Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Tillotson (1750 Maryland – May 5, 1832 Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York) was an American physician and politician.
Life
He received a thorough education, studied medicine, and practiced. During the American Revolutionary War, he was commissioned First lieutenant in the Maryland Militia in 1776. He was appointed by Congress as a physician and surgeon general of the Northern Department of the Continental Army in 1780, and served until the close of the war. Afterward, he settled in New York and engaged in the practice of medicine.
He married Margaret Livingston (1749–1823, sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston), and they had four children, among them Robert L. Tillotson.
He was a Federalist member from Dutchess County of the New York State Assembly from 1788 to 1790. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1791 to 1799. In 1791, he was also a member of the Council of Appointment.
He was elected to the 7th United States Congress, but resigned on August 10, 1801, before Congress met, to become Secretary of State of New York. He remained in this office until March 15, 1806, and again from February 16, 1807, to February 1, 1808.
He was buried in the vault in the rear of the Reformed Dutch Church at Rhinebeck, New York.