[1] He was schooled in Bridge of Weir, and moved to the United States in 1843 with his father and stepmother, who settled in Springdale, Wisconsin, in 1851.
On December 20 of the same year, he married Christina Stewart, whose family had come to the United States from Scotland in 1842 or 1843 and been among the pioneer settlers of Verona, Wisconsin.
In 1872 he ran for the Assembly from the 4th Dane County Assembly district (the Towns of Blue Mounds, Fitchburg, Madison, Middleton, Montrose, Oregon, Perry, Primrose, Rutland, Springdale and Verona), losing to Republican Hiram Cornwell, who received 1,259 votes, against 1,039 for Lyle.
He was assigned to the standing committees on state affairs and on charitable and penal institutions.
[7] As late as 1896, a John Lyle is listed as a member of the Dane County Board from Montrose (town chairmen were ex officio members of the county board), but it is impossible to tell whether this is the Scottish-born Lyle or his son of the same name.