Friday, March 18, 2005 | 3:44 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
March 19 - 20, 2005
You won't see any statues to Genevieve Lytle and you won't read about her in Las Vegas history books.
Her 100th birthday will pass this year likely with no celebration or remembrance.
But her birth on Aug. 18, 1905, to John A. Lytle and Mary V. Lytle in a tent in Las Vegas was something quite significant, though mostly lost to history.
By all available accounts, she was the first pioneer child born in the fledgling city.
Genevieve's milestone birth was announced in a short story in the Aug. 26, 1905, edition of the Las Vegas Age newspaper, under the headline "Vegas' first baby." The entire text of the story reads:
"The first baby to the credit of this struggling little desert city came to the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Lytle last Friday afternoon, Aug. 18. It was a lusty girl babe, weighing eight and one half pounds. mother and child are both doing well, while Dad Lytle goes about with the expression of one well pleased with himself and the world in general."
One reason Genevieve's birth may have gone overlooked for nearly a century is that it never was recorded in Lincoln County records. (Clark County did not come into existence until 1909. Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until then.)
But it was not uncommon for births not to be recorded at that time, according to one historian.
"Not everybody went to the county seat 90 to 100 miles away in Pioche to have births recorded," said Jeff Kintop, Nevada State Archives manager, noting that 36 births were recorded in all of Lincoln County in 1905 and just 20 in 1906.
"People at that time would hope that if they had other business to do in Pioche, such as record mining claims and real estate deeds, they also would bring the birth certificate along and record it. Today, doctors and hospitals file those records."
All of the Lincoln County birth certificates recorded in 1905 and 1906 were signed by Dr. J. E. Jemmison, Kintop said, noting that the records of that period do not reflect which, if any, of the children were born in Las Vegas, making it impossible for the state to confirm the first local birth.
"When there is no public record, you have to rely on newspaper stories or family sources and get other corroboration," Kintop said. "Even then, it's very hard to prove that someone was the first at almost anything."
At the time of Genevieve's birth there were no hospitals in Las Vegas. John Lytle's mother, Lucy Atchison Lytle, assisted 22-year-old Mary with the delivery of Genevieve in the family's tent amid temperatures of 115 to 120 degrees, according to Lytle family archives.
"After three days of hard labor in the heat, our baby girl Genevieve was born," Mary Lytle wrote in her diary.
"As I lay in bed with her, some days the hard winds would sweep through the valley and she and I would be covered with gray dust. Well, we endured it."
The Lytles named their baby after a popular tune of the era. Mary writes of her neighbor Mrs. McCleary's influence on that decision: "She sang and played the guitar. Many a night she and her friend came and serenaded us. She sang 'Sweet Genevieve,' as it was our favorite."
Genevieve's birth was a big event. City officials, including Chamber of Commerce President Ed W. Clark were among those to visit the historic newborn, the Lytle family said.
"Our Genevieve was awarded a small locket by the Chamber of Commerce ... as the first child born in the new town of Las Vegas," Mary wrote in her diary.
Genevieve did not survive to enjoy her fame as Las Vegas' firstborn. She died shortly before her second birthday on June 25, 1907, at her family's home in Overton.
Genevieve's death was announced in the July 6, 1907, edition of the Las Vegas Age under the headline "Death of Vegas baby."
"The little one had been ailing some time with whooping cough and on the morning of the 24th was taken with a spasm, and, later with another from which she did not recover," the Age reported.
The Lytle family reckons that because Genevieve lived for only a short time her place in Las Vegas history has been forgotten.
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