Thomas Henry Lyles
*The birth of Thomas Henry Lyles is celebrated on this date in 1843. He was a Black soldier, businessman, and activist. Born in Maryland, Lyles served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Around 1870, Lyles married Amanda Lyles, and the couple arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1874. The 1880 Census shows Lyles at age 37, Mrs. Lyles at age 25, and two children named Lola Matthews and Marshall Salter. Lyles was among the first generation of activists who helped shape and define the Rondo community of St. Paul and its neighboring Black communities in Minneapolis in the late 1800s. He was a successful Barber and Real Estate Agent. 1875 Lyles became a charter member and the first president of the Robert Banks Literary Society. In 1881, Lyles convinced the Mayor of St. Paul to hire a black police officer, and the introduction of an all-black Fire Department followed in 1885.
In 1883, Lyles and Hilyard placed an article in the New York Globe, extolling the virtues and opportunities awaiting black society in St. Paul. Their efforts attracted John Q. Adams (of the Louisville Bulletin) and Fredrick McGhee (Minnesota's 1st Black Criminal Attorney). Lyles was also active in the Republican Political clubs of the 1880s. In June 1885, he was Co-Owner with J.K. Hilyard of the Western Appeal newspaper.
On August 16, 1894, Lyles became the 1st Grand Master of Minnesota's African Grand Lodge, now known as the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Minnesota. In 1906, as the first black Mortician in Minnesota, he opened the Lyles Funeral Home. Thomas H. Lyles died on September 2, 1920.
