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The Descendants of Job Tyler - The Tyler Family History
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Job Tyler
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Job Tyler was the immigrant ancestor of many hundreds of people who today bear the name Tyler, and hundreds more of other surnames who are directly descended from him.
Records kept by the Tyler
family of Ohio state that Job was from the
north of England but of Scottish descent.
He arrived in Newport, Rhode Island in the
spring of 1638. The Colonial Records of Rhode
Island lists Job Tyler admitted to the town
sometime after March 20, 1638. He is the only
Job Tyler to appear in early American Colonial
records. Newport was one of the main points
of arrival for immigrants from England during
the early seventeenth century. The family
records state that Job was born in 1620. A
deposition in 1659 in Andover lists his age
as about 40 years. He is one of the earliest
of our ancestors that I have found in my research
of our family history.
Soon after his arrival
in America, he settled in Andover, Massachusetts
Bay Colony. Some of the first Puritan colonists
in Andover found him there, a solitary squatter,
in 1639-40. A few years later, he was in Roxbury.
On November 1, 1646 permission is granted
by the town elders of Dedham for Lambert Genry
to sell his land “beyond the mill creek” to
Tyler of Roxbury. Roxbury church records record
that on January 28, 1646 a twin infant of
Job Tyler’s died. The infant was probably
the twin brother or sister of Hopestill Tyler
who was born about 1846. Soon after the death
of the infant Job returned to Andover and
on March 5, 1650, he mortgaged property there
to John Godfrey. This was the beginning of
trouble for Job. He was indebted to John Godfrey
for sixteen pounds to be paid on March 1,
1652. The payment was to be made in wheat
valued at four shillings per bushel and rye
at three shillings, six pence per bushel.
Collateral on the loan was Job’s house, land
and three cows.
On April 18, 1662, Job
deeded his house and twenty-five acres of
land to Godfrey. The deed was to be voided
if Job paid bonds (promissory notes) from
Anthony Sumerby when they became due. Currency
was scarce in colonial times and Job was probably
paying a debt to Godfrey with promissory notes
given him by Sumerby. If Sumerby failed to
pay Job on the due date of the bonds, and
Job failed to pay Godfrey, Job would lose
his home to Godfrey.
Godfrey was not well liked in the colony and
he was described as a hard-bitten moneylender. The Tyler's apparently
had some bitterness towards him since they accused him of witchcraft
in 1658. The accuser and principal sufferer from Godfrey’s “wiles”
was Job’s wife Mary. The Tyler's brought the accusation against
Godfrey as part of a lawsuit they filed against him in that year.
The deposition was sworn to in 1659 and brought forward again
in 1665 in connection with another lawsuit. This was twenty-seven
years before the famous Salem witch trials. The accusation of
witchcraft illustrates the attitudes in Puritan Massachusetts.
To paraphrase, the document
states, “The deposition of Job Tyler aged
about 40 years, Mary his wife, Moses Tyler
his son aged between 17 and 18 years and Mary
Tyler about 15 years old. These deponents
witness that they saw a thing like a bird
come in the door of their house with John
Godfrey in the night, about the size of a
blackbird, or rather bigger, to wit, as big
as a pigeon, and it flew about, John Godfrey
trying to catch it. The bird vanished through
a chink of a jointed board. This was as they
remember about 5 or 6 years later.” Apparently,
the court did not give much weight to this
accusation and Job lost the lawsuit in 1665.
Godfrey was not the only
person with whom Job had legal difficulties.
Job apprenticed his son Hopestill to Thomas
Chandler of Andover in about 1655. For some
reason Job changed his mind about the bargain.
He went to the home of Nathan Parker, where
the apprenticeship document was kept, and
took it when Parker was not at home. This
matter was in the courts for ten years. Finally,
in 1665 Job lost the suit. The court’s decided
that since Job was poor he should not be fined
above six pounds, but the court ordered him
to write a confession “in a plain legible
hand” and nail it to the posts of the Puritan
meetinghouses in Andover and Roxbury.
