Key Facts

Snapshot:	Revolutionary War patriot; moved from North Carolina to Georgia; owned slaves
Parents:	unknown
Born:	probably in the 1750's location unknown
Last known record:	1820 census Bulloch County, Georgia
Buried:	Upper Lotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia Coordinates N32.48748 W81.97257

648John Tillman was probably born in the 1750's, since his son James (apparently his eldest) was born in November 1776,1 and since 648John enlisted in the military in 1777.2 (Although 648John's tombstone shows that he was born in 1731, the stone is self-evidently non-contemporary, and somewhat amusingly it's contradicted by an accompanying memorial plaque that indicates he was born in 1751.3 I have seen no evidence to support either date.)

648John fought for America during the Revolutionary War. His DAR ancestor number is A115542, and SAR is P-305201. On 1 July 1777 he enlisted in Capt. Armwell Herron's Company of the 10th North Carolina Regiment.2 A man named William Tillman enlisted in the same company on the same date,4 and another man named Belitha Tillman had joined a few weeks earlier.5 William and Belitha are presumably related to 648John (perhaps brothers?), but I have no evidence.

Most of the 10th North Carolina's companies never saw action, but desertions and illness reduced the regiment's size by the time it reached Valley Forge late in the winter of 1777-1778. To reconsolidate, the 10th North Carolina was disbanded on 1 June 1778, and all remaining soldiers were reassigned to other North Carolina regiments. Accordingly, 648John (along with the abovementioned William Tillman and Belitha Tillman) subsequently appear on records for the 2nd North Carolina regiment.4-6

As part of the 2nd North Carolina, 648John was probably present for the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778, although his regiment was mostly kept in reserve. Fatal Sunday, a history of the battle by Mark Lender and Garry Stone, simply notes that the reservists "Shadowed British flanking column, then rested in Perrine woods." 7 I've marked the general location of Perrine's Hill on the master map.

If 648John served his full three-year enlistment, he was probably also present for the siege of Charleston in spring 1780. Carl Borick's A Gallant Defense: The Siege of Charleston, 1780 mentions the arrival of the brigade 648John was in:

As preparations for Charleston's defense progressed, morale rose among soldiers and civilians alike. Lincoln asserted to the Continental Congress that the arrival of Brigadier General James Hogun with the North Carolina brigade gave "great spirit to the Town, and confidence to the Army." 8

Once the siege began, the North Carolina Brigade defended the right end of the Continental Army's line, which was near the northeast extent of Charleston near the Cooper River.9 The artwork below shows the scene from the British viewpoint; I've placed a red dot on the approximate location of the brigade 648John's was in.10 The siege saw about six weeks of intense fighting but ended with an American surrender. 648John presumably would have been taken prisoner, but I have no details.

1780: The siege of Charleston, which 648John likely fought in. The red dot shows (very approximately) his regiment's position. Original image.10

I suspect—but do not know for certain—that the paystub shown below belonged to 648John. As you can see, the paystub is numbered 1114. The immediately preceding extant paystub is 1112, which belonged to Belitha Tillman, abovementioned, who is known to have served alongside 648John in the 10th and then 2nd North Carolina regiments.5 The paystub was issued in 1783, so perhaps 648John served through the end of the war.

1783: Could this paystub pertain to our 648John? Bigger image.11

648John ought to be in the 1790 census, but I cannot identify his entry with confidence because (1) there are five North Carolina heads of household named John Tillman, all of whom lived in the same general area of the state; (2) the census provides few details about household members (ages, etc.); and (3) we know relatively little about 648John. (However, there is evidence that as of 1790 648John had at least one son [and very possibly two] under age 16; see the footnote below.* The evidence that informs us of these two sons does not preclude other children, however.)

In the 1790's 648John moved from North Carolina to Georgia. He received several Georgia land grants, summarized in the following table. A few mention Gideon Tillman, whose relationship to 648John (if any) is unknown to me.

In Bulloch County, Georgia on 8 April 1811 and again on 13 November 1812, 648John was selected for grand juries at the next court terms.12,13

On 18 January 1819 in Bulloch County 648John sold a number of slaves to his sons James, Henry, and 324Joseph. (This deed was previously discussed on 324Joseph's page.) The slaves' names are given: Tim, Iris, Martin, Lubin, Fanny, Samson, George, Meriah, Gincy, Rose, Tom, Dafeney, Aberdeen, Milly, Peggy, Sam, Harry, and Elick.14

The 1820 census shows 648John's household. The numbers below represent: 1 boy age 10-15, 1 man age 45+, 1 girl age 0-9, 1 woman age 16-25, 1 woman age 45+, 1 person engaged in agriculture, 6[?] male slaves age 0-13, 3 male slaves age 14-25, 2 male slaves age 26-44, 2 male slaves age 45+, 4 female slaves age 14-25, 1 female slave age 26-44, 3 female slaves age 45+, and 1 free black boy age 0-13 (who is the only free black person shown on this census page). The census suggests that 648John's wife was still living, but I have seen no evidence that would identify her.

1820: 648John's family in Bulloch County, Georgia. Full page.15

The 1820 census is the last record I've found of 648John made while he was still alive. His age and apparent absence from the 1830 census suggest that he probably died sometime in the 1820's.

648John is buried in the southeast corner of Upper Lotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia at coordinates N32.48748 W81.97257.3 His tombstone and the memorial plaque are self-evidently non-contemporary and conflict on 648John's year of death (1829 versus 1830); I have seen no evidence to support either date.

