My cousin Matthew Tilghman, who should have been a signer of the Declaration of Independence

Maryland had four signers of the Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and William Paca. I am (distantly) related to the first two, second cousins several times removed. 

Thomas Stone

Thomas Stone and I are related through my 6X-great grandfather, Col. Philip Hoskins.

Charles Carroll

Charles Carroll and I are related through my 9X-great grandfather, Richard Hatton.

However, I would like to write about another cousin, who was closely involved with the Declaration of Independence and narrowly missed being a signer.  The actual signers get a fair share of attention, but I think Matthew Tilghman deserves recognition as well. 

Matthew Tilghman, the youngest son of Richard Tilghman and Anna Lloyd, was born at the family home, The Hermitage, in Queen Anne County MD 17 February 1718. I am related to him through my 9X-great grandmother, Henrietta Maria Neale Bennett Lloyd.

The Hermitage

When he was 15 years old, Matthew Tilghman was adopted by his childless cousin, Major General Matthew Tilghman Ward and become his heir, inheriting his cousin's estate.  By 1741, he was commissioned as captain of a troop of horseman organized to protect the Eastern Shore and was also named a justice of the Talbot County Court, on which he served until 1775. 

Anna Lloyd Tilghman

 

1741 was a very busy year for Matthew as he also married Anna Lloyd, the daughter of James Lloyd in the same year. Matthew and Anna had five children: Margaret, Matthew, Richard, Lloyd, and Anna Maria. 

In 1751, Matthew was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, where he would serve throughout Maryland's colonial period.  He was Speaker of the House from 1773 to 1775.

In the early days of the Revolution, Matthew was right at the forefront.  He was an early member of Maryland's Committee of Correspondence, a kind of shadow government organized by patriots in the 13 colonies. From 1774 to 1776, he effectively headed the revolution in Maryland, chairing the Committee of Safety and president of the revolutionary assembly known as the Annapolis Convention. He headed the Maryland delegation to the Continental Congress. 

Matthew Tilghman

At the Continental Congress, Tilghman debated and supported the Declaration of Independence and voted for its approval.  But, before the Declaration was signed, he was called back to Maryland to preside over the Annapolis Convention that established a new government for Maryland. He drafted the Charter of Rights and Plan of Government that was Maryland's first constitution. He was replaced in Philadelphia by Charles Carroll and thus cheated of his chance to sign the document he had worked so hard on. It was his devotion to Maryland that deprived him of the opportunity for recognition as a Signer.

When Maryland's new state government went into effect, Tilghman was elected to the State Senate and served as president of the Senate from 1780 to 1783. 

In 1783, he retired from public life and attended to his properties on the Eastern Shore.  He died at his home plantation, Rich Neck in 1790. 

Rich Neck Manor

Although he doesn't have the name recognition of the four signers, Matthew Tilghman has justly been called the "Patriarch of the Colony," and deserves to be remembered for his service. 

As an aside, Matthew's daughter, Margaret, married into the Carroll family, marrying Charles Carroll, the Barrister in 1763 and lived at Mount Clare in Baltimore.