The confession says (paraphrased) - whereas
it appears by sufficient testimony that I, Job Tyler, have shamefully
reproached Thomas Chandler of Andover by saying he is a base,
lying cozening [tricky], cheating knave; that he got his estate
by cozening [trickery] in a base reviling manner and that he was
recorded for a liar. That he was a cheating, lying whoring knave
fit for all manner of bawdry, wishing that the devil had him.
Therefore, I Job Tyler do acknowledge that I have in these expressions
most wickedly slandered the said Thomas Chandler. That without
any just ground, unable to prove these slanderous accusations
against him I can do no less than express myself to be sorry for
them, and for my cursing of him. I desire God and the said Thomas
to forgive me, and that no person should think the worse of Thomas
Chandler because of any of these, my sinful expressions, and I
engage myself for the future to be more careful of my expressions
both concerning him, and I desire the Lord to help me to do so.
Although the suits concerning
Chandler and Godfrey were not settled until
1665, Job and his family left Andover and
settled near Roxbury in 1662. In August, 1662
Job and Mary deeded part of their land in
Andover to Thomas Abbot for a horse valued
at ten pounds, ten shillings. Between June
and August, 1662 Job and his wife Mary deeded
several acres of land, their house and barn
to Godfrey. Since no money is mentioned in
the transaction it is probable that Job was
forced to deed over his home to Godfrey for
defaulting on debts he owed to Godfrey. Job
and his family left Andover and went to back
to Roxbury.
The year 1665 was not a
good one for Job. In addition to losing his
lawsuits against Chandler and Godfrey in Andover,
he found himself in trouble in his new home
in Roxbury. In September, 1665 Owannamang,
an Indian chief living near Marlborough complained
that Job Tyler of Roxbury cut and carried
off hay from his meadows. The authorities
fined Job two shillings, six pence and made
him pay the chief ten shillings for the hay.
By 1669, Job had moved
to Mendon and was soon in trouble there with
the Puritan town and church authorities. On
July 14, 1669, the selectmen (town officials)
met and ordered the constable to summon Job
Tyler to come before them the next Friday
at Gregory Cook’s house. Job was to answer
for his contempt of their orders, and why
he refused to work on the cellar at the minister’s
house. Job told the constable that we could
not and would not come, but if the selectmen
had more to say to him they could come to
him.
The town officials then
resolved to take their complaint of his contempt
of several of their orders to the magistrates.
They also complained of Job’s miscarriages
of the Lord’s Day [he failed to go to church].
We do not know what happened next, but the
following year Job is on the list helping
to confirm the Rev. Joseph Emerson, the first
settled minister of Mendon. Also recorded
is the fact that Job had given satisfaction
for the offenses of which he was accused.
In 1675, King Philip’s
War broke out in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Philip was chief of the Wampanoag tribe. His
Native American name was Metacomet, but the
English settlers called him King Philip. In
1662 Philip succeeded his brother as chief
and formally renewed the treaties his father
had made with the Pilgrim and Puritan settlers.
He honored these for some years. The colonists,
however, made continual encroachments on native
lands. In retaliation, Philip formed a confederation
of tribes and in 1675 led an uprising now
known as King Philip's War.
When the war erupted, the
residents of Mendon buried their pewter plates
and brass kettles in the swamps, loaded everything
else they could carry and fled to the larger
eastern towns. Job and his family apparently
fled to Rowley Village or Roxbury before the
Indians attacked Mendon and burned it to the
ground. Samuel Tyler, one of Job’s sons, was
drafted into the militia and was seriously
wounded during the “war.”
The Indians burned several
towns and killed many of the inhabitants.
In return the colonists captured Indian women
and children, destroyed crops, and promised
impunity to Indian deserters. In December
1675, the colonists won a major victory. During
the spring of 1676, the Indians held out,
but their numbers steadily diminished, and
in August, Philip was killed. The war then
ended, and resistance to further colonial
settlements in southern New England ceased.
