Howard Charles Lyman 1877-1923

The Lyman Twins – Herbert and Howard Lyman – famous vaudevillians settled in Central Florida in 1913. Lyman High School was named for Howard Charles Lyman and his wife Emma Abbott Lyman’s contributions to the Longwood / Altamonte Springs communities. Howard C. Lyman died on 7 July 1923 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery Section L lot 12-1 in plots apparently purchased on 18 July 1923 by his brother Herbert Lucius Lyman and Howard’s wife Emma Abbott Lyman.

The 1920 U.S. Population Census of Altamonte Springs, Florida shows Howard C. Lyman, his wife Emmaline, their daughter Charlotte (18) and two sons: Howard C. Jr. (3) and Herbert S. (1).

Charlotte is the child of Howard’s first wife, Esther Van Brookline, whom he married on 12 July 1901.

Charlotte is not mentioned in her father’s obituary published in July 1923, so it is assumed that she died prior to his tragic death. An obit on this site for Howard Charles Jr., however, none could be found for the second son, Herbert S. The only item found on Herbert S. Lyman was found on the Social Security Death Index indicating he died in 1998. This information appears to be accurate as the date of birth matches and the residence matches information in obituaries for other family members.

LYMAN, HERBERT S    
Birth: 10 Jan 1919     Death: 01 May 1998    Age: 79  
Last known residence: 90713 (Lakewood, Los Angeles, CA)   
SS Issued: Ohio   SS#: 277-36-7923  

Kevin Scott Collier, Art Director for the Grand Haven Tribune newspaper in Grand Haven, Michigan and writer of Christian children’s books, is writing a book about the Lyman Twins. This is part of an email he sent about the Lymans and his book in April 2011:

Herbert and Howard Lyman (and their wives Patti and Emma) loved Florida. The twins got into vaudeville stage performing just before they turned age 20, and while they first went to New York, they lived the southern coast…. These fellas were a HUGE nationwide sensation, I kid you not. They retired from stage in 1911, but if they had been born 15 years later, they’d been in films competing with The Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin. As I got into my research months ago I was shocked to see the ONLY real memorial to a “Lyman” was the [high] school there [on Ronald Reagan Blvd. in Longwood]. There’s nothing here, and they grew up here, their father was a famous Captain here. They spent summers here right until close to 1920 when I believe the brothers sold their cottage in Spring Lake, a few miles from here over the bridge.

Herbert almost killed a kid on his way to being a stage star. Herbert and Howard along with other Grand Haven, MI boys used to stage plays in a barn behind Brandstetter’s hardware store and in one play in April 1891 Herbert (playing a wild west lawman) was supposed to shoot “the bad guy” played by Johnny Brandstetter. All these kids were 10-13 years in age. They used a real gun, but some kid forgot to load it with blanks, and Herman shot Johnny… luckily, it was a graze across the forehead… but the barn was full of an audience of kids who ran out of the barn screaming for their lives. This article is included in my book, too.

YouTube video promoting book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KTIV0z4aM

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