The Tilghman family has long been associated with the early settlement of Maryland's Eastern Shore region. The men represented in this collection, lawyers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, trace their lineage to Richard Tilghman, an English physician who emigrated from Kent County, England, to Queen Anne's County on the Chester River in Maryland in 1661 or 1662.

William Tilghman (1756-1827) was born in Talbot County, Maryland, on August 12, 1756. In 1763 he entered the College, Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia, which became the University of Pennsylvania. Upon completion of law school in 1772 he worked in Philadelphia as a lawyer until 1776. During the Revolutionary War, he and his father, both believed to be loyalists by their peers, moved to the family estate in Maryland and shortly thereafter William began to practice law there. Living in Chester Town (now Chestertown) Maryland, William Tilghman entered the political scene in 1788 as a member of the Maryland Assembly, a position he held until 1790. In 1791 he became a Maryland senator, a seat he resigned in 1793 when he moved back to Philadelphia, where he was admitted to the bar in September of 1794. In Philadelphia, he began to rise in the ranks of the legal profession, and in 1801 President Adams elected William Tilghman the chief judge of the third circuit court. This court, however, was abolished in 1802, at which point William resumed his law practice in the city. In 1805, he was appointed to the office of the president of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, and he was a judge of the Pennsylvania High Court of Errors and Appeals. In 1806 William was commissioned Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a position he held until his death in 1827. In addition to his legal career William Tilghman was also a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania from 1802 until his death, and president of the American Philosophical Society from 1824 until his death in 1827.

Details of William Tilghman's personal life are not as thoroughly documented as those pertaining to his professional career. He married Margaret Elizabeth Allen on July 1, 1794, and they had one daughter. Margaret died in 1797, and he never remarried.

James Tilghman, father of William Tilghman, was born in 1716 on the Tilghman family estate, the Hermitage, on the Chester River in Maryland. Upon completing law school, he practiced in Annapolis, and married Ann Francis, the daughter of his teacher and prominent lawyer Tench Francis, in 1743. Around the year 1760 James moved to Philadelphia where he continued to practice law. He became involved in political life there: in 1764 he was elected to the Philadelphia City Council, in 1765 he was named secretary of the Proprietary Land Office by John Penn, and in 1767 was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Council in 1767, a position he held until the outbreak of the American Revolution. He was also a trustee of the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania) from 1775 to 1788. When the American Revolution began, James Tilghman was believed to be a Loyalist to the crown by his fellow Pennsylvanians. Consequently, Pennsylvania state authorities placed him under arrest until 1778.

James and Ann Tilghman had twelve children, six boys, and six girls. The Tilghman daughters all married prominent men of the Eastern Shore region. The Tilghman sons all became respected men in their fields. Tench Tilghman (1771-1786), the eldest son, was aid-de-camp to George Washington during the Revolution. Richard Tilghman studied law at the Temple in London, and then obtained employment at the East India Company, with recommendation for the position of attorney general of India. However, he died at sea before he could take up this position. James Tilghman, the third son, became a justice in the Court of Talbot County, Maryland. Chief Justice William Tilghman, discussed above, was the fourth son. Philemon Tilghman, the fifth son, joined the British Navy, and married a woman from England. He fought against the colonial forces in the Revolutionary War. The sixth son, Thomas Ringgold Tilghman, was a well-known merchant in Baltimore who died at a young age.

Edward Tilghman, first cousin of William Tilghman, was born at Wye, Queen Anne County, Maryland, on February 11, 1750/51. Like his cousin and uncle, Edward Tilghman was also a lawyer. He graduated from the College, Academy, and Charitable School of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1767. In 1772 he was admitted to study at the prestigious Middle Temple in London. When he returned to America in 1774 he married his first cousin Elizabeth Chew, and they had four children. In 1774 he was also admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, where he practiced until his death in 1815. In 1806 he was offered the position of Chief Justice of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, but he declined the honor and recommended his cousin William, who accepted the position.

Benjamin Tilghman, born January 6, 1785, was the second son of Edward Tilghman. He practiced law in Philadelphia, although further details of his career or personal life are unknown. Richard Tilghman was the third son of Benjamin Tilghman, born in 1865 and died in 1906. Further details of his life are unclear.

Matthew Tilghman appears in this collection, yet there is no clear connection to the other Tilghman family represented in this collection.

Clark, Charles Branch. . New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1950.Golder, John, comp. . Philadelphia: Thomas Town, 1829."James Tilghman" (1716-1793), University of Pennsylvania Archives. Viewed July 29, 2011 http://www.archives.upenn.edu/people/1700s/tilghman_jas.html.Malone, Dumas, ed. . New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 542-546.Tilghman, Oswald. "Lieutenant Colonel Tench Tilghman." . Publisher unknown, 1915. Available online at the Talbot County Free Library. Viewed March 13, 2006. http://www.talb.lib.md.us/mdroom/worthies/tench.html