By 1688, Job had returned
to Mendon. The last official record of him
was his deed of his land in Mendon to his
son Moses in November 1700. It is likely that
he died soon after. These old documents show
that Job was a stubborn, outspoken, rebellious
man, who had problems with Puritan authority
and trouble handling his debts. Yet, there
must have been much good in him for he raised
a large family, who were deeply religious,
prosperous and outstanding citizens of their
communities. His strong personality
perhaps was passed down to his sons, grandsons
and great-grandsons, several of whom became
military officers in various military organizations;
at least one was a high-ranking Major General.
A strong personality often makes for a strong
and natural leader.
On September 4, 1901 at
the sixth annual Tyler reunion, Job’s descendants
erected a monument next to the grave of his
eldest son, Moses. It was a large granite
bolder brought from a farm that had been owned
by direct descendants of Job for three hundred
years. It was set on a cement base and a bronze
plaque attached, “IN MEMORIAM JOB TYLER IMMIGRANT
FIRST SETTLER ANDOVER ABOUT MDCXXXIX [1639]
BORN MDCXIX [1619] DIED MDCC [1700].”
Children of Job and Mary Tyler
1. Moses Tyler, born in 1641 or 1642
2. Mary Tyler, born about 1644
3. Hopestill Tyler, born about 1645 or 1646
4. Twin [to Hopestill] infant died January 28, 1646
5. Hannah Tyler, born about 1648
6. John Tyler, born about 1650; died in Andover, Sept. 28, 1652
7. JOHN TYLER, born April 16, 1653; died May 4, 1742
[it was not uncommon to name a child after one that had died]
8. Samuel Tyler, born May 24, 1655; died December 17, 1695
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Deacon John Tyler
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John Tyler was born in Andover,
Massachusetts on April 16, 1653. His parents
named him for an older brother who died as
a toddler a few months before his birth. At
the age of 12 John was baptized in Roxbury
on June 4, 1665. John spent some of
his youth in Mendon until his family fled
from there at the outbreak of King Philip’s
War. He spent some time in Rowley Village
and as an adult returned to Andover.
John Tyler married Hannah Parker of Andover on September
14, 1682. Hannah was the daughter of Nathan
Parker and his second wife Mary. It was from
Nathan’s house some twenty-five years earlier
that John’s father, Job, took the apprenticeship
papers, which led to some of Job’s legal problems.
Like his father, John was not immune to scandal.
In March, 1683 he confessed to fornication
with Hannah Parker. John and Hannah were married
almost six months earlier, causing us to wonder
what prompted the confession. My guess is
that a child was born (probably stillborn)
since the couple's first child of record was
born two years after their marriage. John
was ordered to be whipped or to pay a fine.
Hannah was fined for the transgression. Even the Puritans
would sometimes succumb to the powerful urge of sex
John and Hannah joined the first church of
Andover and they appear on the membership
list of 1686. On April 18, 1691 John, along
with his brother Hopestill and brother-in-law,
John Bridges, were made freemen – a term meaning
they were granted all of the rights of citizenship
in Andover.
In 1693 John and his family returned to Mendon.
John became active in town affairs. In 1698
he was on the committee that picked a site
for a corn mill on a stream within the town
limits; in 1701 he was on the committee that
helped set the tax rate for the town. In 1702
he was elected selectman (town councilman)
and for many years was involved in the duties
of a town official. By 1713 John was
a deacon in the Puritan church. Since there
was little separation of church and political
duties in early Massachusetts his name appears
in documents related to both. John remained
active in politics and church business for
the rest of his long life.
Deacon John Tyler
died of “Jandows” (jaundice) on May 4, 1742
at the age of 90. His tombstone was still
standing when the Tyler Genealogy was compiled
in 1912. There is no will or estate settlement
because John had divided his estate between
his children before his death.
