It’s time to head down another rabbit hole pertaining to the family of Revolutionary War soldier Tobias Tillman.

In spite of many years passing by which included new searches about his family, no definitive provable records have turned up about his parents or any possible siblings.

Tobias is my husband’s ancestor and I have an ancestor of my own – Loyalist Robert Carlisle – who stymie any and all attempts to identify parental and collateral lines.

WARNING! Today’s post regarding a possible Elizabeth Tillman Snodgrass is ONLY speculation as I’m writing this post while I research this SUPPOSED sister of Tobias Tillman.

What have I found so far? only an online tree – WITH NO SOURCES – that states Elizabeth Tillman was a sister of Tobias Tillman. Her birth year is said to be 1752 with a death date of 1783, but NO LOCATIONS are given either.

She reportedly married a Snodgrass and a second tree claims her husband was Robert Snodgrass, no location or sources cited here either.

Robert Snodgrass was purportedly born on 5 March 1749, Augusta County, Virginia and died 13 November 1780 in Sullivan County, North Carolina, which is the area that became Sullivan County, Tennessee.

The names of his parents are given as John William Snodgrass (1722-1790) and Isabella McClanahan (1723-1793). I question this information because (1) most Anglo families didn’t use middle names in the 1700s and (2) the birth and death years are in time periods where there are few governmental vital records.

There is one William Snodgrass married to an Isabella who left a will probated in Botetourt County, Virginia in June 1791. His children are named as Joseph, James, William Jr., John, Susan Tweedy, Jain Fisher, Margaret Seck, Isabella McClenlhan and Elnor George.

Right away, there is a problem because, while Robert supposedly died in 1780, none of Robert’s purported children (grandchildren of William) are inheriting Robert’s portion of William’s estate nor is any mention made of Robert being a deceased son.

That indicates that (1) Robert may not have had children (2) William might have given Robert’s portion to the widow before his death if she was not well off financially (4) William omitted Robert’s family entirely/Robert had no children or (4) Robert was not a son of William.

Regardless of the four options, there is no definitive proof that Robert was a son of William and Isabella Snodgrass.

Next, a Find-a-Grave memorial states that Elizabeth TILGHMAN was the daughter of John Tilghman and Eva Dryden, mentioning that “later” John became John Tillman, who supposedly died at the age of 104 in Preble County, Ohio.

The same memorial also states that Elizabeth had one brother, Tobias, and two sisters – Mary Catherine Tillman (1744-1833) who married George Loy (1743-1799)and Margaret Tillman 1756-1808) who married Henry Loy (1745-1798).

Then there is this unsourced data:

Robert and Elizabeth established their home place on land he was granted in early 1774 on Reedy Creek in Fincastle Co., VA (later became Sullivan County, NC, then TN). They had several children, not all of whom are known. Their children included:

1. William Snodgrass (1771-1855) who married first to Rachel White and later to Margaret Lemmons (widowed name) and spent much of his life in and around Knox County, TN.
2. Robert Snodgrass (c1775-after 1830) (based on very limited circumstantial evidence)
3. Elizabeth Rebecca Snodgrass (1778-1853) who married Stephen Smith (1777-1845) and settled in Maury County, Tennessee

Also stated online with NO sources: Well-established family history says that following Robert’s early death in 1780, at age 31, the children were raised by the Forgey family. My research leads to this being the Andrew and Margaret (Reynolds) Forgey family that settled on Possum Creek, Stanley Valley, Hawkins County, Tennessee.

There is a William Snodgrass, born c1777, Virginia, living in Knox County, Tennessee in 1850. Also in the home were Margaret, born c1805, Virginia, Mary, born c1826, Tennessee, Martha, born c1834, Tennessee and Newton, born c1837, Tennessee.

There is an Elizabeth Smith, born c1778, living in Maury County, Tennessee in 1850. She is apparently widowed and one Hettie Neely, born c1814, Tennessee is also in the home with four Neely children, aged 9-14. Marriage records indicate she was a Smith and likely moved in with her mother when her own husband, William L. Neely, died.

Furthermore, found on WikiTree, we have:

Robert Snodgrass, married Nancy Adams on 17 Feb 1789 in Montgomery Co., Virginia. Surety provided by Isaac Snodgrass .

He had (proven by a court case) sons Tilghman Snodgrass (married Mary Woods Walker) and William Adams Snodgrass (married Mary Nutter) plus four daughters (Sarah (Sallie), Elizabeth, Jane, and Miranda) who never married. As I say, these are proved by a court case to be his children and no other children (except, of course there could have been children who died in infancy).

