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 tenth president of the United States. Born in New York, Tyler went to school in Virginia and fought in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After attending college in Germany and Virginia, he became a lawyer. He later served in the Virginia State Senate, as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia's 2nd congressional district, and as a Virginia Circuit Court judge. Early life Tyler was born in East Hampton, New York and was the first child born to former United States president John Tyler and his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler. He was named after his late maternal grandfather, David Gardiner. As a child, he attended private schools in Charles City County, Virginia. In 1862, he entered present-day Washington and Lee University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, but dropped out the following year to fight in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He was present at the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House in 1865. Following the war, he and his brother, John Alexander Tyler, traveled to Germany, and attended school in the Grand Duchy of Baden. He returned to the United States, and graduated from the Washington and Lee School of Law in 1869.