Elizabeth Lyle Saxon

Elizabeth Lyle Saxon

Elizabeth Lyle Saxon was born on a cold night in early December 1832 in Tennessee. Her mother, Clarissa (Crutchfield) Lyle died when Elizabeth was only 2 years old. Elizabeth’s father was Andrew Lyle, architect and builder of at least one church in Elmore County.  Andrew encouraged his young daughter to be independent and to love reading and the outdoors. He also taught her to hate oppression.  

Elizabeth was a published writer by the time she was 12, writing under the pen name of Annott Lyle. She was married by the time she was 16 to a South Carolinian named Lydell Saxon. The two lived in Wetumpka during the cold winters in the 1850s and by the time Elizabeth was 23 she was the mother of two children.