Children of John and Hannah Parker Tyler:
1. John Tyler, born Aug. 16, 1684 and died
apparently unmarried in 1753.
He lived in Mendon and was constable
in 1728. At his death, his estate
was divided among his brothers
and sisters
2. Nathan Tyler, born in Andover on February
17, 1687 and died in Mendon on December
26, 1782.
3. Robert Tyler, born in Andover on July 19, 1689.
4. Bethia Tyler, born in Andover on February 17, 1692
5. Mary Tyler, born in Mendon on May 24, 1694.
6. David Tyler, born in Mendon on June 15, 1696
7. JOSEPH TYLER, born in Mendon on October 21, 1701
8. Mercy Tyler, born March 26, 1704; married Daniel Hazeltine of Mendon on
October 13, 1732 and died before 1753.
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Joseph Tyler
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Our information
on Joseph Tyler is sparse. He was born in
Mendon on October 21, 1701. On January 13,
1723/24 he received one half of his father’s
farm. He moved to Sutton, Massachusetts prior
to 1743 and by 1753 had moved to Uxbridge.
Joseph was married twice, first in about 1730
to Mehitable Hazeltine. She died in Uxbridge
in 1754. On September 23, 1756 in Uxbridge,
Joseph married Mary Draper of Roxbury.
In 1757, at the start of the French and Indian
War, Joseph joined Captain John Taft’s 2nd
Foot Company. I have no information as to
whether he saw action during the war. He was
fifty-six years old and It is likely the company
he joined was a “home guard” militia unit
formed to protect the citizens of Uxbridge
in case of attack. Most of the battles of
the French and Indian War were fought west
of the Alleghenies and Appalachian mountains,
far from Massachusetts. Joseph died in Uxbridge
on December 18, 1779 at the age of 78.
Children of Joseph and Mehitable Hazeltine:
1. Abner Tyler, born probably in Mendon on February 15, 1731
2. Timothy Tyler, born probably in Mendon on June 2, 1735 and probably
died before 1742
3. Joseph Tyler, born probably in Mendon on May 1, 1738
4. Timothy Tyler, born May 17, 1742
5. Mehitable Tyler, born December 1744
6. Ruth Tyler, born February 7, 1751
Children of Joseph and Mary Draper
7. SOLOMON TYLER, born in Uxbridge on September 23, 1757
8. Benjamin Tyler, born in Uxbridge on July 28, 1759
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Solomon Tyler
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Solomon Tyler was born on September 23, 1757 to Joseph and Mary
Draper Tyler in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Solomon served in the
American Revolution as a member of Captain Thaddeus Read’s Company,
Colonel Nathan Tyler’s 3rd Worcester Company Regiment.
Colonel Tyler was Solomon’s uncle. This was apparently a militia
unit. Solomon entered service on July 28, 1780 and was discharged
on August 7, 1780, serving for a total of fourteen days. His unit
marched to Tiverton, Rhode Island “on an alarm.” This was typical
of militia units. These units formed when needed, such as for
a specific battle, and disbanded as soon as the enemy moved from
the area. Many more men served in these militia units than served in the
Continental Army. As far as I know, Solomon is our only ancestor to have
served in an American military unit during the American Revolution.
After the war, Solomon married Mary Archer on February 17, 1781 in
Uxbridge. Mary was the daughter of Benjamin
Archer. She was four years younger than Solomon,
born in 1761 in Uxbridge. Solomon and Mary
had eleven children. Mary died in Uxbridge
in 1808 and On June 28, 1809 Solomon remarried,
to Jerusha Wood Newell, widow of Solomon Newell.
Solomon and Jerusha Tyler had one child, Newell
Tyler, born on April 12, 1810. A few months
later, on November 1, 1810, Solomon died in
Uxbridge. Jerusha was born in 1765 and died
on September 26, 1834 in Uxbridge.
