Wilson-Bertie County NcArchives Biographies.....Tilghman, Theodore Wilson 1851 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 24, 2008, 7:11 pm Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) THEODORE WILSON TILGHMAN AS you travel the length of the Atlantic Coast, there are favored sections which captivate the imagination. To the student of Colonial history, the mention of these localities is suggestive of a class of men who had a genius for civilization and an indomitable pride of race. A peculiarly happy section on which the mind of the historian likes to dwell is picturesque Eastern Shore Maryland, which for over two hundred years has been a nursery for heroic men and cultivated women. It was here that "gentlemen adventurers"-broad-visioned Englishmen-became self-confident, home-building, liberty-loving Marylanders. And this colony out of the fullness of her new life gave to her sister States sons and daughters who had a passion for the building of a new and higher civilization. The Old North State, which so generously lends her sons, has borrowed a loyal scion of an honored Eastern Shore Maryland family in the person of Theodore Wilson Tilghman, of Wilson, North Carolina, whose name introduces this sketch. The Tilghman family is one of the distinguished families of our country. Since their arrival in Virginia and Maryland, they have furnished in every generation useful, brilliant and patriotic men, and in Great Britain the history of the Tilghmans is equally honorable and illustrious. The family seat in England was at Holloway Court, in the Parish of Snodland, County Kent. One of the greatest of English authorities says that the Tilghman family was a very ancient and eminent one. He describes their Coat of Arms as: Per fesse, sable and argent, a lion rampant reguardant, counterchanged, crowned, or. Crest: A demi lion, sejant, sable crowned or. William Tilghman was born at Holloway Court in 1518. He married, in 1574, as his fourth wife, Susanna Whetenhall, and this couple were the ancestors of Gideon Tilghman, founder of that branch of the family in America to which Theodore Wilson Tilghman belongs. Susanna Whetenhall was a daughter of Sir Thomas Whetenhall, a descendant of the royal family. Her grandparents were George Whetenhall and Alice Berkeley. Alice Berkeley was a daughter of Elizabeth Neville, who married Thomas Berkeley. Elizabeth Neville was a daughter of Sir George Neville, Baron Bergovenney, who died in 1492, and who was a lineal descendant of King Edward III. It thus appears that in the fifth generation there came into the Tilghman family the blood of the famous old English King. An examination of the Virginia County Records confirms the statement found in the archives of the Maryland Historical Society that the settlers in old Somerset County, Maryland, were members of that colony of English gentlemen who originally patented lands in Accomac County, Virginia, and thence removed to the Province of Maryland to enjoy the advantages and privileges offered by Lord Baltimore, who, secure in his chartered rights, opened wide the door of his little kingdom to all who sought relief from the mandates of Colonial Governors. At that time Somerset County extended northward from Accomac County in Virginia to the Delaware line, and from the Atlantic Coast westward to Chesapeake Bay and Nanticoke River, comprising what are now the Counties of Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset. To this favored section came these fine aristocratic emigrants from Accomac County, Virginia, among them Gideon Tilghman, whose name we find connected by patents and purchase with six tracts of land. Adhering to the distinctly English custom of granting and patenting lands under definite names, Gideon Tilghman named his several tracts "Tilghman's Adventure," "Tilghinan's Care," "Poolshope," "Small Hopes," "Dale's Adventure" and "Gideon's Luck," and they are so entered on Lord Baltimore's Rent Rolls. This custom facilitates a tracing of the history of the estates through several generations. Thus in the will of Joseph Tilghman, youngest son of Gideon, he mentions his manorial estate called "Thompson's Adventure" a part of "Small Hopes." Gideon Tilghman, with other lords of the manor, transferred to the Eastern Shore of Maryland the customs of rural England. It is evident from existing records that he lived according to the manner of most of the lauded gentry of that period, devoting himself to all the pleasant pursuits of the country gentleman. Gideon Tilghman and Margaret Manen were married in Somerset County by Colonel William Stevens, February 15, 1681. Of this union were born the following children: Gideon, Solomon, Eliner, Aaron, John, Elizabeth, Moses and Joseph. These are mentioned in his will proved August 19, 1720, of which his wife was the executrix. Aaron Tilghman, fourth child of Gideon, married Margaret Hull, and had issue Margaret, Josiah, Elizabeth, Sarah, John and William. John Tilghman, son of Aaron and Margaret (Hull) Tilghman, was born in 1760, and died in 1848. He married Nancy Dykes, and from this union was a family of ten children, of whom were Noah, who married Anna Rila Parsons, and John, who married Polly Truitt. Littleton Tilghman, son of Noah and Annie (Parsons) Tilghman, was born April 19, 1826. He died October 6, 1864. By his marriage with Mary Parker Elliott (born May 10, 1829; died November 6, 1914), eight children were born, namely: Merrill Hearn, Sylvinus, Francis, Theodore Wilson, George, Jason Parsons, Annie and Letta. Theodore Wilson Tilghman was born June 13, 1851, near Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland. His father, Littleton Tilghman, like the great majority of the Eastern Shore Maryland aristrocracy, was a planter. Theodore Wilson Tilghman remained at the homestead until he had attained his majority, and during these formative years, dividing his energies between plantation duties and a steam saw mill owned by his mother, he laid a broad foundation for future activities. It was here as a boy that the lure of the lumber business took possession of him, and he saw in it an attractive field for his life work. He was not, however, afforded an opportunity to acquire a general knowledge of the lumber industry for several years, but he at no time abandoned the idea of making it his life work. In 1877 Mr. Tilghman secured employment in the shipping department of E. E. Jackson and Company, lumber manufacturers at Whaleyville, Virginia. He remained five years with this firm, acquiring practical knowledge that fitted him for larger duties and greater responsibilities. This knowledge was further augmented by the experience gained as manager of a lumber plant in Bertie County, North Carolina. In 1888 Mr. Tilghman became interested with Dennis Simmons and D. D. Simmons under the firm name of Simmons, Tilghman and Company. In 1892 the firm was incorporated as the Dennis Simmons Lumber Company, of which Mr. Tilghman is the President and General Manager. It is one of the most important lumber industries in the South, and is a leading factor in the distribution of North Carolina pine. Mr. Tilghman believes in organized effort. As a director of the North Carolina Pine Association his wise counsel has been most effective in helping to build up North Carolina pine industry to the enviable position it holds in the world to-day. He is Vice-President of the Hackney Wagon Company and President of the Roanoke and Tar River Steamboat Company. He is a stock holder and director in the First National Bank of Wilson, North Carolina; the Wilson Savings and Trust Co., and the Toisnot Banking Company. Mr. Tilghman was married January 3, 1882, to Miss Rosa Lynnwood Davis, who was born at Salisbury, Maryland, October 3, 1857, a daughter of Edward E. and Eliza (Hearn) Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman have a family of four children and seven grandchildren, as follows: (1) Theodore Clyde Tilghman, who married Margaret Mercer; issue: Theodore Clyde, Jr., Rose Lynnwood, William Parker and Margurette Mercer Tilghman. (2) Mary Lynnwood Tilghman, educated at Randolph Macon College, Lynchburg, Virginia, married Dr. Benjamin S. Herring; issue: Sarah, Francis and Theodore Tilghman Herring. (3) Miss Rosa Vance Tilghman, educated at Randolph Macon College, Lynchburg, Virginia. (4) Miss Harriett Simmons Tilghman, now a student at Randolph Macon Institute, Danville, Virginia. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. 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