Database Reveals Vermont Congressman Was a Slave Owner [View all]
Matthew Lyon fought in the Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War. He founded the Town of Fair Haven, whose post office is named after him.
And he championed free speech, winning reelection to Congress from the Vergennes jail cell where he was imprisoned for criticizing President John Adams.
The businessman, soldier, printer and newspaper publisher was also a slaveholder.
Census records from 1810 show that after moving from Vermont to Kentucky, Lyon owned 10 slaves, a fact that complicates his legacy and calls into question whether his portrait ought to continue hanging in the Statehouse.
“He was quite a rabble rouser,” said Paul Carnahan, a librarian at the Vermont Historical Society. “I wouldn’t put it past to him to own slaves.”
Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2022/01/11/database-reveals-famed-vermont-historic-figure-was-a-slaveowner
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