Thomas Tillitt, Sr (1732-1797)
My Maternal 5th Great Grandfather, wife unknown
As a young man in 1754 Thomas Tillitt, Sr served as a private in the militia in Currituck County on the northeastern shore of North Carolina. As early as the 1660’s, by order of the Crown, communities were ordered to “muster and trayne bands and companies of soldiers to suppress all intrigues and rebellions.” The militia law ordered each man to appear several times a year with “a gun, fit for service”, twelve shots of ammunition and a sword to practice military drills. There was the usual exception for the wealthy - in the event of a call to arms the rich could pay a fee to avoid service. The efforts at organizing a fighting force were so half-hearted, the result such a rag tag ill-equipped rum-filled affair, that they were lampooned by English newspapers. Ironically, America got the last laugh when they defeated the British during the Revolutionary War 30 years later.
[AI Image of Thomas Tillitt as a Young Man, arriving at the Courthouse to Mandated Practice Military Training]
The year 1754 marked the beginning of the French and Indian War, essentially a land grab competition between England and France. The war lasted for nine years and ended by depriving the Native Americans of land that was rightfully theirs and the French of all its claims to the east of Mississippi. North Carolina provided 2,000 men to wage this war (the population of the state at that time being about 100,000). Of those sent to fight in Virginia, 450 were sent home within a month due to lack of supplies. Thomas was listed in 1754 as a member of Captain John Farrow’s Company of Currituck County. No other information about Thomas’ military activity has been found.
[AI Image of Thomas in Captain John Farrow’s Militia]
Thomas’ first child, Isaac, was born in 1760 followed by two more sons, Thomas and Samuel, and three daughters Hannah, Sarah (“Sally”) and Abia. There may have been others, but these are the only ones mentioned in his will. His wife’s name is unknown. Thomas was a sea captain and a farmer who owned at least four enslaved persons. All three of his sons followed in his footsteps – Isaac was a mariner, and the master of a ship called the ”Dispatch”, Thomas Jr was a sea captain who owned at least three ships, and Samuel mentioned a vessel in his will. Thomas Jr was my ancestor.
[AI Image: Thomas Tillitt with his family at home on the Northern Tip of the Outer Banks of North Carolina ]
There is no doubt that Thomas Sr was a very wealthy man because port records in the 1780’s indicate he owned at least four schooners that carried goods up and down the coast to the West Indies. Thomas named all of his ships after women: Elizabeth, Betsey, Abby and Sally, the last two clearly being named after his daughters. Perhaps one of the other two names was that of his mother and his wife. Thomas owned another schooner jointly with his son Isaac named “Two Friends”—which I’d like to think mirrored the sentiment they felt for each other.
[AI Image: Thomas with his son Isaac on the Schooner “Two Friends”]
British law placed oppressive restrictions on what the colonies could manufacture, and with whom they could trade –all to encourage the purchase of British goods to enrich the mother country. British ships controlled transatlantic routes between England and the colonies because they had the larger ships needed to carry bulk cargoes of sugar and tobacco back to England. Colonial commerce became strangled, and the American colonist were driven to illegal avenues to obtain goods.
Schooners, a favorite among both mariners and pirates, were designed for speed. Its narrow girth facilitated quick, illegal runs to the Spanish colonies of the West Indies; and its shallow hull was perfect for hiding in coastal reefs. As 1776 approached, smuggling became vital to the Revolutionary War cause and privateering during war time helped enrich family coffers.
[AI image: Captain Thomas Encountering Pirates at Sea.]
Written records of Thomas’s cargo include outboard cargo of lumber, shingles, barrels, pine and pitch for naval stores, animal furs, corn, peas, fish, beef and pork. His inbound cargo included American made iron bars, reams of paper, bohemian tea, silk and flour. It all sounds fairly innocuous, but the accumulation of wealth came with a considerable amount of risk on the seas in those days. The waters of the Outer Banks were hunting grounds for pirates, privateers, British naval patrols, Spanish and French raiders. It was not a career for the faint of heart. How often did Thomas’s schooner outmaneuver the pirates? Did Thomas defy British rule to obtain goods? Did he ever participate
in privateering against the British during the War? No one knows for sure.
