Members of the Lyle family were prominent in the early Scotch-Irish Presbyterian communities of western and central Virginia. The family first appears in the surviving account at Timber Ridge in present-day Rockbridge County, where Daniel, John, and Samuel Lyle supported the congregation served by Rev. John Brown. Later generations and branches were associated with the South Branch of the Potomac in Hampshire County, the Buffalo and Briery congregations in Prince Edward County, Bedford County, and Kentucky.
The following account brings together the Lyle family references in William Henry Foote’s Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical, Second Series, arranging them by family relationship and place of residence when those relationships can be established.
The Lyles of Timber Ridge
The earliest Lyles identified by Foote were members of the Presbyterian settlement at Timber Ridge. In August 1753 the united congregations of Timber Ridge and New Providence called Rev. John Brown to become their pastor. Daniel, John, and Samuel Lyle appear among the men associated with that call and the financial support of Brown’s ministry.
Daniel Lyle
Daniel Lyle signed the 1753 call to Rev. John Brown. He became one of the early ruling elders of the Timber Ridge congregation, serving with William McClung, Archibald Alexander, John Lyle, John McKay, Alexander McClure, and John Davidson.
The surviving subscription list records that Daniel Lyle contributed £1 5s. toward the annual support of the pastor.
John Lyle
John Lyle also signed the call to Rev. John Brown and served as an early ruling elder of the Timber Ridge congregation. His recorded subscription toward the minister’s salary was £1 6s.
The account does not provide enough information to determine whether this elder was the same John Lyle who later entered the ministry in Hampshire County. Because the minister was already a soldier in 1774 and did not begin his theological preparation until later in life, the identification is possible, but it should not be accepted without supporting evidence.
Samuel Lyle
Samuel Lyle signed the 1753 call to Rev. John Brown and appears among the congregation’s financial subscribers. Foote’s list records his contribution as ten shillings.
James Lyle and Hannah Alexander
James Lyle married Hannah Alexander, daughter of Archibald Alexander and his first wife, Margaret Parks. Hannah was born near Nottingham, Pennsylvania, after her parents settled there in 1737.
About 1747 Archibald Alexander moved his family to the Timber Ridge settlement and established his home on the South River opposite the mouth of Irish Creek. Hannah was therefore raised within the same congregation and settlement with which the Lyles were associated.
James Lyle and Hannah Alexander were the parents of Rev. Matthew Lyle, born in 1767. Foote supplies no complete list of their children.
Rev. John Lyle of Hampshire County
Rev. John Lyle was born in the part of Virginia that later became Rockbridge County. Before entering the ministry, he served as a soldier in the expedition to Point Pleasant and participated in the battle against the Shawnee in 1774.
John began preparing for the ministry comparatively late in life. He studied at Liberty Hall under William Graham and pursued theology with Archibald Alexander, for a time serving as Alexander’s only companion in theological study. Benjamin Grigsby, Matthew Lyle, Thomas Poage, and others were added later.
The detailed account of the April 1791 meeting of Lexington Presbytery indicates that John completed his examinations at New Monmouth and was licensed to preach at the close of the session on April 29, 1791.
Under the direction of the Virginia Synod’s missionary commission, John traveled through the watersheds of the Potomac, Jackson River, Greenbrier, and Roanoke. Encouraged by the prospects in Hampshire County, he accepted the invitation of settlers along Patterson’s Creek and the Potomac and made his home among them.
On November 30, 1793, John was ordained at Springfield, one of his preaching places and his permanent residence for the rest of his life. His ministry extended widely through the mountains and waterways of Hampshire County. He served the congregations of Springfield, Patterson’s Creek, and Romney.
When Winchester Presbytery was organized on December 4, 1794, John became one of its original ministerial members. The new presbytery included Moses Hoge, Nash Legrand, William Hill, John Lyle, and William Williamson.
For a time John also directed a respected school at Springfield. Foote described it as both popular and flourishing.
Marriage and Family
John Lyle married an unnamed sister of Rev. Joseph Glass. She was a granddaughter of Samuel Glass, the immigrant from Ireland whose family settled at Opequon. Foote does not identify her parents or give her first name.
John died in Hampshire County in 1807 and was buried at Springfield. He left a widow and what Foote described as a large family of young children. Within a few years the family moved to Kentucky, where some of John’s sons became known in the Presbyterian Church.
Rev. Matthew Lyle of Prince Edward County
Rev. Matthew Lyle, son of James Lyle and Hannah Alexander, was born in 1767 and raised in the Timber Ridge congregation. Through his mother he was a cousin of Archibald Alexander, the Presbyterian minister and theologian.
Matthew’s early education resembled that of his cousin. He studied first at home, then in a local field school, and afterward at Liberty Hall under William Graham. Following the religious revival of 1789, he became a member of the theological class organized by Graham.
Matthew was presented to Lexington Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry at New Monmouth on April 29, 1791. He later completed examinations in languages, theology, biblical interpretation, criticism, moral philosophy, geography, and the sciences. Lexington Presbytery licensed him to preach on April 28, 1792.
Missionary Work in Southwestern Virginia
Foote places Matthew Lyle with Rev. William Hill on an extensive missionary journey through southern and southwestern Virginia. Beginning in the vicinity of Chestnut Mountain, they traveled through Franklin, Montgomery, Wythe, and Washington counties, preaching almost daily.
