U.S. president John Tyler owned as many as 50 slaves during his lifetime. [1] According to a news item from 1943 on slave-owning presidents, "It is said that John Tyler sold one of his slaves to defray his expenses when he went to Washington to assume his duties as vice-president of the United States." [2] The names of three people enslaved by Tyler are currently known to researchers through the historical record: [3]
In the 1840s, abolitionist publisher Joshua Leavitt alleged that Tyler fathered multiple enslaved children. [4] [5]
Tyler is also alleged by descendants to have been the father of John Dunjee (born 1833), though this remains unproven.
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)