GOVERNORS OF THE STATE— 1861-1915
Mrs. James Hoge, at their home, "Belle
Hampton," in Pulaski county, Virginia.
When he was ten years old, his grand-
mother died, and his grandfather, stricken
with paralysis, made him an assistant in his
business affairs. To the age of fifteen he
was instructed by private tutors and by his
grandfather. After the death of Gen. Hoge,
in 1861, he joined his father in Caroline
county, and was sent to the school of Frank-
lin Minor in Albemarle county. When Vir-
ginia seceded, he enlisted as a private in
the Confederate army, and served through-
out the war with characteristic courage and
fidelity. After the surrender, he returned
to Pulaski county, and took up farm work,
but soon became interested in public-affairs,
and wrote frequently for the press urging
manufacturing and mining development. In
1877 he was elected to the state senate, and
proved himself a most efficient legislator.
He urged the reduction of state taxes from
fifty to forty cents. As a member of the
commission which settled the state debt, his
influence was potent in effecting a saving
of interest. He was a member of the board
of public buildings at Blacksburg and Mar-
ion, and the labors of that body received
special commendation by the governor. He
v/as made rector of the Virginia Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College (now Virginia
Polytechnic Institute), but resigned to en-
ter upon his duties as lieutenant-governor, to
v.^hich office he was elected in 1889. ^^ w^-
a member of the commission to examine
into the disputed Virginia-Maryland boun-
dary line, and was elected chairman of the
joint committee of the two states. He gave
earnest attention to the resources of the
state, and in public addresses and letters to
the press, he urged displays at the various
fairs and expositions. In 1897, by acclama-
tion he was made the Democratic candidate
for governor, and was elected by a majority
of more than 52,000 votes. During his term
of ofilice he greatly contributed to the pros-
perity of the state. By careful economy, the
state debt was reduced by more than a
jnillion dollars, nor was this done at the
exj^ense of any public concern. Besides
meeting the additional expense incident to
an extra legislative session and a constitu-
tional convention, the public school fund
was increased by $21,000, and the literary
fund by $68,000, while more than $800,000
remained in the public treasury, and the
constitutional convention further reduced the
tax rate from forty to thirty cents. He re-
commended a labor bureau, and the con-
ditional pardon system, and these were es-
tablished ; the agricultural department was
placed upon a sound practical basis ; and
all the state institutions received liberal and
sympathetic support. During his term also
the Virginia-Tennessee boundary dispute
was settled.
In 1892 he was a delegate to the Pan- Presbyterian Alliance at Toronto, Canada ; and in 1896 went to Scotland as a represen- tative of the Southern General Assembly at the Alliance meeting in Glasgow. He was a member of the board of trustees of Hamp- d en-Sidney College, of the Union Theologi- cal Board, and of the board of the Synodi- cal Orphans' Home at Lynchburg. Since retiring from the governorship he has re- sided at East Radford, Virginia, where he has been active in various business enter- prises. He was married, in 1868, to Miss Sue Montgomery Hammet. Gov. Tyler is descended from Richard Tyler, who settled in Essex county in the latter part of the
