Tyson family

James Tyson was born in Philadelphia on 26 October 1841, the son of Henry Tyson, M.D. and Gertrude (Haviland) Caswell Tyson. Henry (1815-1872), a native of Worcester Township, PA, was one of eleven children which included his sister Maria (1805-1881) who later married John Zimmerman. Henry initially moved to Philadelphia to teach school when he was in his mid twenties. Henry eventually enrolled at Pennsylvania Medical College, where he graduated in 1844. Around 1839 Henry married Gertrude Tyson (1803-1870), and together they had two children - James Tyson and Henry Tyson. The household also included Gertrude's two children John Caswell, Jr. and Amanda Caswell from a previous marriage. The Tyson family subsequently moved to Reading, PA, where, in 1854, Henry was appointed warden of the Berks County Prison.

James' formal educated started in the fall of 1855, when he attend the Friends Central School in Philadelphia. In the fall of 1857, he enrolled in the Sophomore Class at Haverford College, where his classmates elected him President of the Everett Society, a prestigious student literary society. He graduated in 1860, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Five years later, Haverford also conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts, probably the semi-honorary master's degree commonly conferred in the Anglo-American collegiate tradition.

Following his graduation from Haverford, James enrolled in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. In January 1862, in the midst of his second-year medical studies, he volunteered his services as an acting medical cadet assigned to the U.S. Army General Hospital located at Broad and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia. There he worked under surgeon-in-charge, Dr. John Neill, while completing his course of study at Penn. Tyson graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in March 1863, and the next month became an acting assistant surgeon at the General Hospital. During the Gettysburg Campaign, the Army ordered James to Harrisburg and assigned him to the Mulberry Street Hospital and also to the West Walnut Hospital until mid July. On 10 July Tyson learned that the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia had elected him Resident Physician of the Hospital. Pennsylvania Hospital was Philadelphia's leading medical institution and election to a residency there was an exceptional supplement to the regular medical education. Tyson immediately resigned his position with the Army, and reported to the medical staff at the Pennsylvania Hospital. In May 1864, after completing his residency, he was reappointed an acting assistant surgeon with the U.S. Army and re-assigned to the Broad and Cherry streets hospital. He served at that hospital - and also, for six weeks in the fall of 1864, at a hospital in Winchester, Virginia - until the end of the Civil War in the spring of 1865.

In 1868, Tyson reunited with his alma mater when he was named Lecturer in Miscroscopy at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania. He remained as a lecturer of one subject or another until 1876 when he was named Professor of Anatomy and Morbid Anatomy, a position he held until becoming the Dean of the Medical Faculty of Penn's Medical School in 1888. During his Penn career, Tyson also served as Professor of the Practice of Medicine, Professor of Clinical Medicine, as Secretary of the Faculty of Medicine, and on the Board of Managers of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, before being named Professor Emeritus of Medicine in 1910.

Tyson also served on the staffs of numerous other Philadelphia hospitals including Kensington Hospital for Women founded by fellow Penn alumnae Howard Kelly. All the while, Tyson maintained his private practice which boasted such well known clients as John Wannamaker. Throughout his career, Tyson's excellence was recognized several times. He was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from both of his alma maters. Haverford College was first, honoring Tyson in 1908, and the University of Pennsylvania followed four years later.

Tyson was perhaps most well known in the medical community for his pioneering use of the microscope and his prolific writing ability. Aside from writing numerous medical books, some of which went through many many editions, Tyson also wrote articles for medical journals and helped to edit the Philadelphia Medical Times.

James Tyson's wife, Fannie, died on 8 May 1900. By April 1910, his daughter Helen had married Henry Stokes, a manufacturer of paper, and had a son, James Tyson Stokes, named in honor of his maternal grandfather. In 1908, Haverford College honored James by awarding him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In 1912, the University of Pennsylvania conferred upon him its honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. James Tyson, M.D., LL.D., died on 19 February 1919. He was seventy-seven years old.

From the description of Papers, 1852-1982 (bulk 1854-1908). (University of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 778804071