Francis R. Tillou Explained

Francis Redding Tillou
Office:	Recorder of New York City
Term Start:	1852
Term End:	1854
Successor:	Frederick A. Tallmadge
Predecessor:	James M. Smith, Jr.
Birth Date:	c. 1795
Death Place:	Edgewater, New Jersey, US
Nationality:	American
Party:	Democratic
Occupation:	Philanthropist, Children's Village co-founder
Relatives:	Joseph Rodman Drake (brother-in-law) Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls (nephew)

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

Early life

Tillou was born . 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 .^[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]

External links

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

Notes and References

1. News: OUR CITY CHARITIES--NO. II.; The New-York Juvenile Asylum.. New York Times. January 31, 1860. November 21, 2015.
2. Book: Baird, D.D.. Charles Washington. History of the Huguenot Emigration to America, Vol. II. 1885. Dodd, Mead & Company. 16–17. New York. 2 November 2017.
3. Web site: A Dictionary of Place Names in Bergen County, New Jersey, and Vicinity . Wardell . Patricia A. . 107 . dutchdoorgenealogy.com . 2 November 2017 . 28 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170628052153/http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com/bergen_county_new_jersey_dictionary_place_names.pdf . dead .
4. Web site: New York City – Wall Street Ninety Years Ago. new-york-city.yodelout.com. 2 November 2017.
5. Book: Hall. Douglas E.. Edgewater. 2005. Arcadia Publishing. 9780738537252. 55. 2 November 2017. en.
6. News: The Late Francis R. Cutting Esq.-- Tribute to a Distinguished Lawyer.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 13 November 1870.
7. News: NEW-YORK CITY.; AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. October 11, 1851. en.
8. News: NEW-YORK CITY.; THE ELECTION TO-DAY.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. November 4, 1851. en.
9. Book: Dean-Sheehan. Aaron. The Civil War: The Final Year Told by Those Who Lived It: (Library of America #250). 2014. Library of America. 9781598533019. 1144. 2 November 2017. en.
10. News: 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.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 28 October 1888.
11. Book: Supervisors. New York County (N Y.) Board of. 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. 1862. Wm. L.S. Harrison. 27. 2 November 2017. en.
12. News: POLITICAL NOTICES.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. October 27, 1854. en.
13. Book: Hough, A.M., M.D.. Franklin B.. 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. 1858. Weed, Parsons and Co.. 928. 2 November 2017. en.
14. News: POLITICAL NOTICES.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. November 2, 1854. en.
15. News: CITY POLITICS.; City Nominations, for Congress, Assembly, and City and County Offices.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. November 1, 1854. en.
16. The Evening Journal ... Almanac. 1859. 57. 2 November 2017. en.
17. Book: Drake. Joseph Rodman. Pleadwell. Frank Lester. The Life and Works of Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820). 1935. 424. 2 November 2017. en.
18. Book: Hallock. John W. M.. The American Byron: Homosexuality and the Fall of Fitz-Greene Halleck. 2000. Univ of Wisconsin Press. 9780299168049. 89. 2 November 2017. en.
19. News: DIED. Tillou. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 15 June 1891.
20. News: DIED. Tillou. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 14 May 1894.
21. Book: Dexter. Franklin Bowditch. Historical catalogue of the members of the First church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut (Center Church) A.D. 1639-1914. 1914. New Haven. 2 November 2017.
22. News: DIED. Tillou. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 17 February 1915.
23. News: Gouverneur Kemble.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 16 May 1898.
24. Web site: NYC Marriage & Death Notices 1857-1868. www.nysoclib.org. New York Society Library. 2 November 2017.
25. News: MARRIED. KEMBLE -- TILLOU. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. January 13, 1860.
26. News: DIED. Smedberg. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 18 February 1905.
27. Book: Sand. Henry Augustus. Crossing Antietam: The Civil War Letters of Captain Henry Augustus Sand, Company A, 103rd New York Volunteers. 2015. McFarland. 9781476624648. 75. 2 November 2017. en.
28. News: SALE OF A LAW LIBRARY.; A VALUABLE COLLECTION OF LEGAL WORKS AT AUCTION--THE PRICES REALIZED.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 24 November 1877.
29. Book: Livingston. John. 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. 1852. Merchants' Union Law Company. 164. 2 November 2017. en.
30. Web site: 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. columbia.edu. The Sun Office. 2 November 2017. 1846.
31. News: DIED. TILLOU. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 11 July 1865.
32. News: Funeral of Hon. Francis Tillon.. 2 November 2017. The New York Times. 13 July 1865.
33. Book: The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year .... 1869. D. Appleton. 643. 2 November 2017. en.