Job Tyler (1675 - 1754)

Born 16 Dec 1675 in Rowley Village, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Priscilla (Capen) Tyler — married 1 Jun 1736 in Boxford, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America

Descendants

Died 1754 at about age 78 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Job Tyler was born on 16 December 1675 in Rowley, Massachusetts. He was the son of Moses Tyler and Prudence Blake.^[1]

In 1706, Job Tyler was the constable of the recently erected municipality of Boxford; selectman in 1716 and 1744, and served on town and church committees. In 1735, he was on the committee of three to oversee and manage the building of the Second (i.e. original West Boxford) church.

His will was dated April 25, 1754 and probated December 16 of that year. He lived in Rowley and made numerous land grants.

Job Tyler married Margaret Bradstreet about 1690.

They had the following children:

1. Dudley Tyler
2. William Tyler
3. Margaret Tyler
4. Asa Tyler
5. Hannah Tyler

The following section is an excerpt from the book, 15 Generations of American Stories: Notable Descendants of Immigrant Job Tyler, (Norman Tyler, 2019).

The early Tyler family was connected with the prominent Bradstreet family in the third generation as a result of Job Tyler (#14; Tyler-165) marrying Margaret, a granddaughter of Governor Simon Bradstreet. Job Tyler was born on 16 December 1675 in Rowley, Massachusetts, the son of Moses Tyler (#2; Tyler-118) and Prudence Blake. Job was a model citizen. In 1706 he served as constable of the recently erected municipality of Boxford, as selectman in 1716 and 1744, and served on town and church committees. In 1735, he was on the committee of three to oversee and manage the building of the Second (i.e. original West Boxford) church.

But perhaps his most notable tie to local history was his marriage to Margaret Bradstreet, the granddaughter of Governor Bradstreet. In the Tyler Family Reunion of 1896, one of the events scheduled as part of the program was a visit to the Bradstreet House. It represented the close ties between the Bradstreet and Tyler families. The visit was described in the Reunion brochure as follows:

“BRADSTREET HOUSE. One of the most conspicuous dwellings of Massachusetts Bay Colony. To this home from Ipswich, about 1643, moved Simon Bradstreet, ten years Governor of Massachusetts Bay under its first and second charters, being 89 years of age when he vacated the gubernatorial chair. He married Anne, daughter of Thomas Dudley, four times Governor of the Colony. Anne, who died here, was the very first American poetess. From her are descended such literary lights as Dr. O[liver] W[endell] Holmes, Wendell Phillips, Richard H. Dana and Dr. Channing.”

Colonel Dudley Bradstreet has an important tie to the Tyler family. Born in 1648 in Andover, Massachusetts, he was the son of Simon and Ann Dudley Bradstreet. Simon Bradstreet was Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1670 to 1686. Bradstreet also is an ancestor of United States President Herbert Hoover. Like his father, he was a prominent early citizen—an attorney, a colonel in the militia, schoolteacher, and serving as a selectman and town clerk in Andover. He would also serve as a Deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts, and later was a member of the Governor’s Council.

Though he opposed the entire witchcraft delusion, he found himself in the unenviable position of Justice of the Peace in Andover during the witch hysteria. For eight weeks in 1692, Bradstreet gave arrest warrants and committed to prison some thirty Andover residents for supposed witchcraft. Under substantial pressure, and after overseeing a ludicrous “touch test” (in which accused individuals were pricked to see if they felt pain; if they did, they were considered innocent), he dutifully wrote out an additional eighteen warrants. However, after he had issued those warrants, he refused to grant any more. Not long afterwards, both he and his wife Ann were themselves accused of witchcraft, with the claim they had killed at least nine people. In response, Bradstreet and his wife fled the area. However, he later returned to Andover and his name appears first on the petition presented to the Superior Court of Judicature at Salem at its opening session in 1693.

During this time, Colonel Bradstreet married Mary Wainwright and they had three children. One of them, daughter Margaret, was a neighbor and friend of the Moses Tyler family. Margaret took a special interest in Job Tyler, and they were married. Margaret’s marriage to Job gave the Tyler lineage connection to Dudley Bradstreet, and thus the tie between the Bradstreet/Dudley line and the Tyler lineage has increased significance.

Sources

1. ↑ Willard I. Tyler Brigham. The Tyler genealogy; the descendants of Job Tyler, of Andover, Massachusetts, 1619-1700 Published by Cornelius B. Tyler of Plainsfield, N.J. and Rollin U. Tyler of Tylerville, Connecticut. 1912. p23. archive.org

See also:

• Massachusetts, U.S., Town Birth Records, 1620-1850, Vital Records of Andover: Job Tyler, born 16 Dec 1675, Andover, father, Moses, mother Prudence
• Gary Boyd Roberts. Notable Kin, Volume One. Carl Boyer, 3rd; Location: Santa Clarita, California; Date: 1998. (Published in cooperation with the New England Historic genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts).
• Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Case 28437: Will
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 March 2021), memorial page for Job Tyler (16 Dec 1675–3 Dec 1754), Find A Grave: Memorial #83106290, citing Old North Parish Burying Ground, North Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Paula Towne McRonald (contributor 47690860) .

The Tyler Genealogy, Willard I. Tyler Brigham, 1912 (Brigham-#1722).

15 Generations of American Stories: Notable Descendants of Immigrant Job Tyler, Norman Tyler, 2019.