Clarence
Warren
'Bobby' Lytle
(1887-1929)
Clarence
Warren 'Bobby' Lytle was born on Feb. 14, 1887 – St. Valentine’s Day –
in McLuney, Perry County, OH, the son of John Thomas and Elizabeth
'Lizzie'
(Miner) Lytle. The family lived near Lizzie’s
parents, Thomas and Maletha (Ogburn)
Miner.
Bobby had an older brother and sister, George and Edna. His sister Bess was born a year after him.
When Bobby was a young boy, the family moved to Cambria County, PA, where John found work in the coal mines there. The Lytles resided in Ehrenfeld in 1891, when brother Fred was born, and in Bakers in 1896 with the birth of Wilse, the youngest.
On March 30, 1898, 15-year-old brother George died from typhoid fever. He had just recently begun working in the mines with his father.
In about 1899, the Lytles made their permanent home in the small borough of Lilly on Railroad Street, so named because it ran alongside the railroad track of the busy Pennsylvania Railroad.
In 1904, Edna had a daughter, Pearl, and in 1906, Bess had a son, John "Pete." Edna and Bess were both young and unwed, so John and Lizzie raised them as their own.
Like
most young men of the town, Bobby and his brothers went to work in the coal
mines.
For a time, it is thought that Bobby resided in Pittsburgh. He is seen here as a young man in a studio portrait.
On March 7, 1916, Bobby’s father died of tuberculosis at the age of 57.
On March 14, 1918, Bobby married Margaret Ethel Smith, the daughter of David and Parantha (Brocious) Smith in Gallitzin, Cambria County. Margaret was born in Ringgold, PA, and had resided in nearby Cresson.
They had these children: Marjorie E. Link, Edna Ziegler, George D. Lytle, Hallam J. Lytle, Bernice Caulk, and Jeanne Kennedy.
On July 21, 1918, just four months after his marriage, Bobby enlisted to fight in World War I. He served with Company A, 31st Infantry, 79th Division. He was injured on Nov. 5 and was hospitalized. In 1920 he was recuperating at the US Army General Hospital in Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA, while his wife and infant daughter Marjorie were living next door to his mother.
His
injury left his one leg stiff, and he thereafter walked with difficulty. He
could no longer work in the mines, so he opened a repair shop, where he did such
things as upholster chairs.
Bobby’s brother Fred was living in Lilly with his six children and serving as chief of police of Cresson. Wilse and Enda, both unmarried, also resided in Lilly. Bess was living near Pittsburgh with her husband and five children.
Bobby died of pneumonia and heart disease on Feb. 19, 1929 at the young age of 42. His six children were under the age of 10.
Bobby was a very kind man, and was fondly remembered by his niece Ferne, who was 14 years old when he died.
Margaret
later resided in Cresson. She outlived her husband by 46 years and died on April
20, 1975.
Bobby and Margaret are buried together in Lillydale Cemetery in Lilly.
Copyright © 2004 Craig Adams. Published on Minerd.com with permission.