Robert Tyler, 1816-1877, was the son of President John Tyler. After he served as his father's private secretary in the White House, Robert settled in Philadelphia, where he became a leader in the state Democratic Party. He practiced law and held the positions of sheriff's solicitor and chief clerk of the state supreme court. He supported James Buchanan throughout his career. Robert's wife was an actress named Priscilla Cooper, who acted as official White House hostess for the invalid Letitia Tyler for the first three years of John Tyler's Presidency. When the Civil War broke out, a mob attacked Robert's home and he had to flee Philadelphia. He returned to Virginia where he served as the register of the Treasury of the Confederacy. He was broke after the war and settled in Montgomery, Alabama where he became wealthy again as a lawyer and publisher of the Montgomery Advertiser. He was also a leader of the state Democratic Party in Alabama.