For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 127
EDWARD K. TYLER, M. D. Many accord the practice of medicine the highest rank in the classification of different lines of business according to usefulness. There is no other profession so little commercialized, for every successful physician must possess the spirit of broad humanitarianism which seeks the good of the race even at the sacrifice of personal advancement. In Dr. Edward K. Tyler are found many of the elements which go to make up the competent, capable and sympathetic physician and in his practice in Muscatine he has made substantial and gratifying progress. He has an extensive acquaintance in this county for it was in the town of Fairport that he was born on the 21st of March, 1859, and through the intervening years, with but a brief exception, he has lived in this part of the state.His parents were William C. and Elizabeth M. ( Griffin ) Tyler, natives of North Carolina and Alabama respectively. His paternal grandfather was born in North Carolina, where he followed the occupation of farming. The maternal grandfather was born in Alabama, where he followed merchandising and was also the owner of a plantation and many slaves. In early life William C. Tyler became the owner of a tannery and also conducted a boot and shoe store at Citronella, North Carolina. Believing better opportunities might be secured in the middle west, he came to Iowa in 1856, establishing his home at Fairport, where he remained until after the outbreak of the Civil war. His sympathies were with the Union and he enlisted in the famous Greybeard regiment, remaining at the front until stricken with malarial fever, which terminated his life when he was fifty-six years of age. His widow long survived him and passed away in 1908 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. Both were consistent Christian people, their membership being in the Methodist church. Their family numbered nine children, namely: William C., of Illinois City, Illinois; Archibald G., of Muscatine; Dr. Edward K., of this review; Henry L., of Vernon, Iowa; Mary, the wife of M. J. Kennelly, of El Dorado, Arkansas; and John K., Missouri, Elizabeth May, and Charles P., all of whom have passed away.
Edward K. Tyler was reared in Muscatine county and was in the school of the soldiers orphans until thirteen years of age. He afterward attended the public schools in Muscatine and subsequently spent two years in the south. He then took up the subject of medicine in the office and under the direction of Dr. W. S. Robinson, and was graduated from the medical department of the State University of Iowa at Iowa City in 1882. He first located for practice in Illinois City, Illinois, where he remained until 1887, when he opened an office in Muscatine, where for twenty-three years he has followed his profession, maintaining a foremost position as a prominent representative of the medical fraternity here.
On the 4th of July, 1896, Dr. Tyler was married to Miss Louise M. Hedges, a native of Marengo, Johnson county, Iowa, and a daughter of Christian Hedges. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Odetta M. and Dorothy L. The fmaily residence is at No. 312 West Fourth street, Dr. Tyler having erected the home there in 1905.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and their many sterling traits of character have gained them firm hold upon the affection of those who know them. His fraternal relations are with Iowa Lodge, No. 2, A. F. & A. M., and his political support is given to the republican party but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession through his membership in the Muscatine County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. Original research and investigation also promote his efficiency and advance him in the ranks of the medical fraternity, where he has long occupied a prominent place.
Back to Biographical Index Page