E) La Loma Legacy

George B. Lyles Sr.

Photo from the Estate of Paulina Lyles Lerma

Courtesy of Mary Lou Lerma Matta Garza

George B Lyles' name first appears in the Southwest states in 1847 on a military draft card with the 3rd Regiment Missouri Mounted Volunteers under Colonel John Ralls in the Mexican War. George was 20 years old when he enrolled on 5 May 1847 in New London, Missouri. He was a private with Captain Lofland's Company E. He mustered into service on 12 June 1847 at Independence, Missouri. Comments state that he was with the R & P Division [Rifle and Pistol] and that he was discharged at Santa Fe, New Mexico on 25 Mar 1848 at the expiration of his term in service.

Census schedules of 1860 and 1870 record his birthplace as Virginia. There is a land transfer executed by the influential Magoffins dated 2 June 1851 in El Paso County showing George B Lyles as a witness. He is also listed as a resident in 1858 documented by W. W. Mills' book, Forty Years in El Paso. Lyles worked as a military contractor with several military posts: Fort Bliss, Fort Quitman, Fort Davis and Fort Stockton procuring fuel and forage. He was appointed Commissioner to organize Presidio County in 1871; and he served as Presidio County's first Tax Assessor in 1876.

Latest research findings place George B Lyles' childhood in Alexandria Virginia in the early 19th century. His mother Elizabeth "Betsy" Treidle inherited property in the Fairfax County area known as West End from her father's estate. The property has been developed and streets have been renamed, but the intersection of Duke and George Streets is clearly found on the west side of the Whole Foods Grocery building (currently known as the Carlyle District). Betsy's father, Frederick Treidle was George's grandfather; he invested heavily in real estate and was listed in the second generation butcher and tanner craft. He had a butcher business at the Duke Street market area near Spring Garden Farm, just west of downtown Alexandria in January 1800. During this time, he placed a newspaper advertisement offering a reward for his lost memo book which was written in German. Frederick died in 1809. There are deeds confirming land conveyance to Methodist Episcopal the same year of his death. This land is now the site of the Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery. His wife was Mary. Her name is listed on the 1810 US Federal Census with a household of five children. A newspaper notice in the Alexandria Gazette relates that a certain "Mary Tridle died in January 1848". Another source [Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria Virginia 1780-1820 Volume 2, Compiled by T. Michael Miller, page 194] lists cemetery burials including a Mary Tridell who died 17 January 1818, aged 65 [page 466]. It is difficult to determine our relationships with these two Mary Tridles without further research.

There were transactions to transfer property holdings in the Tridle Estate throughout Mary Tridle's life. Several of the documents name George's siblings: David, Elizabeth, and Josephine. (Virginia land records research was done by Robert Lee Matta, 2nd Great Grandson of George B Lyles.)

David Lyles married Amanda Louisa Sumner from Indiana. Missouri Marriage records reveal an entry of their marriage in Marion County, Missouri on 13 May 1846. Their children were all born at Oquawka, Henderson County, Illinois. The family appears in the 1875 Kansas State Census at El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas. They are also listed on the 1880 US Federal Census of El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas. The David Lyles lineage equally compares with their George cousin counterparts. David's descendants currently appear over a wide range of states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, California and more. On Thursday, 3 June 1897, there was a death notice of David Lyles on page 4 of the Fort Scott Daily Monitor, Kansas. He had recently arrived in Kansas from Smithville, Texas. Mr. Lyles died in Mercy Hospital on 2 June 1897 at 9 o'clock in the morning. The early Kansas pioneer was 90 years of age and in feeble health. His son C.P. Lyles (Cephas Parker) of Smithville and his daughter Mrs. J. D. Giffin (Mary L Lyles) arrived to prepare for his burial in Nevada, (very probably the nearby community about 15 miles east across the state border in Vernon county, Missouri).

Elizabeth Lyles married Thomas W Abbott, first going to Mississippi shortly after their marriage. Their first three children were born in Mississippi. By the 1860 US Census they are found in Ouachita County, Arkansas. The next five children were born in Arkansas. It should be noted that Mary Elizabeth is listed as born in either the District of Columbia or Virginia in the census schedules. The couple settled in Sevier County, Arkansas. They were able to be of great service to this under-developed area while earning a living. "About the year 1869 a man named Thomas Abbott brought a steam saw and grist mill into the country and put it down a short distance north of Rolling Fork salt works. This mill solved the problem of meal and lumber." (Early Days in Sevier County by WS Ray)

John and Betsy Lyles, parents of David, George, Mary Elizabeth and Josephine, were born in Virginia; they were part of the Revolutionary War Period generation. Their offspring witnessed the beginning of our emerging, innovative Republic and experienced democracy in action: Their grandfather Frederic Treidle was an active political supporter of laws that affected daily life. His signature appears on the legislative petition to exempt the tithables in the town of Alexandria from a certain part of the county levy. The Act passed on December 31, 1798. There were over four hundred signatures, including Thomas Jefferson. Our family lineage is most assuredly rooted by our ancestral nation builders' fortitude to anchor and assure our future.

George B Lyles Sr died in New Mexico on 25 August 1878 at 4:30 P.M. as documented in Mesilla church records and newspapers. He had traditional Catholic funeral services at the historic San Albino Church in Mesilla on 26 Aug 1878 at 3 P.M. [San Albino was designated as a Basilica on 1 Nov 2008.] George had been staying near the Hot Springs area taking advantage of its medicinal cures to soothe a long affliction of dyspepsia. The Faywood Hot Springs had been a well-known resort since 1876. His two daughters had lived in the Mesilla area since the mid 1870's after their mother died in Fort Stockton in 1871.

Traveling from Virginia to Missouri to Mexico, finally to El Paso then to West Texas, the fifty-year pioneer life of George Lyles serves as a veritable testament of the pioneer spirit. He demonstrated the resilience and diligence necessary to endure and resolve daily challenges including floods, droughts, native assaults, peer conflicts, disputes with authorities, family tragedies and illnesses. Every effort was made to protect the West Texas “home” that he completely invested in and lastly bequeathed to his family.

The Lyles Farm Family Cemetery at Toyahvale is a reminder of our ancestors' legacy in West Texas. George B Lyles is officially commemorated on the plaque at Balmorhea State Park. The historical marker recognizes the contribution of irrigation development in the area. The Texas Historic Commission dedicated the San Solomon Spring plaque #4557 in Reeves County in 1964: " farmers. Miller, Lyles and Murphy in 1871 began large-scale commercial irrigation."

This information is provided for personal use to learn about the origin of the Lyles family. Permission required to be used in any printed form. Inez Vasquez vasqgen@gmail.com