Brinkley Hickman Tyler

TYLER, BRINKLEY HICKMAN (1837 ~ 1932). Confederate veteran Brinkley Hickman Tyler was born on July 12, 1837, to John Allen and Sarah Hickman Tyler in Copiah County, Mississippi. By 1853, the family had moved from Pottscamp, Mississippi, to Moscow, Polk County, Texas, where John Tyler operated a blacksmith and wagon shop.

Tyler and his brother, Moses Benson, enlisted in the Confederate Army at Livingston on September 25, 1861,. Both men mustered into service at San Antonio and joined Company F, of the 4th Texas Cavalry, Sibley's Brigade.

During the War, Sibley's Brigade took part in fifteen engagements, including: Val Verde, New Mexico Territory; Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory; Galveston, Texas; Fort Bisland, Louisiana, and numerous others throughout Louisiana in 1863 and 1864. The unit was surrendered by General Kirby Smith on May 26, 1865.

On his way to join the Confederate Army in San Antonio, Tyler stopped in Cedar Creek, Bastrop County, and met Lydia Ann Alexander, whom he courted through letters and poems throughout the war, according to family lore.

After being discharged as a sergeant, Tyler returned to Cedar Creek and married Lydia Alexander on July 4, 1865. Together they had eleven children: Mary Adeline, John Allen, Henry Asa, Sarah Drucilla, Lydia Ann, Francis Anderson, Walter Arthur, Elizabeth Aldena, Brinkley Arnold, Preston Amos, and Lawrence Absolom.

According to family lore, Brinkley Tyler was involved in the construction of the State Capitol in Austin. He drove a team of mules that carried granite from quarries in Marble Falls to Austin. He also worked as a farmer in Cedar Creek. After his brother Moses Tyler moved from Bastrop County, Brinkley Tyler purchased his land in August 1881.

Sometime in the 1880s, Tyler moved to Roscoe, Nolan County, Texas, where his wife died on February 13, 1909. She was buried at Roscoe Cemetery.

From Nolan County, Tyler moved to Bee County, circa 1913, where he applied for a Confederate Pension on March 11, 1916. At the time, he was still working as a farmer.

After 1916, Tyler moved to Austin where he lived with his daughter, Drucilla Carter. He died December 7, 1931 and was buried at the Texas State Cemetery the next day.

Information taken from: genealogy provided by Curtis Craig, Mildred Pettit, and Marie Sneed, Compiled Military Service Records, Soldier's Application for a Pension # 32793, and Death Certificate # 61575.