Children of Solomon and Mary Archer Tyler:
1. Joseph Tyler, born January 8, 1782 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts
2. Kelita Tyler, daughter, born February 5, 1784 in Uxbridge
3. Melinda Tyler, born February 7, 1786 in Uxbridge
4. Royal Tyler, son, born August 2, 1788 in Uxbridge
5. Parker Tyler, born November 14, 1790 in Uxbridge
6. Amery Tyler, son, born August 30, 1792, died January 25, 1814 in Uxbridge
7. BENJAMIN TYLER, born February 22, 1796 in Uxbridge, died on March 20, 1875 in Wadsworth, Ohio
8. Mary Tyler, born October 25, 1797, and died April 23, 1798 in Uxbridge
9. Timothy Tyler, born July 17, 1799 in Uxbridge
10. Solomon Tyler, born July 18, 1802 in Uxbridge and died on December 16, 1878 in Medina Co., Ohio
11. Mary Tyler, born on April 17, 1804 in Uxbridge.
Child of Solomon and Jerusha (Wood Newell) Tyler:
12. Newell Tyler, born April 12, 1810 in Uxbridge
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Benjamin Tyler
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Benjamin Tyler was born to Solomon and
Mary Archer Tyler on February 22, 1796
in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. At the
age of twenty he left Massachusetts for
Ohio with his brother, Parker. Several
years later younger brother Solomon followed
his siblings to Ohio. Although there is
no record of their journey we can assume
they traveled the same route taken by
the majority of New Englanders who migrated
to northern Ohio shortly after the War
of 1812. From Uxbridge they would have
traveled west to Albany, New York and
from there taken the Mohawk Turnpike to
Utica, New York. From Utica they would
have traveled the Great Genesee Road and
passed through Canandaigua, Avon and Batavia
before arriving at Buffalo. From
Buffalo, they traveled southwest along
the shore of Lake Erie until they were
just east of the village of Cleveland.
From there, they turned south for about
thirty miles. After more than two months
on the road, they arrived at their destination
in what is now Norton Township in Summit County.
Albert Hinsdale of Wadsworth described this journey in detail, recorded in the “Wadsworth
Memorial,” a book published in 1875 containing the early history
of Wadsworth and brief biographies of many early settlers. Mr.
Hinsdale and his family were early settlers in Wadsworth from
Connecticut and came from New England the same year as the Tyler's.
They must have shared many experiences and Mr. Hinsdale’s account
preserves for us the essence of that long trek.
“We started from Torrington, Connecticut,
to New Connecticut October 4, 1816, the memorable
cold season, when there was said to be frost
every month in the year, which was attributed
to the unusually large spots on the sun. Consequently
provisions and forage were high [in price];
oats and corn were one dollar a bushel, and
other things in proportion, which made expensive
traveling. Our team was two stout yoke of
oxen, which never failed. When we started
there were folks enough there to make a little
funeral. I started with a good deal of resolution
on foot, and came so most of the way… We crossed
the North River at Albany in a horse-boat.
We [saw there] one of the first steamboats
that plied on American waters start from her
dock for New York. We crossed the Genesee
on a boat propelled by a rope, and Cayuga
Lake on an open bridge half a mile long… We
came through the village of Buffalo, which
had not recovered from the British raid and
fire… As we came up the lake [Erie], the road
ran much of the way on the beach. In driving
around one point of rocks, the water was so
high that it washed away our tar-bucket, which
hung to the hind axle-tree. We arrived in
Braceville, Trumbull County, on December 2,
having been eight weeks on the road, and where
we stayed over winter…”
1816, the year the Tyler's and Hinsdale migrated to Ohio, became known as the year without summer. They had no way of knowing, but this unusual worldwide climate event was caused by the massive volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies.
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The Tyler's were among the earliest settlers of Norton and Copley
Townships. Shortly after arriving in Ohio, Benjamin settled in
Copley Township. Until 1840, the range of townships, which included
Norton and Copley, was a part of Medina County. In 1816 when Benjamin
Tyler cane to Ohio, Medina County was mostly a forest wilderness
inhabited by many sorts of wild game. The Indians of the area
had largely departed for more western and northern parts, but
white settlers would see a few small bands in the county as late
as the mid 1820’s. The first few years in the new territory were
extremely lean until the settlers cleared enough land, planted
their crops and brought in a substantial harvest.
