This story includes historical quotations that reflect outdated language and attitudes. In keeping with our policy, quoted material has not been altered. Readers are encouraged to consider the language in its historical context.
John Henry Tyler (1868–1928) was the son of Robert and Adelia Tyler. He grew up in Elizabethtown, where his father was a blacksmith.
In 1898 Tyler earned a degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and soon after enlisted in the Army during the Spanish-American War. His all-black unit, 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, was led by white officers. Although white physicians were usually assigned an officer’s rank, Tyler was inducted as a hospital steward, equivalent in rank to a staff sergeant. Stewards performed what today we would recognize as nursing duties. Tyler was sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for training, but the war ended before he could be deployed to Cuba. His unit was discharged in March 1899.
That October, Tyler married Eva Chambers in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A year later he was a practicing physician in Winchester, where he boarded with Patrick and Catherine Banks, parents of the noted journalist, William Webb Banks. Two years later the Tylers had their own home, a two-story frame residence with a wide front porch supported by four brick posts.
Dr. Tyler had his office at 49 North Maple Street. Webb Banks wrote that Tyler “was the first colored doctor to start a private sanitarium [Tyler Infirmary] in Winchester” and that “he was the pioneer colored doctor in Winchester.” Tyler’s specialty was surgery, which he practiced at his infirmary and at the new Clark County Hospital. He lectured on surgery at the Kentucky Colored Medical Association and the Negro National Medical Association.
Dr. Tyler proved himself a versatile individual. He received a U.S. Patent for his invention of a puttyless window sash. Unfortunately, his clever design failed to attract investors or manufacturers. He was also proprietor of a grocery at 309 West Washington Street and a drug store on North Maple.
After a long career in Winchester, Dr. Tyler succumbed to kidney disease. He passed away at his sister’s home in Louisville. His obituary, which sounds dated in its wording today, does indicate the excellent reputation he had established in the community:
“He was highly respected among the white people as well as those of his race. Dr. Tyler stood high in the profession and always took a leading part in any movement for the betterment of his race. He had built up a large practice in Winchester and the county.”
A notice of his funeral stated that “After his remains were viewed by thousands of his friends, both black and white,” he was interred in Winchester Cemetery where the Masonic rites were performed. The Tyler Banks American Legion Post and the Tyler Banks Housing Project were named in honor of Dr. Tyler and his friend, Webb Banks, who died the same year.
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Dr. Tyler left a widow, who survived him by 37 years, and two daughters, Evelyn and Roberta. Their daughter Evelyn Tyler Henderson had a storied career of her own. Born in 1905, she graduated cum laude from Wilberforce University in Ohio. Her brief marriage to big band musician Horace Henderson produced one daughter, Theresa.
Evelyn obtained a Master’s degree in library science from the University of Illinois. She began her teaching career in Illinois then came to Winchester where she taught at Oliver High School from 1933 to 1957. She later taught at Lexington Dunbar and Lexington Junior High School before retiring in 1972. A beloved teacher, Mrs. Henderson influenced many lives in her 42 years of service. She remained active until her death in 2014 at her daughter’s home in Chicago at the age of 109.
Evelyn inherited the home where she was born, which was left in turn to her daughter, Theresa Henderson Burroughs. The house has been declared eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places by virtue of its association with Dr. John H. Tyler.
The A. R. Baldwin House is located at 420 North Maple Street. The location of today’s mystery house will be revealed in next week’s article.
