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Crusty Job Tyler

One of the earliest recorded apprenticeships was that of Job's son, Hopestill, to Thomas Chandler of Andover, the blacksmith. 1658. This was the cause of bitter litigation, and Tyler v. Chandler, and Chandler v. Tyler cover a period of over ten years of the early records, the case being carried from court to court, and at one time Job was required to apologize to Chandler. The records contain the following entry: "We do order that Job Tyler shall nayle up or fasten upon the posts of Andover & Roxbury meeting houses in a plain legible hand, the acknowledgment to remain so fastened for the space of 14 days, it to be fastened within the 14 days at Andover and to-morrow being the 27th of January, 1665 at Roxbury.." This confession and acknowledgment was as follows: "Whereas it doth appear by sufficient testimony that I, Job Tyler, have shamefully reproached Thomas Chandler of Andover by saying he is a base, lying cozening, cheating knave, that he hath got his estate by cozening in a base reviling manner & that he was recorded for a liar & that he was a cheating, lying whoreing knave fit for all manner of bawdrey, wishing that the devil had him, Therefore I Job Tiler do acknowledge that I have in these expressions most wickedly slandered the said Thomas Chandler & that without any just ground, being noe way able to make good these or any of these my slanderous accusations of him & therefore can doe no lesse but express myself to be sorry for them & for my cursing of him desiring God & the said Thomas to forgive me, & that noe person would think the worse of the said Thomas Chandler for any of these my sinfull expressions, and engaging myself for the future to be more careful of my expressions both concerning him & otherwise and desiring the Lord to help me soe to doe."

At Mendon (see Dr. Metcalf's History of Mendon, p. 43),
Job did not conform to the orders of the church fathers. The town records for 1669 show the following:
"July 14. The Selectmen Mett and ordered to send to the Constable to Summon before us Job Tyler the next fryday at one of the clock at Gregory Cook's house to answer his contempt of our orders and alsoe why he refuses to worke aboute the Selor at the Minister's house, at yt tyme ye Constable Retourne his answer to us.
July 16. The Selectmen met accordingly and the said Constable made his Retourne that he had warned in Job Tyler before us; his answer was he could not nor would come, but if the Selectmen had more to say to him than he to them they might come to him. Upon this answer of Job Tyler's the Townsmen (Selectmen) Resolved to make their complaint to the Magistrates of his contempt of several of the selectmen's orders, and of his Miscarriages of the Lord's day & at the Publique assemblies if he doe not Submytt wch he will not."