A longtime resident of Boston and prominent member of the Episcopal Church, she married John Tyler, a well known auctioneer in the city.

In 1856 she was invited to head a church-funded infirmary in Baltimore; she took on the role and pursued her job zealously, though some members of the church considered her to be overzealously charitable.

Her role at the Baltimore infirmary was later diminished when the church created a new leadership position and appointed a male official to manage the infirmary, effectively supplanting her; this usurpation caused Tyler to resign from her position, but she continued on in a smaller capacity to train apprentice deaconesses.

She held this position for some months before being removed after she noted that she intended to treat the wounded regardless of their political affiliation or loyalty to the Union - a statement that drew accusations of her being a Southern sympathizer.

In the postwar years, Tyler worked as Lady Superintendent of the Midnight Mission, a church-run facility which cared for prostitutes in New York City.