This Robert would have likely been born c1768 if Nancy was his first wife.

Robert helpfully left a will:

Botetourt County. Snodgrass, Robert. Will probated November 1806. Names children Tilgman, William Adams, Sabra, Elizabeth, Jenny, and Miranda. Brother Joseph and Tilgman West executors.

The will names his children and appoints neighbour Edward Mitchell as guardian of all of the children named above indicating that the children were all still minors in 1806. The will also does not name or reference any wife indicating that Nancy (Adams) Snodgrass likely predeceased Robert.

What is interesting about this data is that Robert Snodgrass had a brother “Tilghman Snodgrass” who might have been given his mother’s maiden name.

I believe that this Robert Snodgrass is the source of the undocumented information about Elizabeth (Tillman) Snodgrass.

Notice, though, that while the will proves that this Robert Sndograss existed, married and had a family. there are still no primary documents connecting him to his unknown parents!

The bigger problem, though, is that this Robert is reportedly the son of Joseph Snodgrass and Hannah Vernon. Another problem is the lack of family members in Joseph’s line who had a Tilghman/Tillman in the family.

Lauretta Snodgrass Russell (1903-1982) wrote a booklet about the family of Tilghman Snodgrass and his wife, Mary Woods Walker of Botetourt County, Virginia detailing their (documented) trek to settle in Texas in the 1850s.

She did an admirable job sharing the family’s story with enough documentation (e.g. Marriage Book A, Deed Book X, etc.) so that recent researchers can corroborate her findings.

I find it interesting – and much to her credit – that Lauretta made no attempt to claim parentage for Tilghman Snodgrass.

I have been unable to find any source whatsoever that proves that Elizabeth Tillman/Tilghman existed. I don’t doubt that she might have, but there just isn’t any extant record that I’ve yet found that does name her and certainly nothing that names her as a sister of Tobias and/or a child of John and Eva Tilghman.

I also doubt that John Tilghman lived to be 104 years old, eventually dying in Preble County, Ohio.

Children of Tilghman and Mary Snodgrass, said to be found in a family Bible:

To repeat once more in case a reader decides to copy and paste information, I have yet to uncover ANY DOCUMENT that establishes Elizabeth Tilghman and Tobias Tillman as siblings.

Next on the research list is investigating Robert Snodgrass in Sullivan County, Tennessee. What documentation can be found pertaining to his life?

The answer is – not much. His name appears in a land record in Sullivan County, which places him there in early 1780.

However, there is a note on his WikiTree entry stating that a record of his probate was found among the loose records of the North Carolina State Archives indicating that he was dead by November 1780:

Robert’s estate was probated in Sullivan County, Tennessee (then North Carolina) in November 1780. His administrators were his older brother John Snodgrass, also of Sullivan and his brother-in-law John Steel. Securities for the probate were friends Moses Looney and John Crockett.

7 Mar 2021 update: Loose file land documents recently obtained from the The State Archives of North Carolina show that Robert was killed by Indians and that William Snodgrass was his son and heir at law.

There are no early probate or court records found on FamilySearch, so the next step will be to follow up with the North Carolina State Archives.

So far, there has been no mention of Elizabeth (Tillman) Snodgrass in any primary record.

In 2024, I posted an expanded timeline of the life of Revolutionary War soldier Tobias Tillman’s life. This month, the Tillman family will have another deep divelook at Tobias Tillman and an Elizabeth Tillman, who may or may not have existed.

Thanks to FamilySearch’s full-text search, I’ve been able to added another half dozen entries to Tobias’s timeline.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t help to identify Tobias’s parents.