Benjamin married in 1820 widow Olive Bartlett,
daughter of Abraham Brown. By this time Benjamin
had established himself and probably felt
he could now support a family. Olive was born
in Bennington, Vermont in about 1794. Olive’s
father was also an early settler of Norton
Township, arriving there before 1820. Olive
had at least one brother and sister - John
Brown, born between 1790 and 1800 in Vermont
and Mary, born about 1789 in Vermont. John
never married and lived with his father in
Norton. Olive’s sister Mary married William
Walcott. After the death of her husband, sometime
before 1870, the elderly Mary Brown Walcott
came to live with Benjamin and Olive in Wadsworth.
Benjamin moved his family to Wadsworth in
1824. A malaria epidemic was sweeping Copley
and Norton Townships that year, spread by
mosquitoes from the great swamp and marshes
of Wolf Creek and the Tuscarawas River. Benjamin
was probably attempting to escape the dreaded
disease. The family settled on a farm located
along the Wadsworth Road (today’s Route 57)
in the northwest quarter of Wadsworth Township,
about a mile north of old U.S. 224. This farm
later passed to son Joseph Tyler.
Benjamin joined the Methodist church in 1818
after coming to Ohio and he remained a member
of the church in Wadsworth for the remaining
fifty-seven years of his life.
Olive died on August 26, 1874 in Wadsworth
and Benjamin died just a few months later,
on March 20, 1875. They are buried in the
Wadsworth cemetery near the center of town.
Benjamin and Olive had six Children.
Children of Benjamin and Olive Brown Tyler:
1. Benjamin Tyler, born March 22, 1821 in Norton Township, Medina
County, Ohio; died in 1874 in Medina County.
2. JOSEPH TYPER, born August 14, 1822 in Copley, Summit County, Ohio; died November 12, 1901
in Wadsworth, Medina County.
3. Solomon Tyler, born in November, 1824 probably in Wadsworth, Ohio;
married Eliza probably about 1847 and had at least two
children, George (born about 1848) and Minerva Tyler (born
about 1850).
4. Mary Tyler, born and died in 1826 in Wadsworth.
5. Rosina Tyler, born October 5, 1827 in Wadsworth; married Amos Hart.
6. Abraham Tyler, born in 1831 and died in 1832 in Wadsworth.
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Joseph Tyler
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Joseph was born in Copley, Ohio on August
14, 1822. He received a meager formal education,
attending school only a short time each year
until he was about nineteen and spending the
rest of the time assisting his father on the
farm. He must have been extremely bright because
even with his lack of formal schooling, he
became a Paymaster Steward in the Navy, a
justice of the peace in Wadsworth and a trustee
of Wadsworth Township, all of which require
a better than average intelligence. As a young man, he worked in several occupations
including brick making. He made brick for
the first building erected by the Elgin Watch
Company.
Joseph married Eliza Ann Williams of Stark
County, Ohio on December 22, 1846. Eliza was
the daughter of John and Hannah (Albright)
Williams who came to Ohio from Maryland. Eliza
was born on January 28, 1824, probably in
Stark County. After their marriage, the young
couple settled in Wadsworth and Joseph eventually
returned to farming.
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Joseph was largely responsible for preserving
our Tyler genealogy. In the books WADSWORTH
MEMORIAL, by Edward Brown and published
in 1875, and HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY AND
OHIO published by Baskin & Battey
in 1881 are short biographies of Joseph, Benjamin
and other Tyler relatives. These books say
that Joseph took great pride in preserving
his family’s history and they give a completely
accurate family line from our immigrant ancestor
Job Tyler of Massachusetts to the Ohio families.
