Harrison Ruffin Tyler (born November 9, 1928) is an American chemical engineer, businessperson and preservationist. He cofounded ChemTreat, Inc., a

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the Water quality, quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking water, drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recrea ...

company, in 1968 and restored the

Sherwood Forest Plantation Sherwood Forest Plantation Foundation is located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. The main plantation house, built in 1730, was the home of President John Tyler (1790–1862) for the last twenty years of hi ...

. He is a son of

Lyon Gardiner Tyler Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. (August 24, 1853 – February 12, 1935) was an American educator, genealogist, and historian. He was a son of John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States. Tyler was the 17th president of the College of William ...

as well as the last living grandchild of former U.S. president

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

, and speaks on the history of his family. Tyler purchased

Fort Pocahontas Fort Pocahontas was an earthen fort on the north bank of the James River at Wilson's Wharf, in Charles City County, Virginia which served as a Union supply depot during the American Civil War. The fort was constructed by African-American soldiers ...

in 1996 and advocates for its preservation.

Early life and education

Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born on November 9, 1928 to Susan Ruffin and

. His paternal grandparents were Julia Gardiner and 10th US President

. Through his mother, he is a great-grandson of

Edmund Ruffin Edmund Ruffin III (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter who served in the Virginia Senate from 1823 to 1827. In the last three decades before the American Civil War, his pro-slavery writings received more attention th ...

, and a descendant of Benjamin Harrison IV,

Robert Carter I Robert "King" Carter (4 August 1663 – 4 August 1732) was a merchant, planter and powerful politician in colonial Virginia. Born in Lancaster County, Carter eventually became one of the richest men in the Thirteen Colonies. As President of ...

and

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

. She was a teacher and caretaker of the family's historical documents. Despite his familial connections, Tyler grew up poor during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Tyler, whose father died when he was a boy, was homeschooled by his mother and then attended

Charles City County Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The ...

public schools. He briefly attended St. Christopher's School. Possibly through Lyon's friendship with

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

funded Tyler's education at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

with a $5,000 check. He graduated with a degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

in 1949. Due to a dearth of employment opportunities in chemistry, Tyler continued his education at the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

, where he received a second bachelor's degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

in 1951.

Career

After graduating from Virginia Tech, Tyler worked as a

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

for Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation, where he led a plant in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Tyler became familiar with

soft water Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...

and learned how to treat hard water when he worked as a start-up engineer for a plant in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He received a patent in

pertaining to shiny aluminum. In 1963, Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation was acquired by

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

. The change in

corporate culture Historically there have been differences among investigators regarding the definition of organizational culture. Edgar Schein, a leading researcher in this field, defined "organizational culture" as comprising a number of features, including a s ...

prompted Tyler to found ChemTreat, Inc., with partner William P. Simmons. The water treatment company was headquartered in

Glen Allen, Virginia Glen Allen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,187 as of the 2020 Census, up from 14,774 at the 2010 census. Areas outside the CDP which use a "Glen Allen" mailing address include r ...

. He used chemistry to address problems with industrial

water cooling Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...

systems. The company worked with hospitals and the paper and

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

sector. In 2000, Tyler led an

employee stock ownership Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

program at his company. ChemTreat was acquired by the

Danaher Corporation Danaher Corporation is an American globally diversified conglomerate with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The company designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. The company's ...

in 2007.

Personal life

Tyler and Frances Payne Bouknight of Mulberry Hill Plantation,

Johnston, South Carolina Johnston is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,362 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia, metropolitan area. The town's official welcome sign states that it is "Peach Capital of the Wor ...

announced their engagement in 1957. The couple were married from July 1957 until her death on February 8, 2019, and had three children: Julia Gardiner Tyler Samaniego (born 1958), Harrison Ruffin Tyler Jr. (born 1960), and William Bouknight Tyler (born 1961). They resided in Richmond, Virginia. Tyler is a

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...

. His family purchased the

from relatives in 1975 and oversaw its restoration. Tyler spoke publicly of his family's history. In 1996, he purchased and financially supported the preservation of

. Beginning in 1997, Tyler sponsored annual

American Civil War reenactment American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or living historians. Althoug ...

s at Wilson's Wharf. In 1997, he collaborated with the William & Mary Center for Archaeological Research to assess and research Fort Pocahontas. In 2001, he donated $5 million and 22,000 books and documents from his father to the College of William & Mary department of history. In 2021, the college renamed the department the Harrison Ruffin Tyler Department of History in his honor. Tyler had a series of mini-strokes starting in 2012 and now has

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. He lives in a Virginia nursing home and his son William oversees the Sherwood Forest Plantation. His grandfather is the earliest former President of the United States with a living grandchild.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Harrison Ruffin 1928 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American engineers American chemical engineers American company founders American people of Powhatan descent Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia College of William & Mary alumni Engineers from Virginia Gardiner family Harrison family of Virginia Historical preservationists John Tyler family People with dementia Ruffin family Virginia Tech alumni