The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Colonel / Patriotic Service
Author: Robert John Gang, III
Col. William Lyne II was born in King and Queen County Virginia in 1737. His father was William Lyne I who was born in 1688 in England and died in 1760 from a fall from a horse. William Lyne I immigrated from Bristol England to Virginia settling first in Granville County North Carolina and later in King and Queen County Virginia. William Lyne II’s mother was Anne Crew who was born 1713 in Charles City, Virginia and died June 11, 1787 in North Carolina. Col. Lyne married in 1768 his first cousin Lucy Foster Lyne who was the daughter of Henry Lyne. Lucy was born in 1740 in Granville County North Carolina. They lived in King and Queen County Virginia at Lyneville, a two-story frame structure bracketed by handsome chimneys set on almost 1,500 acres of land. They were the parents of 10 children: Lucy, Nancy, Betsy, Mary Ann, Susannah, William, James, Henry and Edmund. William served as a Justice of the Peace in King and Queen County almost continuously from 1761 to 1794. He was county Sheriff in 1772 through 1775 and again in 1787. He was a member in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775 and a member of the Virginia Convention in 1776. In this role helped to guide Virginia towards rebelling against English rule. William was present when Lord Botstourt dissolved the Burgesses because of their protest of British taxation policy in the Townshend Acts of Parliament. Col. Lyne was among those who immediately formed “The Association” to prevent the purchase of British made goods in Virginia. In 1770 he formed a County Association for this purpose in King and Queen County. He was present when Patrick Henry made his famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech. During this period he served on many committees with Thomas Jefferson and other Virginia notables, often as chairman. During the Revolutionary War he served as a member of the King and Queen County Committee of Safety in 1774 and 1775; as Colonel of the King and Queen County Militia from 1776 to the end of the war; as County Lieutenant from 1776 to 1785 and 1789. On October 23, 1783 he was appointed Coroner of King and Queen County by Patrick Henry, the Governor of Virginia. As Colonel of the King and Queen county Militia he had charge of 400 British sick prisoners of war taken at Yorktown that were held at a hospital at Todd’s Bridge from November 1781 until March 30, 1782. He also had charge of the sick prisoners at the Forge and Thomas Roane’s Plantation. He occasionally marched recovered prisoners to Fredericksburg. It is possible that Col. Lyne led the contingent of King and Queen County militia that was present at Yorktown in 1781. Existing records show that Col. Lyne made many personal contributions to the war effort. A June 13, 1776 warrant issue to Lyne made for 8 pounds 3 pence and 3 farthings for repairs to arms; in March 1779 he was reimbursed $2,415 for recruiting men for Continental service; September 14, 1780 he provided 11 gallons 2 quarts of brandy; a May 30, 1781 receipt shows that he provided 374 pounds, 13 pence and 1 earthling worth of brandy to the army, he was reimbursed September 13, 1780 for 61 gallon 1 quart of brandy, a receipt was given to him on April 6, 1781 for 3 cattle for stalling; and on October 23, 1781 he provided 650 pounds of beef and 4 ½ barrels of corn, . After the war William was an Original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was also a member of the Virginia Convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1800 William was appointed commissioner to supervise the Jefferson versus Adams Presidential election. He was also active in his church too, Bishop Meade notes that Lyne was a faithful lay delegate of Drysdale Parish. He is also credited for having provided a Glebe for the rector.
Col. Lyne died on September 27, 1808 in Dunkirk, Virginia and is buried in Hollyrood Cemetery in Richmond. The Richmond Enquirer referred to him in his obituary as “A Patriot and a Revolutionist”.
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