Years later in 1901, the authoritative, THE
TYLER GENEALOGY: THE DESCENDANTS OF JOB TYLER,
OF ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, 1619-1700 compiled
by Willard Brigham was published in two volumes
by Cornelius Tyler in Plainfield, New Jersey.
It verified all of the information kept by
Joseph. My grandmother and Joseph’s granddaughter,
Winifred Pearl Tyler Wall, and my grandmother’s
half-brother Lloyd Tyler passed down this
same information to me. It is extremely rare
for a family to maintain the history of ten
generations as it has been in our Tyler family
branch. Most people cannot name even four
generations back from themselves. My own independent
research turned up no errors in Joseph’s information,
and I had access to public records that the
family was very unlikely to have had in the
1870’s and 1880’s. This indicates that the
family carefully maintained these records
for several generations, perhaps in a family
Bible that has now been lost.
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Except for the first two years of his life when his
parents resided in Copley Township, Joseph
lived his entire life in Wadsworth. He took
over the operation of his father’s farm some
years before his father’s death. The 1870
census lists Benjamin as a retired farmer.
After Benjamin’s death, Joseph inherited the
farm and worked it until his own death.
The HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY &
OHIO said of Joseph, “…in later life,
his career has been one of signal success,
the elements of which are found in an excellent
judgment, a remarkable business tact, an indomitable
energy and perseverance, a strict integrity
in dealing, and a power, which few men possess,
of commanding the respect and confidence of
the people. Mr Tyler is a prominent man
in his township, having held the offices of
Justice of the Peace and Township Trustee
for a number of years, acceptably filling
both, being a stanch old Republican in politics,
and has been a member of the I.O.O.F. [International
Order of Odd Fellows fraternity] for about
thirty years.”
After
the death of Eliza Ann, Joseph married Mrs.
Lucia L. Cummingham on October 21, 1895 in
Wadsworth. Joseph died on November 12, 1901
in his home in Wadsworth. Lucia died in Wadsworth
in 1916.
Children of Joseph and Eliza Ann Tyler
1. Augusta T. Tyler, born October 16, 1847, never married, died after 1880.
2. RUSH SEBASTIAN TYLER, born October 15, 1851 in Wadsworth, died September 25, 1914 in Wadsworth
3. Jessie Romina Tyler, born September 17, 1856; died September 19, 1936 in Lorain, Ohio; married John W. Culbertson, March 13, 1897
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Rush Sebastian Tyler
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Rush Tyler was born in Wadsworth on October
15, 1851. As an adult Rush engaged in farming
until the age of 49 when he moved into the
town of Wadsworth. For most of the rest of
his life he worked as a carpenter except from
1905 through 1907 when he was a cemetery sexton
(caretaker) and worked at other odd jobs.
Rush married Laura T. Stannard on July 1, 1875 in Medina, Ohio.
The Reverend D. J. Hoadley of Montville performed the ceremony.
Laura was born in Montville, Ohio on August 22, 1850, the youngest
daughter of William and Nancy (Booth) Stannard. Laura’s mother
was born in Massachusetts on May 21, 1809, the daughter of Ephraim
and Nancy Booth. The Stannard's came to Ohio from New York in
1840. Rush and Laura had one daughter, my grandmother, Winifred
Pearl Tyler.
Laura died on February 24, 1893. At least two local news papers
(which I cannot identify) published her obituary. The first
says, “Laura T. Tyler … was married to Rush S. Tyler July 1,
1875 to whom was born one daughter, who survives her. About
20 years ago Mrs. Tyler united with the N.E. Church at Poe,
Ohio. Subsequently she united with the church at River Styx,
of which she was a member at the time of her death. For a year,
she had been in delicate health as the result of lagrippe [influenza].
She was an earnest and faithful Christian woman, wife and mother.
She loved Jesus and his church. She was active in every good
word and work. ‘She hath done what she could,’ and is now enjoying
the fruit of her labors. Her memory is sweetly cherished by
those who knew her. Her last moments were peaceful and serene,
and she went into the life to come leaning on Jesus. She was
followed to her last resting place by a large conclave of sorrowing
and sympathizing friends.”