• 1751 or 1752, mid-June – Tobias born in Orange County, North Carolina
• 1776, February 15 – Tobias enlisted in Captain William O’Neal’s Company in Col. Butler’s Regiment of Orange County, North Carolina militia.
• 1776 – Tobias married around this time. He stated that he lived in North Carolina “until the end of the war.”
• 1778, August 3 – Orange County, North Carolina land entry for 150 acres
• 1778, August 6 – Orange County, North Carolina land entry for an additional 150 acres
• 1779 – Orange County, North Carolina Tax List – Tobias Tillman
• 1783 – Personal Property Tax List, Botetourt County, Virginia, Captain Looney’s District, 1 tithable, 2 horses, 4 cattle
• 1784 – Personal Property Tax List, Botetourt County, Virginia, Captain Looney’s District, 1 tithable, 2 horses, 7 cattle
• 1785 – Personal Property Tax List, Botetourt County, Virginia, Captain Looney’s District, 1 tithable, 3 horses, 6 cattle
• 1787 – Personal Property Tax List, John Robinson’s Company, Botetourt County, Virginia, 1 tithable, 4 horses, 9 cattle
• 1788 – Personal Property Tax List, John Robinson’s Company, Botetourt County, Virginia, 1 tithable, 5 horses/cattle
• 1789 – Personal Property Tax List, John Robinson’s Company, Botetourt County, Virginia, 1 tithable, 6 horses/cattle
• 1795, November 7 – Montgomery County, Virginia: Tobias Tillman & Catherine his wife sold 75 acres on a branch of Sinking Creek called Bear Camp to George Sharp for £40.
• 1798, February 7 – Knox County, Tennessee, John M. Carrick sold 40 acres of land to Tobias Tillman, located on south side of the Clinch River
• 1799 – November 16 – Daughter Barbara Tillman married Martin Rice in Knox County, Tennessee
• 1800, October 14 – Daughter Catherine Tillman married James Abbott in Knox County, Tennessee
• 1800, December 22 – Daughter Elizabeth Tillman married Alexander McNutt in Knox County, Tennessee
• 1802 – Tobias Tillman taxed for 227 acres, south of Clinch River and 350 acres north of Clinch River, Anderson County, Tennessee [Note: Anderson County was formed from Knox and Grainger Counties in 1801.]
• 1803 – March Session,  Anderson County, Tennessee Court Minutes – Tobias Tillman bought 197 acres of land
• 1804 – June Session, Anderson County, Tennessee Court Minutes – Tobias Tillman called for jury duty
• 1805 – Anderson County, Tennessee Tax List – Tobias Tillman
• 1805, June – Anderson County, Tennessee, Tobias Tillman excused for non-attendance at March 1803 term
• 1805 – Tobias Tillman with 3 sons and 7 daughters, plus extended family removed to Harrison Township, Preble, Ohio and settled on Swamp Creek about this time.
• 1806 – March 14 – Deed recorded. Tobias Tillman sold 185 acres to Jacob Weaver and another 400 acres to Jacob Weaver. Both deeds witnessed by John Loy and Lewis (Ludwick) Clapp. Anderson County, Tennessee
• 1808, November 22 – Daughter Mary Tillman married in Preble County, Ohio
• 1811 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1812 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1812, February 27 – Daughter Margaret Tillman married Isaac Nation in Preble County, Ohio
• 1812, April 20 – Preble County, Ohio – land grant from U.S. to Tobias Tillman, T7 R3 S23, NW quarter, Deed Book 68:335
• 1813 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1814 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1815 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1816 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1817 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1818 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1819 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1820 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1820 Census – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman
• 1821 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1821, October 11 – Daughter Eva Tillman married Jesse Piles in Preble County, Ohio
• 1822 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1822, June 13 – Son Jacob Tillman married Mary Thomas in Preble County, Ohio
• 1823 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1823 Preble County, Ohio – Deed recorded from Tobias and Catherine Tillman to Jacob Tillman
• 1824 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias and John Tillman are taxed as NON-RESIDENTS of the county
• 1825 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1825, October 13 – Daughter Rachel Tillman married Moses Huffman in Preble County, Ohio
• 1826 – Preble County, Ohio – Tobias Tillman on tax list
• 1826, August 27 – Son Henry Tillman married Parmelia House in Preble County, Ohio
• 1830 Census – Preble County, Ohio: Tobias Tillman likely was the male 70-79 living with Jesse and Eva Piles (his daughter). Eva is the only child of Tobias’s in Preble County that has a male in his age range in the home.
• 1833, March 22 – Tobias Tillman was granted a military pension for his Revolutionary War service, Preble County, Ohio
• 1840 Census – Preble County, Ohio: Tobias Tillman likely was the male 80-89 living with his son Henry’s family
• 1845, February 6 – Tobias Tillman reportedly died on this date. He does not appear in the 1850 census, Preble County, Ohio

For the time being, I think I have finished what can be done concerning the parentage of Tobias Tillman. It may be that the names of his father and mother may forever remain a mystery.

