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

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He served as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

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 Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

Early life

Tilghman was born on the family plantation, ''The Hermitage'', near Centreville in Queen Anne's County, 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, 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 parts of the Ea ...

). Tilghman married Anne Lloyd (1723–1794) on April 6, 1741. The couple took up residence on a large plantation in Claiborne, Maryland, known as Rich Neck Manor. Tilghman's first public service was as a justice of the peace 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 Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

. 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 from 1773 to its end in 1775.

Revolutionary period

In the early days of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Tilghman was in the forefront of the political revolution in Maryland. He was an early member of the colony's committee of correspondence. 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 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 territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. He voted for its final approval but was replaced in the Congress by Charles Carroll of Carrollton 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

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. 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 (United States), General George Washington, achieving the Military rank, rank ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilghman, Matthew 1718 births 1790 deaths Continental Congressmen from Maryland Presidents of the Maryland Senate People from Centreville, Maryland People of Maryland in the American Revolution 18th-century American planters American slave owners Tilghman family Lloyd family (Maryland) Signers of the Continental Association Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates (colonial period)

Early life

Revolutionary period

Later life and family

See also

References

External links