My Genealogy Hound

DANIEL LYLE. Of the many citizens who have added to the fame of Dowagiac, perhaps none has gained a reputation more enviable or a position more renowned than the gentleman with whose name this sketch is introduced and who was for many years one of the most eminent men of Cass County. Mr. Lyle was born in Cornwall County, England, July 25, 1830, and was the son of John and Mary (Marshall) Lyle. His father came to America in 1832 and for about four years thereafter made his home in York Mills, N. Y. In 1836 he came to Michigan and entered land of the Government near Paw Paw, becoming one of the pioneers of Van Buren County, and conducting farming pursuits for many years. Retiring from active business in 1855, he removed to the village of Paw Paw, dying at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Russel Parker, December 4, 1869, aged seventy-six years. His wife died January 23, 1877, at the age of eighty-two years. By industry and perseverance he succeeded in accumulating considerable property, and was numbered among the prosperous farmers of the county. Of his eleven children, one died prior to the emigration of the family to America. Ten grew to manhood and womanhood, and seven are still living.

A child of two years when his father emigrated to America, Daniel Lyle grew to manhood on his father’s farm in Van Buren County and received his education in the old log schoolhouse near Paw Paw. At the age of twenty-one he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a harnessmaker, at which he worked both in Schoolcraft and Kalamazoo. About 1853 he came to Dowagiac and embarked in business as a harness manufacturer. On the 22d of December, 1853, he married Miss Mary E., daughter of Adam Michael, a native of Ohio, who moved thence about 1830 and first settled in Pokagon Township, Cass County. From that township he removed to Berrien Township, Berrien County, where he entered land of the Government and established a pleasant home. He had a family of nine children, three sons and six daughters, and of the number six are now living. Adam Michael passed away in August, 1838, and his wife died in 1854. Mrs. Lyle was born January 2, 1830, and was reared on the old homestead in Berrien County.

A short time after coming to Dowagiac, Mr. Lyle added to his harness business a stock of boots and shoes and conducted a profitable trade in partnership with his brother George. In 1865, in partnership with Joseph Rogers, he established the Lyle S. Rogers Bank, which enjoyed the distinction of being the first bank ever established in Dowagiac. Between the years 1865 and 1869 the First National Bank had been organized, and upon the dissolution of the firm of Lyle & Rogers, in the last-named year, Mr. Lyle bought out the First National Bank and operated it until its charter expired, in 1883. It then became a private bank and was operated as such under the name of D. Lyle & Co. until the death of Mr. Lyle, which occurred January 13, 1887.

Various other prominent enterprises in Dowagiac received the cordial support of Mr. Lyle. He was Treasurer of the village from 1861 to 1863, and President from 1863 to 1865, also one of the Directors of the Ladies’ Library Association and a strong supporter of the same. He was a member of the firm of Dewey, Defendorf & Lyle, the leading dry-goods firm in Dowagiac. For twenty-one years he served as Treasurer of the Board of Education, and he was also one of the organizers and the first President of the Union Fair Association. He was a stockholder in the Dowagiac Manufacturing Company, organized in 1881 for the manufacture of grain drills, etc., and was Treasurer of the company from the time of its organization until his death. In his religious connections, he was identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a Trustee in that denomination over twenty years and a liberal contributor to its support. He served for many years as a Director of the Paw Paw Savings Bank. His landed possessions were extensive, including two hundred and forty acres in Keeler Township, Van Buren County, as well as eight hundred acres in Dakota. He was a member of the firm of Lyle, Fulton & Palmer, operators of the woolen mill at La Grange, this county.

In every sense of the word, Daniel Lyle was a self-made man. He started in life poor, but by hard work and perseverance he became one of the most prominent men in western Michigan. In politics he was a Democrat and was the recipient of many honors from the leaders of the party. At his death he left two children, Frank and C. Eugene, both of whom are represented elsewhere in this volume, and who are among the leading business men of Dowagiac. At the death of a brother and his wife, our subject took their daughter M. Anna into his family, where she has since made her home. In 1878, in company with Mr. Keith, of Chicago, and Mr. Studebaker, of Indiana, Mr. Lyle visited the place of his birth in England and spent several months traveling through Great Britain and the continent.

His parents being in humble circumstances, Daniel Lyle started in life with no fortune save his industry and uncompromising integrity. His habits were his friends. He had superior judgment and a rare knowledge of human nature. He was very kind in all the relations of life, and commanded the confidence of all just men. As a citizen he was on the right side of all moral questions and gave his influence toward the suppression of intemperance and every form of vice. He was of pure life, unostentatious and modest in all he did. As a neighbor he was kind and obliging, and as a friend he was considerate and faithful. Remembering his own early struggles, he was ever ready to give a helping hand from his abundant means to worthy young men trying to get a foothold in the business world, and many there are to-day who can trace their success to his timely aid. He was a genial companion, and will ever be remembered by those who were his intimate personal friends. He was a Christian gentleman, broad and catholic in his views. Although he left a large fortune, made by his own industry and good judgment, he left what is still better, the legacy of a well-spent life and untarnished reputation.