Biography - Thomas Lyles

CAPT. THOMAS LYLES is a farmer and merchant, residing in Ward No. 5, Bossier Parish, La., but in 1837, was born in the Palmetto State where his parents, Thomas M. and Eliza (Peay) Lyles were born, the former in 1813, and the latter in 1817. Mr. Lyles was a graduate of the South Carolina College at Columbia, and was an extensive planter of that State prior to the war, being the owner of several hundred slaves. He and his wife still reside in their native State, and are members of the Baptist Church. Maj. William S. Lyles, an uncle of the subject of this sketch, was a member of the convention that adopted the ordinances of secession at Columbia, and prior to that time, represented Fairﬁeld County in both houses of the General Assembly of the State for several terms. Capt. Thomas Lyles graduated from the same institution from which his father graduated, being a member of the class of 1858, and after ﬁnishing his education, came to Bossier Parish, La., purchased a valuable plantation, and commenced the culture of cotton on an extensive scale. At his country’s call he entered the infantry service, becoming a member of the Ninth Louisiana Regiment, under Col. Randolph, and after operating in Virginia for about nine months he was taken with a very severe case of typhoid-pneumonia, from which he did not recover for six months. On account of disability he was temporarily discharged, but at the end of one month re-entered the service, and was with the Twentieth South Carolina Regiment on Sullivan’s Island, and participated in the defense of Battery Wagener on Morris Island during the famous siege of said battery. Later he was transferred to Virginia and served under Gen. Early in the valley campaign, after which he returned to Charleston, and was there when it was evacuated, and surrendered with his command at Greensboro, N. C. He then returned to his former home in Louisiana, where he resumed farming, continuing this alone until 1880, when he began merchandising at Midway, and has followed these occupations up to the present time. He has become well known throughout this region, and has served as police juror of Bossier Parish for several consecutive terms, and was also a member of the school board for several terms.

Contributed 29 Aug 2020 by Norma Hass, extracted from Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana, published in 1890, page 137.