President Tyler's latest legacy: A new coin

FROM:
http://www.sacbee.com/hg/story/1922387.html

President Tyler's latest legacy: A new coin

By Peter Rexford
Published: Saturday, Jun. 6, 2009 - 12:00 am

If you know someone with the middle or last name "Tyler,"
there's a chance he or she is a descendant of President
John Tyler.

(Coin Image - President John Tyler)
http://www.sacbee.com/165/story/1922...922382-t2.html

I say this not out of any genealogical savvy but by the
law of probability. You see, Tyler holds the distinction
of fathering the most children of any U.S. president.

As it happened, Tyler stumbled into the presidency as
vice president to William Henry Harrison. Harrison died
after just one month in office, paving the way for Tyler
to assume the executive position. He and his wife,
Letitia, moved into the White House in 1841 along with
their eight children. Sadly, Letitia died of a stroke
in 1842, leaving Tyler a widower with a brood. But not
for long, and here's where things get a tad strange.

Tyler's oldest son, John Tyler Jr., had met an
irresistible and intelligent young socialite named
Julia Gardiner. Of course, some people are attracted
to those with executive privileges. Gardiner did end
up marrying a Tyler - but not the junior. At the age
of 23, she opted to wed the senior widowed Tyler, who
was then in his 50s. When they were married, one of
Tyler's daughters was five years older than her new
stepmother.

The age difference evidently meant little, because
the president and his bride went on to have seven
more children for a staggering total of 15 for
John Tyler.

The presence of a record brood in the Executive
Mansion was far from Tyler's only distraction.
Because of the way he ascended to office, he was
given the nickname "Your Accidency." For that and
other reasons, he wasn't admired by Democrats or
by the Whig-run Congress. In essence, he was a
political outcast.

Up until Tyler's presidency, security hadn't been a
top-of-mind concern in Washington. That changed
quickly as regular death threats and bomb scares
became the norm for Tyler. Enraged mobs would burn
him in effigy in front of the White House.

On one occasion, an unmarked package was delivered
to the White House. Suspecting the worst, Tyler hid
behind a marble column as an aide attacked the
parcel with a meat cleaver. The contents proved to
be a toy.

Not surprisingly, and out of necessity, Congress
allowed for a provision called "Tyler's Bill," which
offered some protection in the form of four
plainclothes "doormen" entrusted with guarding the
president. This was the forerunner of today's Secret
Service.

Even though his four years in office were turbulent,
Tyler was able to get a few things accomplished. One
was negotiating with Britain the current boundary
between Maine and Canada. More important was his
support for Texas statehood - at the time, a
controversial proposal. Just three days before
leaving office, he signed the bill annexing Texas,
which led to statehood.

This month, Tyler has been featured on the 10th and
latest in the presidential dollar coin series that
began in 2007.

On the face (heads) is a portrait of the former
president. The image does a reasonably good job of
depicting the virile ladies' man. Surrounding the
portrait is the inscription, "JOHN TYLER, IN GOD
WE TRUST, 10TH PRESIDENT 1841- 1845." The coin's
reverse showcases the Statue of Liberty, the date,
2009, and "E PLURIBUS UNUM."

The new dollar coin was issued on May 21 and should
soon be available in many banks. Rolls of the coins
may also be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint
through its Web site, www.usmint.gov, or by calling
(800) USA-MINT (872-6468).

One last thing to consider in wonderment. When the
coin was officially issued two weeks ago, one of
those attending was former President Tyler's
grandson. That's correct, his grandson - no "great"
or "great-great" in front of that. Tyler was born
when George Washington was president and died in
1862. One of his daughters lived through Harry
Truman's administration, and his grandson is only
two generations removed from the Revolutionary
War. Now, that's a legacy.



...

Arizona Coin Collector wrote:



Even though his four years in office were turbulent,
Tyler was able to get a few things accomplished. One
was negotiating with Britain the current boundary
between Maine and Canada.

Ahhh yes, the infamous Ashburton-Webster treaty! Due to the ineptness
of our negotiators, the border was set along the St. John's river,
rather than the St. Lawrence river. All that land between those rivers
is now part of New Brunswick, and was supposed to be part of Maine. Of
course, the crafty Canadians realized the mistake, but didn't say
anything about it!

Jud - From Maine

Jud wrote:
Arizona Coin Collector wrote:



Even though his four years in office were turbulent,
Tyler was able to get a few things accomplished. One
was negotiating with Britain the current boundary
between Maine and Canada.

Ahhh yes, the infamous Ashburton-Webster treaty! Due to the ineptness
of our negotiators, the border was set along the St. John's river,
rather than the St. Lawrence river. All that land between those rivers
is now part of New Brunswick, and was supposed to be part of Maine. Of
course, the crafty Canadians realized the mistake, but didn't say
anything about it!

Long live the Spirit of Aroostook!

James the Rebel