James Noble Tyner (January 17, 1826 – December 5, 1904) was a 19th-century American lawyer, U.S. Representative from Indiana and U.S. Postmaster General. Tyner served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1869 to 1875.
President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Tyner Second Assistant Postmaster General in 1875, and U.S. Postmaster General in 1876. Tyner served as First Assistant Postmaster General under President Rutherford B. Hayes from 1877 to 1881. In October 1881, President Chester A. Arthur requested his resignation because of his involvement in the Star Route postal frauds and for giving his son, whom he had appointed superintendent of the Chicago Post Office, a $1,000 salary increase.
Tyner served as Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Post Office Department from 1889 to 1893, and from 1897 to 1903. Postmaster General Henry C. Payne requested his resignation in April 1903, after which Tyner was indicted for fraud and bribery. Tyner was acquitted after his family controversially removed pertinent papers from his office safe.
Early life and family
right |thumb |180px |The fifth Governor of Indiana [[Noah Noble was Tyner's uncle.]]
James Noble Tyner was born in Brookville, Indiana, on January 17, 1826, one of twelve children born to Richard Tyner and Martha Sedgwick Willis Swift Noble. Tyner's grandfather, William E. Tyner, was a pioneer Baptist minister who preached in Eastern Indiana for many years. His father was a prominent Indiana businessman, and his maternal uncle was Indiana Governor Noah Noble. Another brother was U.S. Senator James Noble. Tyner graduated from Brookville Academy in 1844 and joined his father's banking and business ventures. Tyner then studied law, attained admission to the bar in 1857, and practiced in Peru, Indiana.
Political career
From 1857 to 1861, Tyner was secretary of the Indiana Senate. In 1860, he served as a Republican presidential elector and cast his ballot for Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin. From 1861 to 1866, Tyner was a special agent for the United States Post Office Department.
U.S. Representative (1869–1875)
In 1869, Tyner was elected to the United States House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused when Representative-elect Daniel D. Pratt resigned after winning a seat in the United States Senate. Tyner represented Indiana's 8th District during the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd U.S. Congresses from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1875. Tyner, considered a reformer in his first two terms, gave few speeches in the House and was noted for his statistical accuracy and "sound reasoning". After Congress passed the unpopular 1873 Salary Grab Act, many members lost their seats, and Tyner was among those who lost his party's nomination for re-election in 1874.
Advocated repeal of franking privilege
On February 5, 1870, Tyner made his first House speech, in which he advocated for ending the Congressional Franking Privilege.
- 42nd Congress (1871–1873)
:::House Post Office and Post Roads 4th-Majority Chairman
:::House Public Buildings and Grounds 3rd-Majority. Tyner was familiar with the inner workings of the postal contract system and upon investigation by Postmaster General James was assumed to have known and allowed postal contract profiteering. James ordered Tyner to resign office by July, but after Garfield was assassinated and incapacitated, Tyner refused to leave. Also involved in the Star Route frauds was Second Assistant Postmaster Thomas J. Brady. Tyner recovered after being taken to the city for treatment. Four days later on April 26 Tyner and his wife denied any wrongdoing. Tyner stated that he had served his country faithfully and the officials at the Post Office had "lost their heads". Tyner was indicted three times for fraud and one count of bribery. Tyner was acquitted for lack of evidence since Tyner's wife had removed his papers from his office in April. He died in Washington, D.C., on December 5, 1904, and was interred there in Oak Hill Cemetery. He was elected three times to the House starting in 1869, however he was not reelected in 1874 due to his vote for the controversial Salary Grab Act. His long career in the Post Office Department was suspended in 1881 and finally ended in 1903 under suspicion of corruption. In 1903, Tyner's reputation was damaged after taking official government documents from his office in Washington D.C.