1891 map showing Roosevelt Street, James Street, and Oliver Street. Also, City Hall to the northwest, the Brooklyn Bridge (East River Bridge) to the south and Park Row and the elevated tracks to the north.

Martin Lydon was born May 10, 1896, on Roosevelt Street in what is now called the Two Bridges neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. His parents were John and Cassie Newmann Lydon. Martin was John and Cassie's second child. Cassie was age 23. Source; New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1896.

The street was named after a Roosevelt who owned property in the area in the late colonial period. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, but the Manhattan Bridge was not started until 1901 and not completed until 1909. Two Bridges is now bordered on the north by the Lower East Side, on the east by the East River, on the south by Civic Center, and on the west by Chinatown. Nearby 25 Oliver Street, a three-story rowhouse, was a longtime residence of Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944), the New York governor and 1928 Democratic candidate for President. The area has been almost completely changed since the early part of the 20th Century. Housing projects have replaced the ancient tenements and confusing maze of streets that used to dominate the region. The infamous Five Points lurked at the western edge of this area.

Cassie Lydon, 24, died in New York on January 23, 1898. Source: New York Department of Health. Deaths reported in the city of New York, 1888-1965.

In the 1900 census, at 110 Roosevelt Street in Manhattan, there was a John Lydon, printer, born in August 1866 in New York, parents from Ireland, boarding with Mary Patty, 60, widow. Roosevelt street was where Martin Lydon was born, and it was the next street over from James Street, where a Martin Lydon lived with his grandparents.

In the 1900 census, at 11 James Street in Manhattan, there was a Martin Lydon, born in May 1896, living with his grandparents Richard and Mary Eldridge. Richard and Mary had been married for 29 years. They had had 10 children, only 3 of whom were living. Richard was an electrician, born in England in 1851, and emigrated to America in 1870. Mary was born in New York in 1855. Her parents were from Ireland. Richard and Mary had two sons living with them: James, 22, and John, 18. And, they had a stepdaughter: Mary Cronin, 26, divorced, and her son James Cronin, 7.

In the 1905 New York census, at 326 West 47th Street in Manhattan, there was a John J. Lydon, printer, 39, born in the United States, boarding with William O'Keefe and family.

Roger remembers that his grandfather was orphaned somehow. It appears that his father left him in the care of his grandparents and then sent him off to a large school for boys in Rockland County. There was a Martin Lyden living in St. Agnes Convent Children’s Home in 1905 and 1910. It was in Sparkill, Orangetown Township, Rockland County, New York. The home and its school was started in 1884 by the Sisters of St. Dominic. In 1910, there were 694 boys, 43 Sisters of St. Dominic, 1 priest, and 20 lay workers. Ages of the boys ranged from 2 to 15.

• In the June 1, 1905 New York census, he was, 7, born in New York.
• In the April 1, 1910 U.S. census, he was, 13, born in New York.

In the 1910 census, at 326 West 47th Street in Manhattan, there was a John J. Lydon, unemployed printer, 43, widowed, born in the New York, parents born in Ireland, boarding with William O'Keefe and family.

Martin A. Lyden's WWII draft registration gives his date of birth as May 10, 1896. His employer is the New York City Transit System, I.R.T. Division, 250 Hudson Street, New York, New York.

On May 14, 1910, John J. Lydon, age 43, died in Manhattan. Source: Index to New York City Deaths 1862-1948.

Martin Lyden and Agnes McTavey were married on December 21, 1917, in Manhattan. Source: New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 17

Martin A. Lyden enlisted in the Army at Fort Slocum in 1915. He served overseas from May 1918 to April 1919. He was severely wounded in action on or about August 17, 1918. Martin was a Musician 3rd Class in the 77th Field Artilley, 4th Division. The 77th departed from New York on May 22, 1918, and arrived in Liverpool, England, on the 31st. Then, after a few days, the regiment moved to Camp de Souge in France. When the Armistice was signed, the 77th Field Artillery had 53 days of the severest fighting behind it. Twenty of its men had been killed and some 200 wounded. By its actions, the 77th has five battle streamers which fly from the Regimental Standard, namely, the following engagements:

• Vesle Sector, August 8-16, 1918
• St. Mihiel Offensive, September 12-15, 1918
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive, September 26-October 24, 1918
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive, November 1-11, 1918
• Defensive Sectors in Champaign and Lorraine

Agnes McTavey was born in Manhattan on October 12, 1893. Her parents were Bernard and Elizabeth McTavey. Source: New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1893

When Agnes McTavey Lyden's father Bernard McTavey died in 1928, Agnes was living at 3241 102nd Street, Corona, Queens, New York. Source: Will and Probate Records.

Living with Martin and Agnes in the 1930 census were Martin's brother Joseph Lyden, 35, and his niece Dorothy Cushman, 13.

Martin and Agnes Lyden's daughter Ruth married William Byrne in November 27, 1951. Source: Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York, New York.

Ruth was born September 24, 1928. She died November 10, 1981, and was buried November 16, 1981, at Calverton National Cemetery, 210 Princeton Boulevard, Rte. 25, Calverton, NY, in Section 7, Site 814. She was listed as a PFC in the U.S. Army and wife of William X. Byrne, Source: National Cemetery Administration. Nationwide Gravesite Locator.

William Byrne and Ruth Lyden were married in Manhattan on November 27, 1951. Source: Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York, New York.

Martin and Agnes McTavey Lyden.

Roger says his "grandfather Martin Lyden was said to be of French, Irish, and Swedish decent. He was the one who rode a motorcycle in WWI and was mustard gassed. He fed the family of a wife and 3 daughters by working on the IRT. In an interview for the job he was asked if he could type? He said yes but never told them it was only about 10 words a minute. He was orphaned somehow and was on his own when he was in his teens. My mother used to tell me he loved to ride the rails coast to coast. My mother said his favorite thing was to send a post card from California and be back in New York before it arrived. Both of my grandparents were spoken of very highly. My grandmother Agnes used to love the wrestling matches and my father would say this meek mild lady would go nuts and curse a blue streak during a heated match. He thought it was so funny because it was so out of character for her. "

Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York (Find A Grave, Interment Control Form) are:

• Martin A. Lyden, born May 10, 1896, and died December 8, 1955. Musician 3rd Class, 77th Field Artilley, 4th Division, WW I.
• Agnes Lyden, born December 12, 1896, and died August 31, 1958. His wife