Francis R. Tillou

Francis Redding Tillou (c. 1795 – July 10, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician from New York, and co-founder of the Children's Village.^[1]

Francis Redding Tillou
Recorder of New York City
In office 1852–1854
Preceded by	James M. Smith, Jr.
Succeeded by	Frederick A. Tallmadge
Personal details
Born	c. 1795
Died	July 10, 1865(1865-07-10) (aged 69–70) Edgewater, New Jersey, US
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Caroline M. Drake ​ ​ (after 1822)​
Relatives	Joseph Rodman Drake (brother-in-law) Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls (nephew)
Occupation	Philanthropist, Children's Village co-founder

Early life

Tillou was born c. 1795. His family was said to have been descended from Pierre Tillou, a Huguenot who fled Saint-Nazaire, France in 1681.^[2]

Career

In August 1835, the Federal Land Office at Green Bay put up for sale the area which would become Madison, Wisconsin, and on October 7, 1835, Tillou bought the first 100 acres.

Tillou lived at a country estate which he named "Tillietudlem", in a place then known as Pleasant Valley in Hackensack Township, Bergen County, New Jersey. The house stood where now the Edgewater Public Library is located, at the corner of Undercliff and Hudson Ave. in Edgewater, New Jersey.^[3][4]

On March 1, 1849, Tillou was granted the right to run a ferry-boat service from his estate's landing on the Hudson River to New York City. The landing was located approximately at the place of the present-day Edgewater Marina and Ferry Stop.^[5] He ran a law practice with Francis B. Cutting (1804–1870), known as Tillou & Cutting.^[6]

Public service

In November 1851,^[7] Tillou was elected on the Democratic ticket Recorder of New York City, and remained in office from 1852 until the end of 1854,^[8][9][10] serving under Mayors, Ambrose C. Kingsland and Jacob A. Westervelt.^[11] In November 1854,^[12] Tillou was nominated on the Municipal Reform and the Temperance tickets for re-election, but was defeated by James M. Smith, Jr. who had been nominated jointly by Hard and Soft Democrats, while most other offices were won by the Whigs, defeating the split Democrats.^[13][14]

In November 1861, Tillou ran on the Union ticket (a fusion of Republicans and War Democrats) for the New York State Senate (4th D.) but was defeated by Democrat Christian B. Woodruff.^[15][16]

Personal life

On February 15, 1822, he married Caroline M. "Cara" Drake (c. 1793).^[17] His wife was a sister of Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820), the poet, and Louisa Hannah Drake (a sister of Caroline and Joseph Rodman Drake), who was married to Thomas Clark Nicholls. Louis and Thomas were the parents of Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls, the Governor of Louisiana who was named after his uncle-by-marriage. Fitz-Greene Halleck, an usher at their wedding, wrote "A Valentine" for her on the eve of their wedding, which was later printed in 1872.^[18] Together, they were the parents of:

• Charles Graham Tillou (1825–1891),^[19] who married Sarah Condit (1824–1894),^[20] daughter of Stephen Condit (1791–1835).^[21]
• Edward Tillou (d. 1915)^[22]
• Julia Tillou (1837–1910), who married Gouverneur Kemble, Jr. (1835–1898),^[23] a nephew of Gouverneur Kemble (1786–1875),^[23] on January 11, 1860.^[24][25]
• Alice Tillou (1840–1905),^[26] who married Oscar Smedberg (1837–1877)^[27][28] on June 12, 1860.^[24]
• Francis R. Tillou, Jr.^[29]

In 1846, he was purported to be worth $150,000.^[30]

Tillou died of paralysis on July 10, 1865, at his home "Tillietudlem" in New Jersery.^[24][31] After a funeral at St. John's Church,^[32] he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.^[33]

