Lyon was born in Richmond, Va., to Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. and Susan Ruffin Tyler on January 3, 1925, and lived his youth in Charles City County, Va., and grandson of 10th U.S. President John Tyler.
This old timer was still around in the 1950s -
“Last Witness to President Abraham Lincoln Assassination - I’ve Got A Secret”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPoymt3Jx4
I remember reading about the grandsons a few years ago and wondered if they were still around.
So how old is John Tyler’s younger brother now?
U.S. Constitution became effective March 4, 1789.
John Tyler was born March 29, 1790.
Some old lions continue to reproduce well into old age, especially the rich and powerful ones. Young fecund females are very smart and make rational decisions. The young male lions are not suitable to father lion cubs. The lionesses know better.
I was honestly surprised he was still alive as long as I’ve seen this story pop up.
Who’s that?
Is it someone important?
Think about this for a moment: he can say, with complete honesty, “When my grandfather was born, George Washington was the president”.
“Tyler” as in Tippecanoe and Tyler too?
President John Tyler was twice married and sired fifteen children. Lyon Tyler’s own father was a septuagenarian when he was born in 1924 (approximately sixty-two years after his grandfather’s death).
Former President Tyler was working for the Confederacy at the time of his passing in 1862.
Where you goin’ with that shotgun, Johnny?
He had a kid at 63. That brings us to 1853.
That child had a kid at 75. That brings us to 1928.
That “kid” is 92 now :)
Lyon Tyler is deceased.
Harrison Tyler is still alive.
I left out some of the middle names.
Incredible story.
Correct me if i’m wrong.
This was his father. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon_Gardiner_Tyler
About eight years ago I was having my watch serviced at Rowland jewelers in Rockford, Illinois. Like many decaying, formerly industrial cities in the rust belt, Rockford, has had an unusually large number of real artisans who grew old, but never left.
This jeweler looked to be well into his ‘90s, and one of the documents on his wall belonged to his grandfather. It seems he was a Canadian who went south to join the Union army at the age of 17. He apparently married a much younger bride long after the war, and I was having my watchband replaced by his grandson.
That’s pretty amazing to think about.
No visit to this topic is complete without these facts;
1) William Henry Harrison, 9th President USofA, 2 February 1773 to 4 April 1841, was POTUS for 31 days, shortest term on record. Oldest elected President (68) prior to Ronald Reagan (69), gave 2 hour inauguration speech in the rain and cold. First President that was Grandfather of a President, Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), 23rd President.
2) John Tyler (1790-1862), 10th US President and 1st VP to fill office for death of predecessor. Lost most of the Presidential Cabinet (chosen by Harrison & Henry Clay) as most believed he should only be a caretaker fill-in. Former Democrat-Republican but anti Andrew Jackson and switched to Whig Party after Federalist Party died. Most children (15) of any US President, by 2 wives, with 1st born in 1815 and last in 1860. His Virginia home, Sherwood Forest Plantation, is still owned by his grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler (92).
I'd previously discovered letters from Color Sergeant Andrew J. Smith of the 55th Mass., in a collection of papers at Cornell University. The letters were donated by Burt Green Wilder, who was the Assistant Surgeon for the unit. In the collection, I also found a photo of a little girl, who Smith, in a letter, said was his daughter. She was the one who was writing the letters for him because he could not write. Smith had been born a slave, escaped when he learned his half-brother (the master's son) was going to take him and another slave off to the war. Smith, and his fellow escapee made it to the Union lines, and that's how Smith eventually headed east to enlist in the 55th Massachusetts.
I initially tried locating the family through historical societies in Kentucky where Smith had been a slave, and lived after the war. I never got any responses. On a second trip to Carlisle Barracks in Pa., I found a collection of letters from Burt Green Wilder to Andrew Smith, so I had all communications between the two. Since they would not release the contact info for the family member who had donated copies of the Dr. Wilder's letters, I wrote a letter which one of the workers mailed to Smith's family member for me. Within a week I received a communication from his grandson Andy, and he, and his wife met me at the National Archives two weeks later. I met Caruth in Washington a couple of times when the family came in from Indiana. Their son was going to school at Georgetown at the time. In our first meeting, I learned that the photo of the little girl was of Andy's mother, Geneva...Caruth's sister. Andy had never seen a photo of his mother when she was that young. I gave him a copy that I had brought with me.
Years flew by. Geneva, Andy's mother died. One of the things that Dr. Wilder had tried to do, was get the Medal of Honor for Andrew J. Smith because he saved the State and Federal flags at the Battle of Honey Hill, S.C. on November 30, 1864. He was later promoted to Color Sergeant for his bravery that day. Dr. Wilder tried to get the medal, but the statute of limitations had run out. Years later, after finding the info in the Cornell collection, Smith's family decided to try to get the medal for him. It took quite a while, but on January 16, 2001, Caruth received the Medal of Honor for her father from Bill Clinton in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. It was the same day Teddy's Roosevelt's family received the MOH for his bravery at San Juan Heights.
The family wanted Andrew J. Smith's story told, as well as the work that was done to procure the MOH for him. They found a couple of historians in their neck of the woods, and the book was finally published this summer. It's called "Carrying the Colors." I just finished reading it, and it's very good. I was one of the people they dedicated it to. The same authors are now working on a complete history of the 55th Massachusetts, although I don't have any idea when it will be published.
Caruth passed in 2012 at the age of 104. Here's a link to her obituary if anyone's interested:
I forgot to mention that Andrew Smith had been married, but his wife died childless. He later married a much younger woman, who bore him his two daughters. Their mother unfortunately died in a kitchen fire when they were still little. Smith, being up in age didn't feel he could raise a young baby, and sent Caruth to live with her mother's family. Geneva remained with her father for a while, until she too eventually went to live with her mother's family. They did see their father occasionally, when he would make the trip from Kentucky to visit.