Tilghman, William, 1756-1827

Pennsylvania jurist.

From the description of ALS : Chester Town, Md., to Andrew Kennedy, 1789 May 25. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122591732

From the description of ALS : Chester Town, Md., to Andrew Kennedy, 1792 July 23. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122489387

Student at the College of Philadelphia, 1772; member of the Maryland House of Delegates, 1788-1790; state senator of Maryland, 1791-1793; Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, 1805-1827; president of the American Philosophical Society, 1824-1827.

From the description of Miscellaneous manuscripts, 1800-1820. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155886864

William Tilghman was a jurist, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1805.

From the description of Papers, 1771-1838. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122589394

Lawyer and jurist, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Chestertown (Kent Co.), Md.

From the description of Letters, 1774. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 41546349

From the description of Papers, 1671-1876. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 20188686

William Tilghman (1756-1827) was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman from Maryland. He served as the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court from 1805 to 1827.

From the description of William Tilghman Collection, 1794-1828. (Lafayette College). WorldCat record id: 166866090

Chief justice of Pennsylvania, proponent of agricultural experimentation and the development of American industry.

From the description of ALS : Philadelphia, to Henry Baldwin, Washington, D.C., 1821 Feb. 26. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122585909

William Tilghman (1756-1827), a Philadelphia, Pa., lawyer, was the son of James Tilghman (1716-1793), secretary of the Pennsylvania proprietary land office.

From the guide to the William Tilghman Papers, ., 1766, 1795, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

William Tilghman (1756-1824), was lawyer and chief justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. His law practice in Maryland related chiefly to Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne counties. Tilghman's father, James Tilghman (1716-1793), was also a lawyer.

From the guide to the William Tilghman papers, 1671-1876, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

William Tilghman was a Chestertown, Md., and Philadelphia lawyer and Chief Justice.

From the description of Papers, 1785-1835. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 122590409

William Tilghman (1756-1827; APS 1805) was a jurist and chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He held several positions as a judge and lawyer in the Philadelphia area and was active in the American Philosophical Society. He helped form and served as the head of the Committee of History, the Moral Sciences and General Literature for the APS and was elected the President of the APS in 1824, a position he held until his death.

William Tilghman was born in 1756 in Talbot County, Maryland, to James and Anna (Francis) Tilghman. James Tilghman was a lawyer and Maryland Assembly member, and later secretary of the proprietary land office in Philadelphia. Having graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1772, William Tilghman read law with Benjamin Chew until the onset of the Revolution in 1776.

During the Revolution, the Tilghman family was split. William’s older brother, Trench Tilghman, supported the Revolution, joined the Continental Army and was promoted to Washington’s aid-de-camp until the end of the war. A younger brother, Philemon Tilghman, joined the British Navy, married a daughter of Admiral Milbanke, and moved to England after the war. William’s father benefited from several appointments from the Royal government, and remained loyal, choosing to live quietly on his estate in Talbot County Maryland. William also quietly lived in Maryland, finishing his education, focusing primarily on law and classical literature, during the Revolution.

In 1783 Tilghman was admitted to the practice of law in Maryland. From 1788 to 1790 he served as a member of the Maryland Assembly and was a delegate to the Maryland convention to ratify the federal Constitution. He then moved to Philadelphia in 1791, where he was admitted to the bar and married Margaret Elizabeth. In 1801 John Adams appointed Tilghman chief justice of the third circuit court, one of the “Midnight Judges,” Adams appointed at the end of his administration. Tilghman returned to private practice after this court was abolished in 1802. In 1805 he was appointed president judge of the court of common pleas for the area including and surrounding Philadelphia. This same year he was appointed to the Pennsylvania high court of errors and appeals. In 1806 he was commissioned chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a position he held until his death. William Tilghman was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1805. He helped form, and served as the chairman for, the Committee of History, the Moral Sciences and General Literature. In 1816 he was elected Vice President of the APS and in 1824 he was elected president, a position he held until his death three years later.

Tilghman was a member of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. As a proponent of the development of home industry, he refused, during the last ten years of his life, to wear any garments not made in the United States. Starting in 1802 he was a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. He was an early proponent of canals connecting the Susquehanna and Alleghany rivers. He died in Philadelphia in 1827.

From the guide to the William Tilghman papers, 1771-1838, 1771-1838, (American Philosophical Society)