Tyler Family Papers, Group A Guide to the Tyler Family Papers, Group A Mss. 65 T97 Group A

Guide to the Tyler Family Papers, Group A Mss. 65 T97 Group A


[logo]

Special Collections Research Center

William & Mary Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
400 Landrum Dr
Williamsburg, Virginia
Business Number: 757-221-3090
spcoll@wm.edu
URL: https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries-spaces/special-collections

Special Collections Staff.

Repository
Special Collections Research Center
Identification
Mss. 65 T97 Group A
Title
Tyler Family Papers, Group A 1716-1946
Quantity
11.00 Linear Feet, 22 Century Boxes
Creator
Tyler, John, 1790-1862
Creator
Ellis, Pearl Tyler, 1860-1947
Creator
Semple, James
Creator
Semple, Letitia Tyler, 1821-1907
Creator
Spencer, Julia Gardiner Tyler, 1849-1871
Creator
Tyler Family
Creator
Tyler, David Gardiner, 1846-1927
Creator
Tyler, John, Jr., 1819-1896
Creator
Tyler, Julia Gardiner, 1820-1889
Creator
Tyler, Lachlan, 1851-1902
Creator
Tyler, Letitia Christian, 1790-1842
Creator
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935
Creator
Tyler, Robert, 1816-1878
Creator
Tyler, Robert Fitzwater, 1856-1927
Creator
Tyler, Tazewell, 1830-1874
Language
English

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Manuscripts and Rare Books Librarian, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Tyler Family Papers, Group A, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

W&M Special Collections Research Center began acquiring and collecting Tyler family papers in 1922 and the collection has grown considerably since. The vast majority of this collection was donated by generous family and friends of the Tyler family between 1922 and 2002, with the bulk of the collection being donated to in 1949 by Mrs. Sue Ruffin Tyler and in 1955 by the children of Lyon G. Tyler. Some materials in this collection were purchased by W&M Special Collections Research Center. Acc. 1982.09 was received on 3/1/1982. Acc. 1982.10 was purchased and received on 3/17/1982. Acc. 1983.57 was purchased and received on 11/14/1983. Acc. 1984.03 was purchased and received on 1/24/1984. Acc. 1985.56 purchased and received on 11/8/1985. Acc. 1985.60 was purchased and received on 12/18/1985. 1986.04 was purchased and received on 3/5/1986. Acc. 1987.08 was purchased and received on 2/6/1987. Acc. 1987.30 was purchased and received on 5/27/1987. Acc. 1988.26 was purchased and received on 6/28/1988. Acc. 1988.27 was purchased and received on 6/29/1988.


Biographical Information:

John Tyler was the 10th president of the United States. John Tyler was born the son of John Tyler, Sr. (1747-1813) and Mary Armistead (1761-1797), in Charles City County, Virginia, as the second of eight children. He was the 10th President of the United States. Other offices held include Governor of Virginia, U.S. Senator, member of the House of Representatives, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Captain of a military company, and other offices.

He was educated at the College of William and Mary and went on to study law with his father. John Tyler was married twice. His first wife was Letitia Christian Tyler with whom he had 8 children; she died in the White House in September 1842. His second wife was Julia Gardiner Tyler (July 23, 1820 - July 10, 1889), with whom he had 7 children.

Scope and Contents

Papers, 1716-1944, of the John Tyler family of "Sherwood Forest," Charles City County, Va. The collection contains correspondence, 1818-1862, of John Tyler concerning politics, War of 1812 claims, presidential election of 1840, land purchases in western Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois, "Sherwood Forest," business matters and his family.

Some of the children of John Tyler and his first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, are represented in the collection: Robert Tyler (and wife, Elizabeth Priscilla Cooper Tyler), John Tyler, Jr., Letitia Tyler Semple (and husband James A. Semple) and Tazewell Tyler.

A great part of the collection consists of the papers of John Tyler's second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler, which concern education, clothes, social life, political appointments, slavery, the Civil War, "Sherwood Forest," familiy, and pensions for presidential widows. All of the children of John Tyler and Julia Gardiner Tyler are represented in the collection: David Gardiner Tyler, John Alexander Tyler, Julia Gardiner Tyler Spencer, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Lachlan Tyler, Robert Fitzwalter Tyler and Pearl Tyler Ellis.

A list of "Enslaved People Found in the Tyler Family Papers and Other Sources in Special Collections" compiled by Meredith Jackson in 2020 is filed in the front of Box 1.

Arrangement of Materials:

Any letter by a Tyler or a Tyler spouse is under the writer, even it the recipient was also a Tyler. Arrangement after President Tyler's papers is by his first wife and their descendants, and then his second wife and their descendants.

Related Material

See the Tyler Family Papers, Groups B-H, as well as the Tyler Family Papers Additions, A-H.

Subjects and Indexing Terms


Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

Back to Top

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

Back to Top

Container List

Mixed Materials Box: 1 id2004
Box 1: Papers of early Tyler family (1716-1873) and John Tyler (1830-1848)
1716-1873
Mixed Materials Box: 2 id2005
Box 2: Papers of John Tyler
1849-1853
Mixed Materials Box: 3 id2006
Box 3: Papers of John Tyler
1854-1862
Mixed Materials Box: 4 id2007
Box 4: Papers of Robert Tyler (eldest son of President John Tyler)
1836-1856
Mixed Materials Box: 5 id2008
Box 5: Papers of Robert Tyler (continued)
1857-1875, undated
Mixed Materials Box: 6 id2011
Box 6: Correspondence of descendants and family of Priscilla and Robert Tyler
1844-1866
Mixed Materials Box: 7 id2012
Box 7: Papers of Elizabeth Tyler Waller descendants
1846-1943
Scope and Contents

Alice Tyler Denison, Bessie Denison Allen Williams, Tazewell Tyler, Annie Bridges Tyler, Martha Trent Tyler, and Julia Gardiner Tyler

Mixed Materials Box: 8 id2013
Box 8: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler
1846-1866
Mixed Materials Box: 9 id2014
Box 9: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued)
1861-1868
Mixed Materials Box: 10 id2015
Box 10: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued)
1869-1872
Mixed Materials Box: 11 id2016
Box 11: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued)
1875-1881
Mixed Materials Box: 12 id2017
Box 12: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued).
1882-1889
Mixed Materials Box: 13 id2018
Box 13: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 14 id2019
Box 14: Papers of Julia Gardiner Tyler (continued)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 15 id2020
Box 15: Papers of David Gardiner Tyler
1857-1880
Mixed Materials Box: 16 id2021
Box 16: Papers of David Gardiner Tyler (continued)
1881-1928, undated
Mixed Materials Box: 17 id2022
Box 17: Papers of David Gardiner Tyler descendants
1919-1934
Mixed Materials Box: 18 id2025
Box 18: Papers of John A. Tyler, Sarah G. Tyler, Lillian H. Tyler, Julia Tyler Spencer, William Spencer, Julia S. Fleurot, and Lachlan Tyler
1857-1935
Mixed Materials Box: 19 id2027
Box 19: Papers of Lachlan Tyler, George P. Tyler, and Robert F. Tyler
1872-1927
Mixed Materials Box: 20 id2028
Box 20: Papers of Robert F. Tyler, Fannie G. Tyler, and Cora K. Tyler
1893-1927
Mixed Materials Box: 21 id2029
Box 21: Papers of Pearl Tyler Ellis and her descendants
1869-1947
Mixed Materials Box: 22 id2030
Box 22: Manuscript Volumes concerning Julia Tyler, David G. Tyler, and Robert F. Tyler
1837-1915