... Theodore Lyman, the eldest son of Isaac, was born in York, January 8, 1755 [1753 per VR], and spent the early years of his life in that little town. His parents wished to have him enter college ; but they were poor, and as he wished to help them, as well as to maintain himself, he went into the lumber and shipping business in Kennebunk. He was a man of remarkable activity, intelligence, and force of character, and soon acquired sufficient property to build a handsome house in Kennebunk. His business took him often to Boston and Salem, where his abilities and agreeable manners made for him many friends among the foremost men.
He first married Sarah Emerson, of Kennebunk, who died January 21, 1784, at the early age of twenty-one, leaving two young daughters.
In January, 1786, he married Lydia Williams, daughter of George Williams, of Salem, and a niece of Colonel Timothy Pickering. They lived a short time in Kennebunk, where his oldest son, George Williams Lyman, was born, December 4, 1786. At that time the Province of Maine formed part of the State of Massachusetts.
In a few years Theodore Lyman moved to Boston, and at a very early date his ships became largely engaged in the fur trade on the northwest coast of America, and in the trade with Europe, China, and the West and East Indies. In 1792 he bought a large estate in Waltham, and there, as well as in his town house in Bowdoin Square, he delighted in receiving the distinguished men of the time who came here from other parts of the country and from Europe. Among others, his son remembered dining with Hamilton, Adams, Colonel Pickering, and Jeffries, of the Edinburgh Review.
Theodore Lyman died May 24, 1839, aged eighty-four, leaving three sons and one daughter. ...
