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| From Dale Mueller:49 Charles3 Tyler (549) was born circa 1754 at Prince William County, VA. Charles evidently served during the Revolutionary War. The word "evidently" is used advisedly, as there is no positive proof, that I can find, which positively identifies any veteran of the war as this particular Charles Tyler. Readers should note that differentiating between the various Charles Tylers of the area is reasonably difficult at best, but in terms of their participation in the Revolutionary War, it becomes even more chancy. It must be emphasized again that DAR records, particularly as they relate to military service are poorly researched, and there seems to be no particularly great interest in maintaining or updating them. Thus, DAR records should be treated with a great deal of caution. In this particular DAR case, the descendants of Charles Tyler and Sarah Brown, via George G Tyler who married Julia Peake, claimed (and gained) membership in the DAR, based on a Charles Tyler of the 5th Continental Regiment. Since the Military records of the Charles of the 5th show that he died in the early months of 1777, and the applicant's ancestor Charles (Sarah) did not die until 1815, it is obvious they used the wrong Charles Tyler as their Revolutionary ancestor. However, the mere fact that they applied seems to indicate a family tradition of Revolutionary War service for their ancestor, Charles Tyler. It is my own belief that our subject Charles Tyler, and their ancestor, who married Sarah Brown, was the Revolutionary soldier who served in the 11th Regiment of the Virginia Continental Line, instead of the 5th. The Charles of the 11th enlisted in the spring of 1777 and served under Captain Gallaghue and Colonel Daniel Morgan. Captain Gallaghue was a captain of the 9th company and the 9th company was recruited in Prince William County, thus Charles' membership in that unit makes sense. The 11th regiment fought in the battle of Saratoga in September 1777 where Burgoyne was defeated and the whole complexion of the war changed. About the same time that Charles entered the 11th Regiment Colonel Daniel Morgan was ordered on detached duty as head of a group of expert marksmen. At least one company of the 11th, under Captain Long, went with Morgan. There is no record of the 9th Company serving with Morgan so they may have stayed with the parent 11th Regiment. (I find it rather fascinating that Daniel Tyler from Amherst County, a distant relative of Charles of the 11th also was at Saratoga and did serve in Morgan's Sharpshooters. Charles of the 11th and Daniel must have known each other as the army was so small in that time. One wonders if they compared ancestral notes.) Charles resigned on 25 December of 1777, only a few months after his enlistment. No reason was given in the record for his apparent early departure from the service. One of the more salient points of this file is that Charles survived the war. After the war, in 1783, Revolutionary soldiers finally received back pay for their services and Charles allotment of back pay was paid to "himself." Charles (549) married Sarah Brown (557) circa 1790. Charles (549) started to appear on the Personal Property Tax List of Prince William County, VA, in 1782. According to an article in a book compiled by the WPA in the 1930s, called "Prince William; People and Places", Charles Tyler and his family lived in a home called "Mill park" in Prince William County. Mill Park is or was (I have no idea if the house is still standing) situated about 2 1/2 miles north of the intersection of modern Interstate Route 66 and Route 15 (James Madison Highway) near the Haymarket area of Prince William County. On the map it is perhaps 1/4 mile to the west of Route 15 directly accross Rte 15 from James S Long Park. According to the article, a son of Charles, James M Tyler, purchased the home after the death of his mother c1838. Another son, George G Tyler remained at Mill Park until 1856 when he moved to Front Royal. George died in that year and the estate passed from the Tyler family. I am a bit reluctant to quote this article as there are several rather major errores in it. So except for the location of Mill Park I do not vouch for any of the information contained. Our subject Charles Tyler may have been a keeper of an ordinary (I have to emphasize the word "may" as the evidence for Charles being an innkeeper is inconclusive) which was an inn that served food and liquor as well as offering lodging. There was an such an inn owned by a Peter Waggener, situated in the town of Colchester in Fairfax County, VA. This inn was located at the crossing of the Occoquan River at its mouth where it joins the Potomac river some few miles below Alexandria. A History of old Colchester manages to completely confuse the issue by mixing three different Charles Tylers in the historical broth. It seems quite clear that Charles Tyler of Loudoun County, uncle of our subject Charles, ran the tavern for some time before his death in 1767. One of the merchants of Colchester, noted in an invoice on the Tavern in 1769 that Charles Tyler, the operator, had died. Charles of Loudoun had died in early 1767 and no other Charles Tyler of the area died in that time span. The history goes on to mention that another Charles Tyler arrived from Stafford County in 1775 to run the tavern and suggested that the new Charles was the son of the original Charles. It turns out that Charles, son of the Charles of Loudoun is well documented as a Revolutionary War veteran of the 13th Virginia Regiment. In his military papers he says he was born in 1760. Thus in 1775 it seems highly doubtful that a 15 year old was running a tavern, and I believe we can dismiss him as the likely tavern operator.. There were two other Charles Tylers in the area that could be the second Charles Tyler to run the Colchester Tavern. Two descriptions found in the Colchester History fit both and but are also mutually exclusive. The History of Colchester states that a letter of 1775, written by the second Charles Tyler, stating his intention to take over the Stone House was written from Acquia in Stafford County. Charles Tyler, son of Benjamin Tyler, is known to have lived in Stafford about this time and to have had a close relationship with Peter Waggener, owner of the tavern. For example, Peter was one of the administrators of Charles', son of Benjamin, will. Thus it seems likely that the second Charles Tyler, innkeeper, might very well have been Charles(Ben) Tyler, alive in 1775, but dead in 1777. However, then the article concludes by stating: "In 1797 and 1798 he (Charles Tyler) paid tax on one lot, not identified. By 1803 he was living in Centerville. Tyler died in Prince William County in 1815, age 64. His obituary stated that he had fought in the American Revolution". This last statement fits only our subject Charles Tyler, since Charles, son of Benjamin was dead in 1777. In summary, the description of the second Charles Tyler as given in the Colchester History, on the one hand, fits Charles Tyler, son of Benjamin, and excludes our subject Charles, and on the other hand, fits our subject, Charles(Sally) Tyler, son of John Tyler and Margaret Gray of Prince William County, VA. and excludes Charles, son of Benjamin. Pursuant to further evidence, the matter rests there. Charles (549) died before Jun 1815 at Prince William County, VA. Charles' (549) estate was probated on 6 Jun 1815 at Prince William County, VA. Charles (549) appeared for the last time on the Personal Property Tax List of Prince William County, VA, in 1817. Children of Charles Tyler and Sally Brown are listed in several records of the time. In the inventory of Charles' estate in 1815, several of his children are mentioned as buyers at the estate sale, if only listed by initials. These include John M; Helen; and Mary Ann Tyler. In the 1832 certificate filed on behalf of Sally Tyler Linton, all of Charles' childen who are alive in 1832 are listed. These include Richard B; George G; William B; Elizabeth B and James Tyler. In "Virginia Genealogies, pp166, all of Charles' children are listed. | ||||||||||||||
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| Last Modified 1 Nov 2004 | Created 16 Jun 2005 by Reunion for Macintosh |