Background

Tyler was born in August 24, 1853. He was the fourth son of President John Tyler and First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler, born at Sherwood Forest Plantation. When he was eight, his father died, and this coupled with the beginning of the American Civil War prompted the family to move north to Staten Island, where his mother's family was from.

Education

His education, begun in Virginia, was continued in New York, for, after his father's death in 1862, he was taken by his mother to her home on Staten Island. In 1869 he matriculated at the University of Virginia, where he studied law and received the degree of A. B. in 1874 and that of A. M. in 1875.

Career

He taught one year at the College of William and Mary and several years in Tennessee as principal of a private school.

In 1882 he returned to Virginia to practise law in Richmond and to begin his first and one of his most notable historical contributions, The Letters and Times of the Tylers (3 vols. , 1884 - 96), in which he surveyed Virginia politics from 1816 to 1840.

In 1883 he helped revive the Virginia Mechanics' Institute and became one of its teachers; before he removed to Williamsburg in 1888 it had become firmly reestablished. In that year, as a representative of Richmond in the House of Delegates, he sponsored the bill appropriating $10, 000 for reopening the war-torn College of William and Mary, which had been practically closed for seven years. His efforts were rewarded by his election to its presidency.

When he retired from that office in 1919, the college had an annual appropriation of about $55, 000 and an endowment of over $150, 000, had become coeducational, and was one of Virginia's leading institutions of higher learning.

An indefatigable research historian, he founded, in 1892, "as a private venture" (E. G. Swem, The Virginia Historical Index, 1934), the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Papers, the name of which was soon changed to William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Virginia's oldest continuous historical publication, and Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, which he was editing at Holdcroft, Va. , at the time of his death. Tyler used these organs in his unceasing effort to encourage Virginians to preserve and publish family manuscripts and public records.

He wrote many of the articles which appeared in them, including the genealogical sketches, which he based upon documentary proof discarding unconfirmed family traditions. He edited Narratives of Early Virginia (1907) for the Original Narratives of Early American History series, and two biographical works, Men of Mark in Virginia (5 vols. , 1906 - 09) and Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (5 vols. , 1915). He was the author of Parties and Patronage in the United States (1891), England in America (1904), in The American Nation series, and History of Virginia, Federal Period (1924) as well as numerous pamphlets.

He encouraged and developed a modern interpretation of Virginia history and corrected many erroneous impressions of writers from other states.

He served on the State Board of Education and was chairman of Virginia's library board for many years.

Tyler's death, of pneumonia, occurred at his home, "The Lyon's Den, " in Charles City County, Va. , and he was buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond.

Achievements

• He was a prolific author, and his work spurred recognition of the significance of both Jamestown and Williamsburg to American history. Tyler's major works include The Letters and Times of the Tylers (three volumes, 1884–1896), Parties and Patronage in the United States (1891), The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and the James River (1900) and others. Numerous memorials to Tyler exist on the William and Mary campus. Among these is the Tyler Family Garden, dedicated to Tyler as well as his father and paternal grandfather, both of whom were alumni of the College; located next to James Blair Hall, which houses the university's history department, the garden contains busts of the three men, and was dedicated on April 30, 2004. It was funded as part of a $5 million gift from Lyon's son, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, and his wife. In addition, the history department is now known as the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History.

Works

More photos

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  • The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and James River

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Williamsburg, the Old Colonial Capital

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The letters and times of the Tylers Volume 1

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • A Confederate Catechism

    (This is a reprint of an original 12-page narrow pamphlet ...)

  • Men of Mark in Virginia, Ideals of American Life; A Collection of Biographies of the Leading Men in the State; Volume 2

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • England in America, 1580-1652

    (This book was converted from its physical edition to the ...)

  • Parties and Patronage in the United States: -1891

    (Originally published in 1891. This volume from the Cornel...)

  • The letters and times of the Tylers (v.3)
  • History of Virginia Volume II The Federal Period 1763-1861
  • The Letters and Times of the Tylers.: V. 2

Politics

He spent much of his career attempting to rehabilitate his father's political reputation.

Tyler received a deal of notoriety during his career for his criticism of Abraham Lincoln, which he expressed on numerous occasions. The first of these came in 1917 when in response to an editorial in the New York Times suggesting that Southern slaveholders were akin to the German aristocrats then causing trouble in Europe, Tyler posited that it was Lincoln who more closely resembled the Prussian nobility with his flouting of the Constitution during the Civil War. Eleven years later the issue arose again when the Virginia House of Delegates chose to adjourn in honor of Lincoln's birthday; Tyler contended that Lincoln was no hero and did not merit the honor. When Time magazine fired back that Tyler's father, compared to the later president, was a dwarf both in stature and in accomplishments, Tyler retorted with a pamphlet claiming that it was Lincoln who was the dwarf. He would go on in retirement to continue the crusade against Lincoln, publishing many articles in his own journal, Tyler's Quarterly and Genealogical Magazine, that were highly critical of the sixteenth president.

Membership

He was a member of Kappa Sigma and Jefferson Literary Society.

In 1915 he was elected to the State Library Board, serving until his death; he was a member of the Virginia Historical Society for fifty-two years, spending forty-seven of those on its executive committee and thirty-two as a vice president.

Personality

He was a gentleman of great charm, tall, vigorous, and commanding, whose personality impressed itself on the whole political and educational life of Virginia.

Connections

Tyler was married twice. His first wife was Anne Baker Tucker of Albemarle County, with whom he had three children: John Tyler; Elizabeth Gilmer Tyler; and Julia Gardiner Tyler Wilson, one of the founders of Kappa Delta.

Following Anne's death in 1921, he married the former Sue Ruffin, thirty-five years his junior, with whom he had a further three children: Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. (born 1924); Harrison Ruffin Tyler (born 1928); and Henry Tyler, who died in infancy. As of January 2018, both surviving sons from Sue are still alive, making their grandfather the earliest former President of the United States with living grandchildren.

Father:

John Tyler

(March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) He was the tenth President of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845 after briefly being the tenth Vice President (1841); he was elected to the latter office on the 1840 Whig ticket with President William Henry Harrison.

Mother:

Julia Gardiner Tyler

(May 4, 1820 – July 10, 1889) She was the second wife of John Tyler, who was the tenth President of the United States, and served as First Lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 1845.

child:

Harrison Ruffin Tyler

(born 1928)

child:

John Tyler

child:

Henry Tyler

He died in infancy.

child:

Julia Gardiner Tyler Wilson

She was one of the founders of Kappa Delta.

child:

Elizabeth Gilmer Tyler

child:

Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr.

(born 1924)

Spouse (2):

Sue Ruffin

Spouse (1):

Anne Baker Tucker

References

• John Tyler (The American Presidents Series: The 10th President, 1841-1845)
• John Tyler, the Accidental President