James Noble Tyner

Who was James Noble Tyner?

James Noble Tyner was a lawyer, U.S. Representative and United States Postmaster General from Indiana.

Born in Brookville, Indiana, Tyner pursued an academic course and graduated from Brookville Academy in 1844. He was a businessman for ten years, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857, commencing practice in Peru, Indiana. He served as secretary of the Indiana Senate from 1857 to 1861 and was a special agent for the United States Post Office Department from 1861 to 1866. In 1869, Tyner was elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative-elect Daniel D. Pratt. He was reelected in 1870 and 1872, serving from 1869 to 1875. U.S. Representative Tyner served on the Post Office Committee, the Post Roads Committee, and the Education and Labor Committee. U.S. Representative Tyner advocated the removal of the Franking Privilege in his first speech in the House on February 5, 1870. U.S. Representative Tyner gave few speeches in the House and was noted for his statistical accuracy and "sound reasoning".