Belatedly I see I have duplicated your earlier information re M. Tyte, Malcolm. My apologies. I hope, however, I have added something to the mix.

The Vail-Leavitt Music Hall website makes it clear that Professor Arthur M. Tyte flourished in the 1880s. He had "previously lent his talents to the orchestra at New York's famed Fifth Avenue Theatre," presumably before the Vail-Leavitt opened in 1881. So it seems entirely possible that he was old enough and early enough to be our "M. Tyte."

But the addition of the name "Arthur" leaves that in some doubt, since one would expect he would be credited identically everywhere.

And it seems unlikely he can be credited as original composer, since broadside versions go back to previous decades. At most, perhaps, Tyte was concocter of a novelty version. But that seems to be the one that got into the songbooks.

The other possibility is that Tyte may have been the composer of the music only. Which may mean that he is the one who devised the tune to "My Mary Anne" that we now sing, and that the previous versions were sung to other tunes. But lacking further information, that's guesswork.

Bob