John Alexander "Alex" Tyler (April 7, 1848 – September 1, 1883) was the second son of
President
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*President (government title)
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Automobiles
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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 his second wife,
Julia Gardiner Tyler
Julia Tyler ( ''née'' Gardiner; May 4, 1820 – July 10, 1889) was the second wife of John Tyler, who was the tenth president of the United States. As such, she served as the first lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 184 ...
. He was born at the Tyler estate,
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 ...
, near
Charles City, Virginia
Charles City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles City County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Charles City County. The population as of the 2020 census was 104.
The community is centered on the Charles City County Cou ...
.
During the Civil War
After the death of his father, at age 14 he ran away from home to enlist in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
, but was rejected as too young. His mother,
Julia Gardiner Tyler
Julia Tyler ( ''née'' Gardiner; May 4, 1820 – July 10, 1889) was the second wife of John Tyler, who was the tenth president of the United States. As such, she served as the first lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 184 ...
, eventually allowed him to join the
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
because it had a lesser casualty rate than the Confederate Army. However, Tyler spent most of his time on a ship quarantined due to
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
and left naval service in 1864. After attending college for three months, he left and joined the First Virginia Battalion of Artillery under General
Robert E. Lee, just prior to Lee's surrender at
Appomattox, which effectively ended the war.
In Europe
In 1865, he and his brother,
David Gardiner Tyler
David Gardiner Tyler (July 12, 1846 – September 5, 1927) was an American politician and the ninth child and fourth son of John Tyler, the List of presidents of the United States, tenth president of the United States.
Born in New York, Tyler w ...
, traveled to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to attend college, where he studied in
Carlsruhe,
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
and
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district.
Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...
to become a
mining engineer
Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
. Still in Germany in 1870 at the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War, Tyler enlisted in the
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
and joined the
First Uhlan regiment under the command of King
John of Saxony. He served with distinction in the occupation of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1871.
[
]
Later years
In 1873, Tyler returned to the United States and attempted to find work as a mining engineer near Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, but was unable to find a position, probably due to the Depression of 1873–79
The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1896, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing st ...
. Although he did find a job with a railroad, the salary did not allow him to meet his debts, and he had financial problems until he married a wealthier third cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
, Sarah Griswold Gardiner, on August 5, 1875. President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...
later appointed him as a surveyor for the United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
. In 1883, at 35 years old, Tyler died of a fever while working as a mining engineer in New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
.[
]
References
External sources
*
* Jürgen Just: ''John Alexander Tyler (1848–1883), US-Präsidentensohn, Freiberger Montane und Karlsruher Bavare''. Einst und Jetzt, Jahrbuch des Vereins für corpsstudentische Geschichtsforschung 65 (2020), S. 161–168 n German
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, John Alexander
1848 births
1883 deaths
John Alexander Tyler John Alexander "Alex" Tyler (April 7, 1848 – September 1, 1883) was the second son of President John Tyler and his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler. He was born at the Tyler estate, Sherwood Forest Plantation, near Charles City, Virginia.
...
Children of presidents of the United States
Children of vice presidents of the United States
People from Charles City, Virginia
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
People of the Franco-Prussian War
American mining engineers
Gardiner family
American people of English descent
American people of Dutch descent
American people of Scottish descent
American expatriates in Germany
United States Department of the Interior officials