Individual Details

Birth

son of Reynier and Mary, was born in Germantown, 10mo. (December) 9, 1692, and removed with his parents to Abington township in his childhood, where he lived until his death 6mo. (June) 1, 1775.

Event

By deed dated 4mo. (June) 1, 1717, John Tyson bought of Benjamin Hallowell one hundred and fifty acres of land in Abington township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) county; part of two hundred and five acres, which was Benjamin Hallowell's moiety or half part of four hundred and ten acres, which his father John Hallowell had put in trust for his two sons, Samuel and Benjamin, to be divided when they were both of the age of twenty-one years, and which in turn was part of six hundred and thirty acres which John Hallowell had purchased. Here John Tyson dwelt the remainder of his life. Many years after his purchase, John Tyson had a dispute with Benjamin Hallowell as to their boundary line, and at Abington Meeting, 11mo. 26, 1753, Benjamin Hallowell complained of John Tyson "in a case of property," but as John was not present it was not taken up until the next Monthly Meeting, held 12mo. 31, 1753, when the parties themselves chose referees to meet at John Tyson's the 14th of the next month, at 10 o'clock. A satisfactory conclusion was reached, as shown by a minute of the meeting of 2mo. 25, 1754: "The ffrds appointed to fix the Corner Stones between Benjamin Hallowell's and Jno Tyson's lands, report the same done."

Marriage

John Tyson married (first), 9mo. (November), 1720, Priscilla Naylor; (Abington Monthly Meeting granting permission 8mo. 31, 1720). She was no doubt a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Naylor, who in 1683 came from Monyash, county Derby, England, and took up a tract of land on the stream now called Naylor's Run, in that part of Darby township, Chester county, which afterwards became Upper Darby township, Delaware county. She was born 9mo. (November) 31, 1697, according to the Darby register, and died 5mo. (May) 18, 1760, according to the Abington Meeting register, which under date of 1760 has the following: "Priscilla, wife of John Tuson, Senr., of Abington, died 5mo. 18th Inter'd 19th." She was buried in the graveyard of Abington Meeting, of which she was an elder. The minutes of Abington Monthly Meeting, for 4mo. 24, 1758, have "Abington women ffrds with the approbation of this m:g Chooseth Sarah Paul an Elder of their Particular Meeting in the Room of Priscilla Tyson, who Through indisposition of body is become incapable of Performing the duty of that Station." And on 7mo. 28, 1760, in answer to the first annual query, is entered, "one Elder deceased since last account, to wit Priscilla Naylor."

Event

John Tyson complained to the Monthly Meeting against Anthony Williams, and at the Meeting held 6mo. 24, 1754. "The Frds. apptd. on the affair of Jno Tyson & Anty. Williams, Report they met thereon & heard the parties & are of opinion that the parties had best drop the same & carry it no further, to which this Mtg. agrees, & the parties being present are desired to take notice thereof."

Event

at the Monthly Meeting held 3mo. 26, 1756, William Hallowell complained of John Tyson for not paying a debt and for endeavoring to hurt his (Hallowell's) reputation; the meeting as usual appointed a committee to investigate, who at the next meeting, 5mo. 31, reported that John refused to meet them. From the minutes of the next meeting, 5mo. 28, "It appears that John Tyson hath complied with the minuit of Last Mo. Mtg. in choosing men in order to Settle a Difference between him and Willm Hallowell and yt it is accordingly Settled as with respect to Property But no further: it is therefore the judgment of this m:g, that the said John Tyson ought to make Satisfaction in writing," etc. But on 7mo. 26, "John Tyson being present and appearing in a Contentious Letegious Disposition instead of giving the Satisfaction required, it is therefore the Sence and judgment of this m:g that any further postponing of the affair will be to no good purpose, and therefore a Testification is ordered to be Prepared to disown him and produc'd to next m:o m:g."

But the case was postponed, and finally at the meeting of 10mo. 25, 1756, "John Tyson produced a written acknowledgment for Committing Something to writing tending to Extenuate the Character of Willm Hallowell, which was read and Recd as satisfactory." (The word "extenuate" is here used in a sense unusual nowadays, but perfectly correctly, as Webster's Dictionary gives as some of its meanings, "to lessen; to diminish; to lower or degrade, as reputation or honor"). Of course, after the threatened disownment, any activity in the Meeting's affairs, on the part of John Tyson, could not be expected; and, in fact, he ceased any active part in them after 1754.

Marriage

John Tyson married (second) 3mo. 1, 1764, at Abington Meeting, Sarah Lewis, of Germantown township. The record of the marriage on the register of Abington Monthly Meeting mentions her as a widow and he as a widower, and in the minutes of their declaration of intentions it is stated that she had children by her former husband; it being the custom for the Meeting to see that the rights of minor children were secured before consenting to the marriage of their mother the second time. On the death register of Abington Monthly Meeting for 1768 appears the following: "Sarah, wife of John Tyson, Senr., died 7mo. 9, inter'd 11th." She was buried in the Abington meeting graveyard. She was a minister of the Society of Friends. John Tyson had no issue by her.

Death

JOHN TYSON, son of Reynier and Mary, was born in Germantown, 10mo. (December) 9, 1692, and removed with his parents to Abington township in his childhood, where he lived until his death 6mo. (June) 1, 1775.

Monthly Meeting Register has under the year 1775, "John Tyson, of Abington, died 6mo. 1, inter'd 3, Aged 82 yrs. 5mo. 2da." "A member of this Meeting."

The will of John Tyson of Abington township, "well stricken in years," was dated 3mo. (March) 31, 1766, and proved June 13, 1775, and is registered at Philadelphia in Will Book Q, p. 117.

To his wife, Sarah, "if she survive me," he bequeathed the use of certain rooms in the house, all household goods, his horse and riding chair and one cow; (said horse and cow to be stabled and pastured on the plantation by his son, Joseph); privilege of keeping poultry, etc., on the premises; supply of firewood and other things, and an annuity of twelve pounds, but if she should remarry she was to have four pounds per annum in lieu of all; "and I will that my wife be at full liberty to dispose of the Goods she brought with her at our Marriage."

Of course none of these provisions took effect, as she died before him. To his eldest son, Rynear Tyson, he devised five acres more or less of meadow, part of the plantation "on which I now dwell," bought of Benjamin Hallowell, on the corner nearest to said Rynear's dwelling-house in Abington, and now enclosed within fence, to his youngest son, Joseph Tyson, the residue of said plantation, with the dwelling-house thereon, amounting to about one hundred and forty-five acres, in Abington township, reserving to sons, Rynear and John, the privileges for themselves and their workman to quarry limestone and burn the same on the premises; to Joseph, also ten out of fifty acres in Abington, bought of Nicholas Austin, "to be laid out on that part of the sd ffifty Acres which lies next to the plantation."

Also to Joseph, "after my wife's decease or remarriage," all bequests to her, except the annuity; the executors were empowered to sell all other real estate, the proceeds to be added to the residuary estate, and the whole of which, after deducting sixteen pounds bequeathed in equal shares to his two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, to be divided into nine equal parts, of which two were bequeathed to Rynear; two to son John; and one each to the five daughters--Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah, Mary and Susanna; the executors named were his sons Rynear, John and Joseph; and sons-in-law Thomas Hallowell and Jacob Lippincott, were named as trustees to see to the execution of the will.

A codicil, dated 6mo. (June) 9, 1774, bequeathed one-half of the son John's two ninths of the residuary estate, he being deceased, to the testator's son Joseph, and the other half to John's children, John, Rebecca, and Isaac Tyson.