[AI image: Thomas’ Schooner, Abby, in a Harbor in the West Indies]
Thirteen years after America won its independence Thomas put a pen to paper and drew up his will. It provided generously for all of his children and several of his grandsons, (two of whom were named Thomas). His wife was not mentioned and very likely predeceased him.
Currituck County 15 March 1796
Last will & testament of Thomas Tillett, Sen.
In the name of God amen. I, Thomas Tillett, Sen'r., of the state of North Carolina & Currituck County, being in my perfect senses & strength of memory, thanks be to God for the same, but calling to mind the mortality of my body, do make and ordain this and no other to be my last will and testament.
First I recommend my soul to almighty God who gave it to me & my body to be buried at the discretion of my executor, hereafter to be named, & I desire that my just debts be punctually paid and the remainder of my estate I dispose of in manner & form following.
Imprimis: I give and bequeath to my son Isaac Tillett all that I have already lent him or all that he now has in his possession of my estate, to him and his heirs forever Item: I give to my grandson Isaac Tillett, son of Isaac, one cow called Byda and all her increase and fifty acres of land more or less which I hold in Tyrrel County in Frying Pan settlement up Alligator River adjoining the land of John Sikes, to him and his heirs forever. Item: I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Tillett the land and plantation whereon I now live as far each way as to the lands of William Etheridge to the southward and the land of Samuel Tillett to the northward and to extend from sea to sound with all the appurtenances to the same belonging and one flock of sheep commonly called the house flock supposed to be about thirty head and two cows & calves and one Negro boy called Lamb and all my carpenters tools, two hunting guns, one grindstone, one hand mill, one desk and one bed and furniture called his at this time, to him and his heirs forever.
Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Hannah Dowdy all that she has in possession of my estate or all that I have already lent her, to her and her heirs forever.
Item: I give to my grandson Thomas Dowdy all the cattle that is in his mark, now in my possession, to him and his heirs forever.
Item: I give to my daughter Hannah Dowdy fifty acres of land lying between Samuel Tillett's land & Poperwill's land, to her and her heirs forever.
Item: I give and bequeath to my son Samuel Tillett one Negro boy called Savage and two cows and calves, to him and his heirs forever.
Item: I give & bequeath to my daughter Sarah Etheridge two cows and calves now in her possession and all of my property that I have lent her and she has now in her possession, to her and her heirs forever.
Item: I give to my grandson Thomas Etheridge one Negro girl called Patience and one horse colt that I have already given to, to him and his heirs forever.
Item: I give & bequeath to my daughter Abia Dough two cows & calves, one Negro woman called Pheobee and all that I have already lent her and one two-year old mare of a kind of blue tone color, to her and her heirs forever.
Item: I give to my son Thomas Tillett one horse called Jack, one mare called Diamond with all her increase from this day and one horse called Darling, to him & his heirs forever.
Item: I give to my son Samuel Tillett one gray mare which he has now in his possession.
Item: My will & desire is that all my oat sheep be equally divided between my three children by name, Thomas, Sarah & Abia, to them & their heirs.
Likewise my will & desire is that all the remainder of my estate outdoors & in doors be equally divided between my six children by name, Thomas Tillett, Hannah Dowdy, Samuel Tillett, Sarah Etheridge & Abia Dough and Isaac Tillett, to them and their heirs forever.
And I do nominate, ordain & appoint Thomas Tillett, my son, to be my whole and sole executor to this my last will and testament. In testimony whereof I have this fifteenth day of March 1796 signed, sealed, published & pronounced & declared this instrument of writing to be my last will & testament in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.
Wit: Polly Hall, Polly Green Thomas Tillett, Sen'r.,
Recorded & examined Feb. 2, 1797
For more about our Tillitt ancestry, read the next generation , Captain Thomas Tillitt, Jr.