Matthew Tilghman (February 17, 1718 – May 4, 1790) was an American planter, and Revolutionary leader from

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 ...

. He served as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

from 1774 to 1776, where he signed the 1774

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...

Early life

Tilghman was born on the family plantation, ''The Hermitage'', near Centreville in

Queen Anne's County Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...

, Maryland. Tilghman was the grandson of one of the early settlers in Maryland. His grandfather, Richard Tilghman (1626–1675) had been a surgeon in the British navy and established the family plantation at the Hermitage. His father was also named Richard Tilghman (1672–1738) was a planter. He was educated through private tutoring before moving to Talbot County on the Eastern Shore (of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

). Tilghman married Anne Lloyd (1723–1794) on April 6, 1741. The couple took up residence on a large plantation in

Claiborne, Maryland Claiborne is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Eastern Bay at , and uses ZIP code 21624. The 2000 U.S. Census listed th ...

, known as ''Rich Neck Manor''. Tilghman's first public service was as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Talbot County. In 1751 he was elected to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

. He served there through the remainder of its service to the colony, although in 1760 and 1761 he represented Queen Anne's County. (Maryland, like several other colonies, permitted a representative to be elected by any district in which he owned property.) He was elected the

speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1773 to its end in 1775.

Revolutionary period

In the early days 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 was in the forefront of the political revolution in Maryland. He was an early member of the colony's

committee of correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

. For three years (1774–1776) he effectively headed the revolution in Maryland. He was the chairman of the Committee of Safety, president of the revolutionary assembly known as the Annapolis Convention, and the head of the Maryland delegation to the Continental Congress. While in the Congress, Tilghman debated and supported the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

. He voted for its final approval but was replaced in the Congress by

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic sign ...

before a copy was signed. Tilghman had to return home to preside over a longer session of the Annapolis Convention that established a new government for Maryland. Besides being president of the Convention, he headed the committee that drafted the ''Charter of Rights and Plan of Government'' that became Maryland's constitution. When the state government went into effect later in 1776, Tilghman was elected to the state Senate. He served there until 1783, and from 1780 to 1783 he was president of the Senate.

Later life and family

Rich Neck Manor, Matthew Tilghman gravesite (21637900201)

In 1771 Tilghman acquired property near his Rich Neck Manor on Sherwood's Neck. In 1783 he retired from public life and attended to his properties. Tilghman died at his home ''Rich Neck Manor'' on May 4, 1790, and was buried in a family cemetery there. Matthew and his wife Anna Lloyd Tilghman (1723–1794) had five children: Margaret (1742–1817), Matthew Ward (1743–1753), Richard (1747–1806), Lloyd (1749–1811), and Anna Maria (1755–1843). Margaret married

Charles Carroll, Barrister Charles Carroll (22 March 1723 – 23 March 1783) was an American statesman from Annapolis, Maryland. He was the builder of the Baltimore Colonial home Mount Clare (1760), and a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776 and 1777. ...

. Richard served as a major in militia of Queen Anne's County during the Revolutionary War. Anna Maria married her cousin

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 ...

on June 9, 1783. Tilghman's son Lloyd built his own home on Sherwood's Neck, known as Sherwood Manor. Sherwood Manor was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977. Both Rich Neck Manor and Sherwood Manor are private property.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilghman, Matthew 1718 births 1790 deaths Continental Congressmen from Maryland 18th-century American politicians Presidents of the Maryland State Senate People from Centreville, Maryland People of Maryland in the American Revolution American planters American slave owners People of colonial Maryland American people of English descent Tilghman family Lloyd family of Maryland Signers of the Continental Association