John Lyons was born on the island of Antigua on October 20, 1760. His father, John Lyons (1731-1775), was an eminent figure on Antigua, being a member of council from 1764-1775. His mother, Jane Harman (1733-1792), was the daughter of Colonel Samuel Harman, who was elected a Member of Assembly for Nonsuch in 1727 and later a Member of Council and Judge of Court of Common Pleas.

Lyons was himself a member of council for the island in 1782. He married Catherine Walrond in 1784, daughter of Maine Swete Walrond, 5th Marquis de Vallado. Following Catherine's premature death in 1803, John married Elizabeth Robbins (26 November 1767 - 18 October 1820), daughter of William Robbins of Salisbury, Wiltshire, on March 17, 1804.

John Lyons died February 6, 1816 in England. A memorial inscription to him exists at Boldre , near Lymington, Hampshire.

The following are those children by John's first marriage to Catherine Walrond:

• Jane Lyons, (February 1, 1785 - ?)
• Eliza Lyons, (July, 1786 - ?)
• John Lyons, (September 1, 1787 - December 15, 1872), Admiral, Mid-Shipman to Nelson on Victory at Trafalgar. Married 1810, Caroline Bowen. Married 2ndly, Anna Maria Sockett
• Theodore Lyons, (October 5, 1788 - 1825), d. East Indies
• Henry Lyons, (September 30, 1789 - August 18, 1807), killed in action at Copenhagen
• Edmund Lyons, (November 21, 1790 - November 23, 1858), Admiral, created Lord Lyons (1856)
• Anne Lyons, (April 19, 1792 - 1816)
• Catherine Lyons, (April 16, 1794 - December 30, 1857), Artist
• William Lyons, (May 12, 1795 - ?)
• George Rose Lyons, (May 23, 1796 - 1828), H.E.I.C.S.
• William Mills Lyons, (August 13, 1797 - August, 1881), Royal Army, married Mary Adams
• Maine Walrond Lyons, (October 22, 1798 - 1827), Lieut., R.N., killed at Battle of Navarino
• Caroline Lyons, (October 24, 1800 - July 13, 1879), married 1820, Henry Shepherd Pearson (d.1838)
• Humphrey Lyons, (July 3, 1802 - May 25, 1873), Lieutenant-General, Indian (Bombay) Army
• Charles Bethel Lyons, (November 27, 1803 - September 6, 1865), married Henrietta

And the following are those children born from the union between John and his second wife Elizabeth:

• Samuel Athill Lyons, (April 14, 1805 - September 19, 1881), Lt-Col., Indian (Bengal) Army. Married 1827, Sophia Logie (d.1840) and married 2ndly in 1842, Mary Wall (d.1893)
• Frances Walrond Lyons, (September, 1806 - November 29, 1884)
• Edward Robbins Lyons, (1807 - 1849), Captain, Indian Army