However, Tobias’s FAN club most definitely includes the Sharp family – his wife, Catherine, is said to be a Sharp by birth. While leaving no stone unturned in my research, I expanded my “to do” list to include Henry Sharp, who seemed to live in the same locations at the time time as Tobias. He is reputedly Tobias’s father-in-law.

I found an excellent book on the Sharps, downloadable as a PDF – Know Your Relatives – The Sharps – Gibbs, Graves, Efland, Albright, Loy, Miller, Snodderly, Tillman, and other Related Families by Genevieve E. Peters, perhaps self published (the text is typewritten) in January 1953.

In spite of Ms. Peters work having been completed long before the Genealogical Proof Standard was even a thought in anybody’s mind, she has done an outstanding job with her research, literally following the ancestors’ trail, by car, to personally examine courthouse records. One huge difference for me, though, is that I have the luxury of accessing the same records online from home!

No, she doesn’t cite her sources to today’s EE standards, but she liberally footnotes in my favorite college paper format. Therefore, when she mentions someone on the 1755 tax list of Orange County, North Carolina, I can replicate her work and read the tax list for myself.

Tobias Tillman is mentioned several times in Mrs. Peters’ book, but there is also a short chapter dedicated to his line on pages 150-156. She is a lady after my own heart, as she supports several theories I have about Tobias and his family.

First, Tobias Tillman, in his Revolutionary War pension application, states that he was born mid-June in 1751 or 1752 in Orange County, North Carolina. Well, factually, there is anywhere from 0-50% chance that is true. Orange County was first set off on 31 March 1752, so it is possible that Tobias was born there if born in 1752. However, if he was born in June 1751 and grew up in the area where he was born, he would have been born either in Granville, Johnston or Bladen Counties, as they were the parent counties of Orange.

On the other hand, it is said – UNDOCUMENTED – that his parents were John and Eva Tillman. If so, the only documentary evidence I have come across for John Tillman in Somerset County, Maryland is a land deed in which John, no wife named, sold land there in 1753 and bought no further land in Maryland after that time.

If he is the same John who reportedly married Eva (UNDOCUMENTED and likely wrong) Dryden (as Eva is said to be German, but Dryden is a British surname), then the family seems to have left Maryland when Tobias was a baby.

Mrs. Peters adds a further detail about John and Eva Tillman in her book, one that I suspected – John and Eva reportedly had only two children – Elizabeth and Tobias – before John died (in North Carolina) and Eva remarried to a German man.

More than once I’ve found that one of my brick walls appeared because of the very situation of a spouse dying and a remarriage.

There is conflicting information about John Tillman. One common story – family lore – which I’ve been unable to document – is that John died at Tobias’s home in Preble County, Ohio in 1809 at the age of 105. His purported death conveniently happens before the first census of Ohio was taken. However, I truly doubt that Tobias was shuffling around his very elderly father in the back of a wagon as he moved from North Carolina to Virginia to Tennessee to Ohio. By the time Tobias removed to Preble County, Ohio, c1805, his own son, John, would have been of legal age. It seems much more likely that his son was the early John Tillman in Preble County, not a centenarian father.

Tobias and Catherine Tillman sold land in Montgomery County, Virginia in 1796. In footnote 1 on page 152, a descendant stated that the deed was in German script “probably because his father had been left an orphan at an early age and was raised by his mother’s people, who were German, and he never learned to speak English.” Exactly who the father is – Tobias or Tobias’s father – is unclear. However, this scenario makes more sense in terms of extant records because Tobias Tillman is the only Tillman found in early Orange County, North Carolina records. If John is his father and lived to be over 100 years old and Tobias grew up in Orange County, why isn’t John Tillman, or any Tillman, on the 1755 tax list or the 1779 tax roll?

That supports my theory that Tobias’s father died young, left no other sons besides Tobias, and Tobias’s mother remarried to a German man. Unfortunately, the 1755 tax list of Orange County is 23 handwritten pages long and only the male’s name is listed. There are way too many German families living there and no Tillman marriage, or even just “Eva”, to be found. However, the marriage records begin in 1754, so it is possible that Tobias’s father died shortly after he was born and his mother remarried just before the 1754 records begin.

In spite of the lack of a marriage record for Tobias Tillman and wife, Catherine, preponderance of evidence certainly points to a close association between Tobias and Henry Sharp.

Therefore, next up will be an introduction to Henry Sharp and a factual timeline of his life – as opposed to the many connections to several men of the same name.