He was born on February 28, 1747, in York County, Virginia. He was the son of John Tyler, marshal of the colonial vice-admiralty court of Virginia, and his wife Anne Contesse. He was descended from Henry Tyler who had emigrated from England before the middle of the seventeenth century and settled in York County.
At the ancestral home the fourth John Tyler was born, and hence he went at an early age to the College of William and Mary. Versifying and fiddling broke the monotony of his student days, and upon completion of his collegiate course he devoted five years to the reading of law under direction of Robert Carter Nicholas. During this impressionable period he became a friend of Thomas Jefferson and an admirer of Patrick Henry, whose speech against the Stamp Act he heard in 1765; the famous comparison with which it closed was repeated by him to William Wirt for the benefit of future generations.
Having completed his legal training, he removed to Charles City County and took up the practice of his profession. As the Revolutionary movement was already under way, a young man of ability had many opportunities to distinguish himself.
The first of these came in the form of an appointment to the committee of safety of Charles City County in 1774.
The following year Tyler raised a company of volunteers and accompanied Patrick Henry on his march against Lord Dunmore to recapture the powder which His Lordship had removed from Williamsburg.
In 1776 Tyler was appointed one of the judges of the newly organized high court of admiralty for Virginia. In 1777 he, along with Benjamin Harrison "the Signer", was elected to represent Charles City County in the House of Delegates.
During 1780 he was appointed a member of the Council of State, but finding it impossible to execute the functions of this office in addition to other duties, he resigned it in 1781. This year Benjamin Harrison was elected governor of Virginia, and Tyler succeeded him as speaker of the House of Delegates.
After Harrison retired from the governorship in 1784, he again sought a seat in the House, but was defeated by Tyler. Harrison, however, secured an election from another county and then defeated Tyler for the speakership by a narrow margin. During all these years in the Assembly, Tyler maintained his friendship for Patrick Henry. They worked together in their support of congressional authority and strenuous opposition to Great Britain.
In the Virginia convention of 1788, Tyler was elected vice-president, and stood with Henry against the adoption of the federal Constitution. When the point was carried against them, the public life of the Admiralty judge was seriously affected. The new government now took over the duties of his court, and he was transferred to the general court of Virginia. In this position he was one of the first judges to assert the overruling power of the judiciary. The relative aloofness of this position was not disturbed for some years, but Tyler retained his interest in politics.
In 1808 he was elected governor of Virginia and held that post until 1811, when he accepted an appointment as judge of the federal court for the district of Virginia.
While war was still raging in the country, he died and was buried beneath the quiet shades of "Greenway. "
Tyler favored a congressional impost on imports, and opposed the negotiation of a separate peace with Great Britain. At the end of the war he refused to support Henry in his lenient policy toward the Loyalists, but worked with him to defeat Madison's attempt to provide for the payment of British debts until Great Britain should comply with the terms of the treaty of peace. His most important act as a member of the House was to present in 1785 a resolution calling a federal convention to meet at Annapolis in 1786.
When national parties began to develop, he became an ardent Republican and kept in touch with his old friend Thomas Jefferson.
As governor he opposed submission to the maritime policy of Great Britain and advocated a progressive policy in regard to public education and improved communications. The state Literary Fund sprang from one of his urgent messages.
His life was lived in troubled times, but despite his vehemence there was an air of benevolence in his manner and a touch of humor in his blue eyes. His facial features were much like those of his distinguished son, with a large Roman nose. He was an aristocrat by nature, but a democrat by choice.
In politics he was a liberal, but an unruffled conservative in his private life.
In 1776 the young lawyer married Mary Marot Armistead, daughter of Robert Armistead of York County, and established his home at "Greenway, " near the court house of Charles City County.
They were the parents of 8 children.
He was a marshal of the colonial vice-admiralty court of Virginia.
(1761–1797)
(1780–1824)
(1784–1843)
(1788–1862)
(1782–1855)
(1778–1803)
(1790–1862) He was the 10th President of the United States.
(1791–1856)