The second says, “Died, on Friday, February
24, 1893, after a lingering illness at her
home in Wadsworth Township, Laura Stannard
Tyler, wife of R. S. Tyler, at the age of
42 years. The deceased was the youngest daughter
of the late Wm. And Nancy Stannard and was
born in Montville, Medina County, and about
seventeen years ago she was married to R.
S. Tyler locating in Wadsworth where she resided
until her death. About two years ago, she
suffered from a severe attack of the grippe,
which left her system in an enfeebled condition
since which time she has gradually failed,
growing weaker and weaker day by day. During
the last few weeks of her life she suffered
very much but she bore her sufferings with
more than usual patience, yet when the summoning
came it found her ready to go trusting herself
in the hands of Him who doeth all things well.
Mrs. Tyler possessed a beautiful and sunny
disposition, loyal to friends, faithful and
true in all the relations of life. She has
left a record behind her of good works which
will never fade from the memory of her surviving
friends. A loving and devoted wife and mother
has been called away and leaves to mourn her
loss a husband and daughter who have the sympathy
of all in their great bereavement.”
Rush remarried to Emma Susanna Long on December
18, 1894 in Doylestown. Doylestown is a few
miles south of Wadsworth in Wayne County.
Emma was the daughter of John F. and Catrina
(Deil) Long. She was ten years junior to
Rush, born on January 5, 1862 in Ohio. A daughter
and a son were born to Rush and Emma, Josie
Romina and Lloyd Tyler. While I was working
on the Tyler genealogy, I corresponded with
Uncle Lloyd for several years before his death
in 1988. Although he visited our home when
I was very young, I do not remember meeting
him in person.
Rush died at his home in Wadsworth on September
25, 1914. Emma died in Wadsworth on September
11, 1940.
Child of Rush and Laura Tyler:
1. WINIFRED PEARL TYLER, born June 21, 1876 in Wadsworth and died on June 4, 1958 in Sharon Township.
Children of Rush and Emma Tyler:
2. Josie Romina Tyler, born August 2, 1897, died October 29, 1965 in Akron, Ohio.
3. Lloyd Tyler, born February 12, 1901, died in 1988.
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Winifred Pearl Tyler
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My grandmother, Winifred
“Winnie” Pearl Tyler, was born to Rush and
Laura (Stannard) Tyler on June 21, 1876 in
Wadsworth. Her mother died when Winnie was
just 17 years old. She attended normal school
(a teachers college for women) in Wadsworth for four years.
I assume she obtained
a teacher’s certificate and perhaps the equivalent
of a bachelor’s degree. If she ever taught school, it was likely before her marriage to
my grandfather, Reason Deforest Wall. They were wed in Wadsworth
on Christmas day, 1895. She spent
the rest of her life on the farm in Sharon
Township and raised eleven children. It is somewhat ironic that my grandfather who had only a high school education taught school for several years in Medina County while my grandmother with presumably a better education stayed home and raised a family. My grandparents were people of their time, the nineteenth century. Back then when a young woman married she would have known that her role was to be a mother and home maker.
In the early 1950's my grandmother developed a disease
of the spinal cord. After an unsuccessful
operation to correct the problem she was permanently
paralyzed from the waist down. During the
last couple of years of her life she was confined
to bed. She died on June 4, 1958 at home in
Sharon. That day is indelibly printed in my
mind. My aunts and uncles attended her bedside
as she lay dying, my cousins and I waited
outside. My cousin Steve Mullet and I spent
the sad hours talking. Our conversation centered
on our grandmother. What I remember most about
her was her incredible patience with our grandfather.
He had a bad habit of being very abrupt with
her, sometimes to the point of cruelty, although
I do not think he intended to be abusive.
She took his criticisms in stride and rarely
retaliated with harsh words of her own.
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