K. W. Tyler Family history

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K. I/. TYLLR FAMILY By Albin W. Tyler
Ify father, Kendall W. Tyler was born at Richmond, Vermont, September 4, 1857 and at the age of 4 he, his sister and two brothers lost their mother and at the age of seven their father died. After his death, they were farmed out to differ¬ ent families. He was sent to a French Canadian family in Canada who only spoke French so he learned the language well, which came in very handy in later years. He attended school and got a job as a school teacher.
At the age cf 18, he returned to his old home and located his sister, Mary Jane, and two brothers John and Albin. Ke and his brothers decided to go west to California so they attended the Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia in 1876 and from there started west by emigrant train, which took about two weeks. They were delayed many times crossing the plains by herds of buffaloes which would have to be driven off the tracks.
Upon arriving in San Francisco, my father got a job as a conductor on one of the first street cars, horse drawn. After about a year he quit this job and went to Point Reyse, California and took a job as milker at the Pierce dairy farm. While at this place, he met and became very good friends with Carl Winslow. After about a year, they heard of the home¬ steads being thrown open in the eastern part of Washington, so they quit their jobs, returned to San Francisco to buy a few things they needed, one of v/hich was a rifle.
While looking at the guns a fellow came up to them, picked up a gun and said, "This is the gun you should buy." They bought the gun and my father asked the man his name and he replied, "William Cody" (Buffalo Bill).
When my father and Carl Winslow arrived in Seattle they decided my father would take a job as street car conductor and Mr. Winslow would go on to eastern Washington and look things over and if satisfied with the country he would send for my father which he did in a short time. As they were looking over the country a party advised them to go up to the falls on the river which is now Spokane. They made the trip but found nothing but rocks and sand. They traveled south and finally each took a quarter section of land 3^ miles southwest of the present town of Tekoa. In 1878 they built a sod house in which they lived for a couple of years. In 1880, my father took up a timber culture quarter. This timber culture later became known as the Tyler Grove, where many picnics and meetings were held.