James Tilghman (1716–1793) was a prominent lawyer and public servant in colonial

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

The fourth son of Colonel Richard Tilghman and Anna Maria Lloyd, he was born at his family's estate, the Hermitage, on the Chester River in Talbot County on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Early life

After studying law, Tilghman began his practice in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

and in 1743 married Anne Francis (1727–1771), daughter of Tench Francis (Sr.). About 1760 Tilghman moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he held many positions of public service, including Secretary of the Land Office of Pennsylvania (appointed by John Penn in 1765), Philadelphia City Councilman (1764), and member of the

Pennsylvania Provincial Council The Pennsylvania Provincial Council helped govern the Province of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1776. The provincial council was based on the English parliamentary system and namely the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Government of Penn ...

(1767). During 1768 he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

as a member.Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 3:95–101. At the outbreak of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, Tilghman at first favored compromise between England and the colonies; while he called for a repeal of the Intolerable Acts, which was so abhorred by colonists, he at the same time denounced the Boston Tea Party. He was regarded, however, as a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

and was placed under arrest by Pennsylvania state authorities until 1778. Tilghman was a trustee of the College of Philadelphia (now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

) from 1775 to 1788, when he resigned. Tilghman's youngest brother was

Matthew Tilghman Matthew Tilghman (February 17, 1718 – May 4, 1790) was an American planter, and Revolutionary leader from Maryland. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, where he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Early ...

, a delegate to the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

es.

Marriage and family

In 1743 he married Anne Francis (1727–1771), daughter of Tench Francis (Sr.) They had two sons: *

Tench Tilghman Tench Tilghman (, December 25, 1744April 18, 1786) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. Tilghman rose ...

(1744 – 1786), aide-de-camp to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

during the

. *

William Tilghman William Tilghman (August 12, 1756 – April 29, 1827) was the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born on Augu ...

(1756 – 1827), who became chief justice of Pennsylvania in 1806. James Tilghman died at his family home in Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland, in 1793.

References

External links

Biographical sketch
at the

1716 births 1793 deaths Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council People from Talbot County, Maryland University of Pennsylvania people People of colonial Maryland Politicians from Annapolis, Maryland People from Chestertown, Maryland American people of English descent Tilghman family {{US-law-bio-stub