Capt. Lyman has been a worthy son of his native town and of his noble ancestors.

The following account of his removal west will be interesting to those who never made the journey, under like circumstances: In 1816, he sold his interest in his father's estate, and determined to find a home in Ohio, where Joseph Loomis and Benjamin Agard of Torrington had already settled. Accordingly, having one horse and one horse wagon, and Guerdon Hilliard on horse, a team was arranged with which to drive to Ohio. They started on Thursday, the 25th of February 1817; reached Albany on Saturday afternoon and put up at a tavern two miles west of the town to stay over the Sabbath. During the next two days there was a great fall of snow. On Tuesday they started, drove a few miles, bought a sleigh, put the wagon on it and continued their journey until the snow disappeared, when they left the sleigh and went on with the wagon. They reached Buffalo, on Friday about noon, where they learned that there was good traveling on the ice on the lake. Saturday morning they started early, in company with two other teams with wagons, following the beaten track which was hedged in on either side with large pieces of ice, making about forty miles that day, and drove to the land, to a tavern for the night. On Sabbath morning the other teams went on, but Mr. Lyman and his traveling companion "would not so profane that holy day." On Monday they started, but soon found the ice getting very smooth and fearing danger, they went to the shore and inquired the propriety of keeping on the ice. They were told that there was no danger, if they kept out from the shore, unless the wind should change. They continued on the ice until within sight of Erie, when looking ahead they saw that beyond a few rods from them there was no ice. They then turned toward the shore about forty rods distant, but had gone only five or six rods when the horses' feet began to break through the ice. The men jumped from the wagon and loosened the horses from the wagon, by which time their horses were both under water except their heads, in which position they kept them holding them by the bridles, and keeping their heads on the unbroken ice. About a dozen sailors standing at Erie and seeing their trouble cam prepared to help them. Putting a rope around the neck of one of the horses thy choked him until he floated when they slipped a plank under him and pulled him upon the ice, and then the other the same way. They drew the wagon to the shore by hand and led the horses, through of them fell through and was drawn out in the same manner as before. The cost of this Lake Erie horse bath was two gallons of whiskey at one dollar per gallon, the drinking of whiskey on such occasions being a part of religious as well as profane courtesy, in those days. They arrived at the town of Hudson in the fourth week from the starting, and the next week they reached the homes of Mr. Loomis and Agard, in Wadsworth. He soon bought land and built upon it a log house, and with the help of Mr. Hilliard cleared five acres planting it with corn and potatoes. The clearing consisted in girdling the large trees and cutting and burning the small stuff.

On the fifteenth of June he started, on horseback, to return to Torrington for his family, coming through Pennsylvania in his journey, and traveling only six days in a week making about forty miles a day. Arriving at his native town he made preparations to start with his family, for the west, the first of September, but just before the time came his little daughter fell and broke her wrist, which delayed the journey about a month. They started finally, with a good two horse wagon and three good horses and arrived at Albany on Saturday afternoon, and put u p at the tavern a little west of the city where he stayed while on his first journey. On the same evening there put up at the same place two men with a team, apparently, much better than that of Mr. Lyman's and a buggy for their ladies to ride in. This party continued their travel on the Sabbath, but Mr. Lyman rested on that day, and on Monday went on and as he traveled the same road he frequently heard of this second party, and on Friday about noon he passed them. On the next Sabbath they passed where he was spending that day in rest, but the following Thursday he passed them again, and they on the following Sabbath passed him; but on the next Thursday he passed them and saw them no more and concluded that he lost nothing by resting on the Sabbath day. At Buffalo he put his goods on a boat for Cleveland, but in consequence of poor roads the progress was slow. In one place he was from eleven o'clock in the forenoon until after sundown in traveling four miles, and others who made the trial did not get through this place in a day. When he reached Cleveland he found his goods safely stored in the captain's dwelling house, as there were no store houses there at the time, and having loaded his goods on his wagon, and drove two miles and put up for the Sabbath, it being Saturday evening. His home was thirty miles directly south of Cleveland and here he arrived on the next Thursday, his wagon having been turned over with all the goods, only three times during the four days' travel. In summing up this latter part of his journey, he says, "You may guess what kind of roads we had in Ohio in those times." He says also, "there was not an acre of land in Wadsworth with the timber cleared from it in the spring of 1818, when Mr. Agard cleared two acres of all the girdled timber. There had been a line marked through the center of the town on the south part of Medina county but not a tree cut on that line for fifteen miles west of Wadsworth."