Over the five years that I’ve been writing this blog I’ve had several individuals contact me and tell me that they no longer receive the email that goes out with a new post at 5:00 a.m. and they want to know how to get it back. I, myself, have been a victim of this phenomenon, and I never knew what the issue was. I tried to re-sign-up on the site, I looked in my email junk file, I searched under different names and aliases, but nothing ever fixed it.
I think I stumbled onto the solution this past Tuesday, but I had to wait until I could confirm that it worked before suggesting it to readers.
If you go to https://wordpress.com/reader/subscriptions, you can manage the wordpress subscriptions you subscribe to. In the third column from the right, labeled “Email frequency,” you can see if you’re getting emails “Instantly” or if they have been “Paused.”
Below are four sample subscriptions I have. Notice that the second one down indicates that it has been “Paused.” That was also true of my own blog, which I subscribed to; it said that it was “Paused.” I didn’t know that it was “Paused.” I never “Paused” it. I wasn’t told that it was “Paused.” It was just “Paused.”
Over on the right in each row are three dots (circled). If you click on the dots of the subscription you’re interested in re-starting, it will give you a choice to “Email me new posts.” Click on the button and then choose “Instantly” from the drop down. That’s what I did and now — I’m getting my emails again.
I hope that helps.
The other story I want to touch on is the death of Harrison Ruffin Tyler on Memorial Day.
Harrison Ruffin Tyler, the grandson of John Tyler, the 10th U.S. president, has died at the age of 96.
Harrison Tyler died May 25, according to a statement shared by the Sherwood Forest Plantation Foundation, which operates the Tyler family’s historic home in Virginia.
“A beloved father and grandfather, he will be missed immeasurably by those who survive him. His accomplishments in business changed the lives of countless employees of ChemTreat, the company he co-founded in 1968,” the foundation shared in a statement on Facebook.
“His love of history and his birthplace, Charles City County, VA, led him to preserve both Sherwood Forest, President Tyler’s home, and Fort Pocahontas, a Civil War fortification nearby. He will be remembered for his considerable charm, generosity and unfailing good humor by all who knew him.”
In 2012, Harrison Tyler had a series of small strokes and developed dementia, according to the National Archives.
Incredible. Harrison (and his brother, Lyon) were not only related to president John Tyler (who served as the tenth president of the United States from 1841 to 1845 — 180 years ago!), but were also related to Pocahontas (no, not that one!), who was born c. 1596 and is remembered for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
Lyon and Harrison were related to Pocahontas through their mother, Sue Ruffin, who “was a direct descendant of Pocahontas and Edmund Ruffin, a prominent planter, Virginia state senator and early advocate for secession.” Edmund Ruffin figures prominently in a book I just finished about the start of the American Civil War, “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson (I enjoyed and recommend).
John Tyler was best known for being the first U.S. vice-president to ascend to the presidency after William Henry Harrison died just a month into his term, his annexation of Texas during his term in office, his support for states’ rights, and his later support for the Confederacy. John Tyler died in 1862 during the Civil War.
Being the ancestry enthusiast I am, I find it fascinating that there could be someone only two “generations” removed from a man who was born during George Washington’s first term still living today. Harrison Tyler (who was named after William Henry Harrison, another relation), spent a lot of time and money on rehabilitating his grandfather’s name, acquiring the historic plantation Sherwood Forest and overseeing its restoration.
Tyler’s later years were marked by dedication to historic preservation. In 1975, he acquired his grandfather’s historic home, Sherwood Forest Plantation, and worked with his wife, Frances Payne Bouknight Tyler, to restore and open it to the public.
In 1996, Tyler purchased and supported the preservation of Fort Pocahontas, a Civil War site constructed by Black Union soldiers. He also donated thousands of papers, books, and $5 million to William & Mary’s history department, which was renamed in his honor in 2021.
Harrison Ruffin Tyler’s death marks the end of the closest living link between us and an historical American figure who lived nearly 200 years ago. It’s a loss that further removes us from our history as it fades from living memory.
As an aside, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr., Harrison’s older brother who died at age 95 in 2020, was known as “a man of deep faith.”
Mr. Tyler was born on Jan. 3, 1925, in Richmond, Virginia, to Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. and Susan Ruffin Tyler, and was raised in Charles City County, Virginia. A 1941 graduate of St. Christopher’s High School, Mr. Tyler was 16 when he entered The College of William & Mary, where his father had served as the 17th president from 1888 to 1919 and his grandfather had attended and shared a room with Thomas Jefferson.
Mr. Tyler’s education was cut short when World War II broke out. He joined the Navy and served as an officer in the Pacific theater. At the end of the war, he continued his service in the Navy Reserves, in naval intelligence, and rose to the rank of commander.
His daughter Susan Selina Pope Tyler said that when Mr. Tyler returned from the war, he realized the need to have a Christ-centered life.
In a note read by the Rev. David Wilson during Tuesday’s memorial service at St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in Nashville, she wrote, “Lyon was a holy man. He was truly an amazing follower of Jesus. He changed his life and the lives of many others.”
As a Christian, I’m grateful for Lyon Tyler’s faith and look foward to meeting him some day.
Have a good weekend.
