Co., a dry goods store, in Bellefonte. He originally opened the store in Reynold’s Arcade and in 1878, the store moved to Allegheny Street. In his obituary, Bernard is noted to have spoken German, French, and Hebrew fluently, but spoke broken English.
According to his obituary in the Bellefonte Republican, Bernard died at his home on Linn Street in Bellefonte on February 6, 1886, from a fatty degenerate disease of the heart, which he developed in November of 1885. He received treatment for the disease in both Bellefonte and Philadelphia. Rabbi Wertzel of Williamsport officiated his funeral. He was buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery in Bellefonte.
According to a Democratic Watchman article from April 22, 1927, after Bernard’s death, the management of Lyon & Co. passed to his son, Moyer, who maintained it until his death in 1901. Bernard’s daughter, Mathilde and her husband, Louis Grauer, operated the store until she closed the business following her husband’s death in 1927.
Miscellaneous Stories
On September 18, 1879, the Centre Democrat reported the following businesses: S. & A. Loeb, Joseph Bros. & Co., J. Newman, Jr., J. H. Bauland, Lyon & Co., H. D. Goldman, and J. Guggenheimer & Co. would be closed Thursday, September 18 and Saturday, September 27. The closures coincided with the two holiest days of the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in 1879.
Photos
Bernard Cerf Lyon’s Individual Headstone
Business Advertisements
1881
From Centre Democrat, April 14, 1881, pg. 4.
1883