Footnotes:

*

No record directly proves 648John's move from North Carolina to Georgia, so it's not immediately clear that 648John Tillman as known from the later Georgia records is one and the same as 648John Tillman from the earlier North Carolina records. Fortunately, there are a few records that, when considered together, prove his relocation and thus help to connect the two sets of records: • A deed dated 18 January 1819 in Bulloch County, Georgia strongly implies that 648John had sons James, Henry, and 324Joseph,14 as previously explained on 324Joseph's page. • James and Henry were administrators of the estate of their brother 324Joseph. In an estate-related deed dated 28 February 1851, they introduce themselves as James Tillman of Tattnall County and Henry Tillman of Bulloch County.16 • The 1850 census shows: James, born circa 1777 in North Carolina, resident of Appling County militia district 443;17 and Henry, born circa 1790[? age is not clearly written] in North Carolina, resident of Montgomery County militia district 394 (which now lies in Wheeler County).18 Admittedly, their 1850 counties of residence17,18 do not match the 1851 deed,16 but (1) Appling County militia district 443 (James' 1850 residence17) shares a border with Tattnall County (his 1851 residence16)—see map; and (2) searches of the 1850 census show no other men of the same name within a reasonably similar age range near the area of interest. Thus, we can reasonably conclude that 648John Tillman was present in North Carolina for many years. • Another (somewhat weak but still notable) affirmation is that Henry's wife Aliff is mentioned in an Onslow County, North Carolina will dated 10 December 1827.19 Henry married Aliff (who was born in North Carolina18) in 1816,20 so it's plausible that Henry remained in North Carolina (or at least maintained some presence there) until at least 1816 before later moving to Georgia. Thus, it's plausible that his father 648John likewise had a firm connection to North Carolina, too.

†

As noted above, the grant is dated 5 April 1815 for 250 acres, but I haven't found a corresponding plat. Strangely, 648John also has a plat that references a warrant dated 11 April 1815 for 224 acres, but I haven't found any such warrant. Do these two records actually complement each other despite the discrepancy?

Sources Cited:

1: Tombstone of James Tillman Sr. (born 28 November 1776, died 14 March 1855), Tillman Cemetery (cemetery coordinates: N31.8875 W82.2111), Appling County, Georgia. FindAGrave, <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45771377/james-tillman>.

2: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, folder for Private John Tilmon of 2nd North Carolina Regiment, image 2. NARA microfilm publication 881, roll 783; NARA identifier 141371469. NARA, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/141371469?objectPage=2>.

3: Tombstone of John Tillman, Upper Lotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia at coordinates N32.48748 W81.97257. Photographs taken by 1Bryant Knight, 13 October 2025.

4: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, folder for Private William Tilmon of 2nd North Carolina Regiment. NARA microfilm publication 881, roll 783; NARA identifier 141371473. NARA, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/141371473>.

5: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, folder for Private Belitha Tilmon of 2nd North Carolina Regiment. NARA microfilm publication 881, roll 783; NARA identifier 141371463. NARA, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/141371463>.

6: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, folder for Private John Tilmon of 2nd North Carolina Regiment, image 1. NARA microfilm publication 881, roll 783; NARA identifier 141371469. NARA, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/141371469>.

7: Mark E. Lender and Garry W. Stone, Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle (University of Oklahoma Press, 2017), page 481.

8: Carl Borick, A Gallant Defense: The Siege of Charleston, 1780 (University of South Carolina Press, 2003), page 93. Citations for the abovenoted passage are on Borick's pages 274-275, which cite (among other sources) "Lincoln to the Continental Congress, 4 March 1780, PCC (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247, roll 177)." I perused NARA M247 roll 177 for some time but was unable to find the letter cited by Borick.

9: ibid., page 120.

10: Alonzo Chappel, "Siege of Charleston" (1862); Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection; Brown Digital Repository; Brown University Library; <https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:234111/>.

11: North Carolina revolutionary pay vouchers, reel for Henry Tilley through Parnel Truit, voucher #1114 for John Tilghman soldier. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WG-D8F3>, accessed 15 October 2025. Belitha's paystub is at <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WG-D8NM>.

12: Bulloch County, Georgia. Superior court minutes book for the years 1806-1824, page 63. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYC-13MN-H>, accessed 15 October 2025.

13: ibid., page 81. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYC-13M8-F>, accessed 15 October 2025.

14: Bulloch County, Georgia. Deeds and mortgages book AAAA (1819-1828), pages 476[b]-477[a]. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4K-KSJM-1?cat=koha%3A155333&i=504&lang=en> et seq., accessed 30 September 2025.

15: 1820 U.S. Federal Census. Bulloch County, Georgia. Page 13, John Tilman household. NARA microfilm publication M33, roll 7. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBC-4SW>, accessed 15 October 2025.

16: Tattnall County, Georgia. Deeds books D E F, page 211. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKK-JQ22-Z>, accessed 15 October 2025.

17: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 443, Appling County, Georgia. Page 47 (handwritten) or 24 (stamped), dwelling 315, family 315, James Tillman household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 61. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6P9S-12G?view=explore&cc=1401638&lang=en&groupId=M9C6-YJ7> et seq., accessed 15 October 2025.

18: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 394, Montgomery County, Georgia. Page 180 (handwritten in thick ink), 16 (handwritten in think ink), or 90[b] (stamped), dwelling 30, family 30, Henry Tillman household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 78. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6FF7-F2T> et seq., accessed 15 October 2025.

19: Onslow County, North Carolina. Wills book 1 (1827-1837), page 47. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:2:77T2-V9CL>, accessed 15 October 2025.

20: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogical Records Committee reports, Georgia s1:v38, I did not see the original record and merely used the DAR's index, which reads "Bible Description: Henry TILLMAN (died 1851) and wife, Alef SIMMONS (married 1816)."