My Genealogy Hound

Henry Clay Lyle, farmer, was born November 10, 1824, within five miles of Martinsburg W. Va., the second of five children of Hugh M. and Eleanor (Henshaw) Lyle, the former of Irish descent, born about 1794 in West Virginia, and the latter of Welsh stock, a native of the same county. They left their native county in 1826, and went to Henry County, Ky., where they remained until 1837. After that they settled in Clark County, Mo., on a farm now owned by W. Jenkins. The father died the following year, and the mother afterward married James Ripper, and lived until 1870. Our subject is almost entirely self-educated, on account of his responsibilities after his father’s death. At the mother’s second marriage he began for himself as a farm hand, rafting on the river, and working in a commission house at Alexandria. While at the latter place, in a livery stable, he took a trip to Des Moines, and was offered a good position by a post trader, but refused to accept. He married at the age of twenty-five, and after keeping a boarding house he began renting. For a few years he owned three different farms, and in March, 1881, located on the old homestead which his parents bought before the father’s death. His wife, Elizabeth Conway, was born May 6, 1826, in Cynthiana, Harrison Co., Ky., and afterward came to Springfield, Ill. They were married October 2, 1851. Our subject is a self-made man, and now owns 140 acres of land. He is so well known that he is generally called “Uncle Clay.” He was formerly a Whig but is now a Republican. He is a member of the Christian Church, and his wife is a Methodist. Our subject’s mother departed this life December 31, 1870, aged seventy-two years and eleven months.