Their route included communities along Pig River, Smith River, Little Reed Island Creek, Cripple Creek, and the Holston waters. They visited Rev. Charles Cummings near Abingdon and preached at Ebbing Spring before beginning their return journey at the end of June.
Foote’s chronology places this tour in June 1791 and calls Matthew “lately licensed,” although the detailed presbytery account dates his licensure to April 1792.
Briery and Buffalo Churches
Matthew was received as a licentiate by Hanover Presbytery in October 1794. At the same meeting, the united congregations of Briery and Buffalo requested his services as pastor. The arrangement made him co-pastor of Briery and sole pastor of Buffalo in Prince Edward County.
The detailed account states that Hanover Presbytery met at Buffalo on February 13, 1795, heard Matthew’s trial sermon, and proceeded with his ordination and installation. He continued serving the two congregations for the remainder of his life, more than thirty-two years.
Matthew also taught school for part of his ministry, helping educate and support his family. He became a trustee and firm supporter of Hampden-Sydney College and participated in the development of theological education in Virginia. In 1797 he served on the presbytery committee that prepared the plan and regulations for a charitable fund intended to educate poor and pious young men for the ministry.
He later assisted in efforts to establish and strengthen a theological seminary. His work included service on committees concerned with the curriculum and administration of Hampden-Sydney College and the education of candidates for the ministry.
Death and Family
Matthew Lyle died on March 22, 1827, after suffering from a disorder of the stomach and liver. Rev. John Holt Rice was present during his final illness and praised the constancy of Matthew’s life and ministry.
Matthew left a widow and ten children. Seven of the children were still living with their mother, and several had not completed their education. Rice described Mrs. Lyle as a woman of remarkable composure whose fortitude sustained the family after her husband’s death. Foote does not provide her given or maiden name in this account.
Rev. Andrew Lyle
Rev. Andrew Lyle, a native of Rockbridge County, was teaching Latin at Liberty in Bedford County in 1790. Samuel Brown boarded with a local family and began studying Latin under Andrew’s instruction.
Andrew later moved to Kentucky and entered the ministry. Foote does not state his relationship to the Timber Ridge Lyles or identify his wife and children.
An Unidentified Lyle in the Revolutionary Militia
Foote’s account of the Virginia militia campaign preceding the Battle of Guilford Courthouse mentions a soldier identified only as Lyle. On March 9, 1781, after the troops crossed the Dan River, “Lyle, Hays and Lusk” went to General Nathanael Greene and returned to the main body.
The soldier’s first name and family connections are not supplied. He should not be identified with any particular member of the Timber Ridge family without additional military evidence.
Genealogical Notes
Foote does not provide a single connected genealogy for the Lyle family. The references occur in church lists, biographies, educational accounts, missionary journals, and military narratives. Not every person bearing the surname can be placed within the same immediate family.
James Lyle and Hannah Alexander are specifically identified as the parents of Rev. Matthew Lyle. Hannah was a daughter of Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks and a cousin relationship therefore connected Matthew Lyle with Rev. Archibald Alexander.
The surviving account does not expressly state that Rev. John Lyle and Rev. Matthew Lyle were cousins. Foote calls Matthew a cousin in a passage centered on Archibald Alexander, and his longer biography identifies Hannah Alexander as Matthew’s mother. A relationship between the two Lyle ministers is plausible but should not be stated as proven from this source alone.
Foote’s chronology for Rev. John Lyle is internally inconsistent. One passage says that he was taken under presbytery’s care on July 30, 1791, although other records show him reading parts of his trials in October 1790 and completing his licensure examinations in April 1791. The July date may contain an error in the printed year.
The detailed record of the April 1791 presbytery session began on Tuesday, April 26, and indicates that John’s trials were sustained on Friday, making April 29, 1791, the probable date of his licensure. Foote’s later biography contains a corrupted printed date.
Foote describes John as leaving a widow and a large family of young children but does not give their number. The statement that there were ten children, seven still living at home, belongs to Rev. Matthew Lyle’s household at the time of his death in 1827 and should not be assigned to John’s family.
Foote likewise gives conflicting chronology for Matthew’s early ministry. His missionary narrative calls Matthew newly licensed during a June 1791 tour, while the detailed presbytery record dates his licensure to April 28, 1792.
Two ordination dates appear for Matthew Lyle. A shorter summary gives February 17, 1795, while the detailed account identifies the second Friday of February, explicitly the thirteenth day. February 13, 1795, has been used in this account because it agrees with both the weekday and the stated day of the month.
The given name and parentage of Rev. John Lyle’s wife are not supplied. She is identified only as a sister of Rev. Joseph Glass and a granddaughter of Samuel Glass. Additional Glass family, marriage, probate, and church records will be needed to place her accurately.
The relationships of Daniel, John, Samuel, and Andrew Lyle to James Lyle and to the two ministers remain uncertain. They should be treated as members of the broader Lyle community rather than assigned to a specific household without further evidence.
Source
This family genealogy was compiled from references appearing throughout William Henry Foote’s Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Foote’s scattered biographical, family, church, and settlement references have been brought together here and arranged by generation to make the genealogical relationships easier to follow.
Foote, William Henry. Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Second Series. Second edition, revised. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1856. Available online at AccessGenealogy, Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Accessed 10 August 2026.