References

1. "OUR CITY CHARITIES--NO. II.; The New-York Juvenile Asylum". New York Times. 31 January 1860. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
2. Baird, D.D., Charles Washington (1885). History of the Huguenot Emigration to America, Vol. II. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
3. Wardell, Patricia A. (PDF). dutchdoorgenealogy.com. p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
4. "New York City – Wall Street Ninety Years Ago". new-york-city.yodelout.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
5. Hall, Douglas E. (2005). Edgewater. Arcadia Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 9780738537252. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
6. "The Late Francis R. Cutting Esq.-- Tribute to a Distinguished Lawyer". The New York Times. 13 November 1870. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
7. "NEW-YORK CITY.; AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 October 1851. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
8. "NEW-YORK CITY.; THE ELECTION TO-DAY" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 November 1851. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
9. Dean-Sheehan, Aaron (2014). The Civil War: The Final Year Told by Those Who Lived It: (Library of America #250). Library of America. p. 1144. ISBN 9781598533019. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
10. "NEW-YORK'S OLD BAILEY.; A SKETCH OF OUR GREAT CRIMINAL COURT. SOME OF THE FAMOUS MEN WHO HAVE DISPENSED JUSTICE THERE-- ITS METHODS DESCRIBED". The New York Times. 28 October 1888. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
11. Supervisors, New York County (N Y. ) Board of (1862). Historical Sketch of the Board of Supervisors of the County of New York: With the Names of Its Members, from Its Creation to the Present Time. Wm. L.S. Harrison. p. 27. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
12. "POLITICAL NOTICES" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 October 1854. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
13. Hough, A.M., M.D., Franklin B. (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 928. Retrieved 2 November 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. "POLITICAL NOTICES" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 November 1854. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
15. "CITY POLITICS.; City Nominations, for Congress, Assembly, and City and County Offices" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 November 1854. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
16. "The Evening Journal ... Almanac". 1859: 57. Retrieved 2 November 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
17. Drake, Joseph Rodman; Pleadwell, Frank Lester (1935). The Life and Works of Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820). p. 424. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
18. Hallock, John W. M. (2000). The American Byron: Homosexuality and the Fall of Fitz-Greene Halleck. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780299168049. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
19. "DIED. Tillou". The New York Times. 15 June 1891. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
20. "DIED. Tillou". The New York Times. 14 May 1894. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
21. Dexter, Franklin Bowditch (1914). Historical catalogue of the members of the First church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut (Center Church) A.D. 1639-1914. New Haven. Retrieved 2 November 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
22. "DIED. Tillou". The New York Times. 17 February 1915. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
23. "Gouverneur Kemble". The New York Times. 16 May 1898. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
24. "NYC Marriage & Death Notices 1857-1868". www.nysoclib.org. New York Society Library. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
25. "MARRIED. KEMBLE -- TILLOU". The New York Times. 13 January 1860. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
26. "DIED. Smedberg". The New York Times. 18 February 1905. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
27. Sand, Henry Augustus (2015). Crossing Antietam: The Civil War Letters of Captain Henry Augustus Sand, Company A, 103rd New York Volunteers. McFarland. p. 75. ISBN 9781476624648. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
28. "SALE OF A LAW LIBRARY.; A VALUABLE COLLECTION OF LEGAL WORKS AT AUCTION--THE PRICES REALIZED". The New York Times. 24 November 1877. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
29. Livingston, John (1852). Law Register: Comprising the Lawyers in the United States: the State Record; Containing the State and County Officers, the Organization, Jurisdiction, and Terms of the Courts of Every State and Territory: the Official Directory for the United States; Containing the Officers of the Federal Government ... the Officers and Terms of the Federal Courts: the Collector's Assistant: Giving the Laws for Collecting Debts, Executing Deeds, Verifying Claims, and Taking Testimony, with Forms for Every State ... the Whole Constituting an Official and Business Union Directory. Merchants' Union Law Company. p. 164. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
30. "WEALTH AND BIOGRAPHY of the WEALTHY CITIZENS of THE CITY OF NEW YORK: Being an ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE NAMES OP THE MOST PROMINENT CAPITALISTS WHOSE WEALTH IS ESTIMATED AT ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND UPWARDS, WITH THE SUMS APPENDED TO EACH NAME, AND GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSONS. A VALUABLE TABLE OF STATISTICS CONCERNING THE WEALTH OF THE CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK. | Tenth Edition" (PDF). columbia.edu. The Sun Office. 1846. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
31. "DIED. TILLOU". The New York Times. 11 July 1865. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
32. "Funeral of Hon. Francis Tillon". The New York Times. 13 July 1865. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
33. The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year ... D. Appleton. 1869. p. 643. Retrieved 2 November 2017.

External links

• Drawing of "Tillietudlem", showing the ferry landing in the foreground at Historical Map Works

Legal offices
Preceded by Frederick A. Tallmadge	Recorder of New York City 1852–1854	Succeeded by James M. Smith, Jr.