It's Lynam - Not Lyman

When I was a youngster, before there were interstate highways, if we wanted or needed to go to Omaha, we took highway #34 west out of Corning to Tenville and turned north onto highway #71 which we took to Lyman where we turned left onto highway #92 and followed through Griswold, Carson, Treynor, Council Bluffs and across the Missouri River into Omaha.

One of the things that struck me most about the trip, other than how long it was and how big Omaha was, is that one, there was a town named after my family and two, whoever made the sign spelled our name wrong! It was most likely my mother who set my thinking straight - that the town really was Lyman and not Lynam. Over the years new highway 71 went around Lyman instead of through and the town all but disappeared. Today it looks like there is a church and a used auto dealership. 

It took some searching around to find that the town was named for Joseph Lyman.  He was a Major in the Civil War, a lawyer and a circuit court judge before being elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from SW Iowa's 9th Congressional District. 

Over my lifetime I've had to correct the mispronunciation and the misspelling of my last name many times and always to my consternation. 

It's line um, not lynn am, not lie man. It's the Irish Lynam not the English Lyman.  💚🍀

Thank you. Now I'll get off my soapbox. 😣