Thomas G. Lytle, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Thomas G. Lytle
THOMAS G. LYTLE, Mayor of Valparaiso, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, December 3, 1824, and is a son of Aaron and Hannah (Jones) Lytle, who were natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively, and the parents of nine children, only three of whom are yet living. The Lytles are of Scotch descent, and the Joneses are of English descent. Aaron Lytle was a blacksmith by trade, and went to Pennsylvania when a young man, and from there came to Wayne County, Ohio, where he married. He quit blacksmithing when about thirty-five years old, and engaged in speculating, buying and selling land, merchandising, etc. During the financial crisis of 1837, he lost the greater part of his means. In 1840, he came to Porter County, purchasing an improved farm of 169 acres in Boone Township, and in the spring of 1841 moved his family out. In 1852, he sold his farm, moved to Valparaiso, and bought a steam sawmill near town, which he operated for some time. He speculated in land, and engaged in other business enterprises until his death, in the fall of 1870. His widow survived him until 1876, when she, too, died, and both are buried side by side in the city cemetery. Mr. Lytle was a Whig, afterward a Republican, and his wife was a member of the Christian Church. Thomas G. Lytle lived with his parents until twenty-three years old, and was married in 1847 to Miss Idilla Allen; farmed until the winter of 1853, when he moved to Valparaiso, entered into the drug trade, and has remained in active business here ever since. He is a Republican, and in 1854, when that party was first organized, was elected County Sheriff, and re-elected in 1856. He was elected Mayor Valparaiso in 1868, and re-elected in 1870, serving for four years. In 1882, he was again elected to that office, in which he is yet serving. He was also one of the first proprietors of the paper mill of Valparaiso. His wife, died June 1861, leaving one daughter, now Mrs. R. A. Dunlap. He afterward married Mrs. Mary E. (Marginson) Ketchum, and to this union have been born six children - Effie M., Elma M., Thomas G. (deceased), Elvan A., one that died in infancy without name and Arthur W. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lytle are of the Unitarian faith. Mr. Lytle, in the spring of 1864, organized Company C, of the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and by that company was chosen Captain. They were in active service, but principally in detailed work. In 1864, they operated in Tennessee and Alabama, and in November of that year Mr. Lytle was duly discharged.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 257-258
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook