Richard Tilghman

Maryland Historical Society

A prominent Eastern Shore family that has produced doctors, lawyers, soldiers, statesmen, scientists, and farmers, the Tilghman motto spes alit agricolam translates as "hope sustains the farmer." The family's English ancestors were minor gentry—landowners with the right to use a coat of arms—in Kent.

The first Tilghman to settle in Maryland was Dr. Richard Tilghman (1626-1676), who according to family tradition had been a surgeon in Oliver Cromwell's navy, serving under Admiral Robert Blake. Richard, his wife Mary Foxley, and their two children arrived in the colony in 1662 and established themselves on property they called "Tilghman's Hermitage" in what would become Queen Anne's County. In 1669, Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore appointed Richard sheriff of Talbot County, a post he held until 1671

Colonel Richard Tilghman (1673-1739), Dr. Richard and Mary Tilghman's eldest surviving son, built upon his inheritance and firmly established the family in the upper ranks of colonial society. On January 7, 1700/01, he married Anna Maria Lloyd (1677-1748), daughter of Philemon and Henrietta Maria Neale Bennett Lloyd, thus allying the Tilghmans with probably the wealthiest family in Maryland at the time. Colonel Richard and Anna Maria had nine children, all but one of whom survived to adulthood. These children married into other prominent Eastern Shore families, including the Goldsboroughs, Hemsleys, and Earles. Colonel Richard held a number of public offices during his lifetime. He represented Talbot County in the Lower House of the General Assembly from 1698 to 1704. He was a member of the Upper House from 1711 to 1738 and a member of the Council from 1710 until his death. He also served as a justice of the Provincial Court from 1714 to 1721 and chancellor of the colony from 1721 to 1725. His local offices included justice of the peace, vestryman, and sheriff of Queen Anne's County.

Colonel Richard and Anna Maria Tilghman's eldest son Richard Tilghman III (1705-1766) inherited the family seat, the Hermitage. In 1737, he married Susannah Frisby (1718-?). Their great-grandson Tench Tilghman (1810-1874) graduated from West Point in 1832 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the artillery. He resigned his commission in 1833. President Zachary Taylor offered him the post of consul to Turk's Island (Turks and Caicos) but he declined. During the Civil War, Tench Tilghman sided with the Confederacy, joining the Confederate States Army.

Edward Tilghman (1713-1785), third son of Colonel Richard and Anna Maria Tilghman represented Queen Anne's County in the General Assembly. In 1765, he was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in Albany, New York. Although he had retired to his home on the Wye River by the outbreak of the Revolution, he sided with the Patriots. His son Edward Tilghman Jr. (1750/51-1815), who had studied law at the Middle Temple in London, became a well-respected lawyer in Philadelphia. Edward, Jr's grandsons Benjamin Chew Tilghman (1821-1901) and Richard Albert Tilghman (1824-1899) engaged in scientific endeavors. Richard Albert Tilghman was a chemist who patented a number of chemical processes. His brother Benjamin Chew Tilghman, also an inventor, helped him in his work. The brothers had great commercial success starting in the 1870s with the invention of a sandblast process. Richard Albert ran the American side of operations, the BC & RA Tilghman Company, from its headquarters in Philadelphia, and Benjamin Chew oversaw the operations in Britain, known as the Tilghman Patent Sandblast Company, Ltd. In 1861, Benjamin Chew Tilghman had joined the Twenty-sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was wounded at Chancellorsville in 1863. While he was recuperating from his wound, Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton offered him the command of the Third Regiment U.S. Colored Troops. Tilghman and his regiment were stationed in South Carolina and then Florida.

James Tilghman (1716-1793) was the fourth son of Colonel Richard and Anna Maria Tilghman. He married Anne Francis (1727-?) of Philadelphia in 1743. Their eldest son was Tench Tilghman ( 1744-1786), aide-de-camp to George Washington during the American Revolution. Although James was opposed to the Stamp Act and other British colonial policies, he could not bring himself to support independence. Secretary of the Pennsylvania land office, he was arrested in 1777 with the other proprietary officers but the patriot government allowed him to return to his estates on Maryland's Eastern Shore after signing a parole. James, who had been a lawyer, remained in retirement after the Revolution. His son William Tilghman (1756-1827) became chief justice of Pennsylvania in 1806. James' great-grandson Lloyd Tilghman (1816-1863) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1836. He was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army in 1861 and was killed at Baker's Creek, Mississippi, in 1863.

Probably the best-known member of the Tilghman family is Matthew Tilghman (1718-1790), the youngest son of Colonel Richard and Anna Maria Tilghman. Matthew was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. He has been called the "Father of the Revolution" in Maryland for his role in guiding the transition from colony to state during the American Revolution.

By the fourth generation in Maryland, the Tilghmans were connected by marriage or kinship to most of the prominent families on Maryland's Eastern Shore and to a number of important Philadelphia families including the Chews, Mifflins, and Shippens. Many Tilghmans have played important roles in the history of Maryland besides the more notable members mentioned here.

Bryan, Jennifer A. "The Tilghmans of Maryland's Eastern Shore, 1660-1793." Diss., University of Maryland, 1999.

Carnes, Mark C., and John A. Garraty, eds. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. S.v. "Tilghman, Richard Albert" and "Tilghman, Benjamin Chew," by Richmond D. Williams