The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Birth: 06 Mar 1740 / King William / VA Death: bef Mar 1836 / Stokes / NC
Qualifying Service Description:
1779-1781, he served as a Private in the companies of Captains Jacob Camperlin, Joseph Cloud, James Gaines, and David Humphrey of the Surry County, North Carolina Militia.
The Church was constituted on the first Sunday of December 1802. Edmund Tilley and fellow Patriot Matthew Hill are named as members and are present for the constitution. Many of his descendants are buried there. Many with no markers. It is believed that Edmund Tilley and wife are buried in unmarked graves
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Author: P. David Tilley
Edmund Tilley's birth of 6 March 1744 is based on his pension deposition dated 18 January 1834; in the prescribed question list, he states his date of birth and also place of birth as King William County, Virginia. Still, it is more likely that he was born in Spotsylvania or Orange County, which was formed from King William County. Edmund's father, Henry Tilley Sr., born in about 1714, was also a Patriot. Edmund's siblings were:
Lazarus was born in 1737, also a Patriot.
Agnes was born about 1738 and married David Graves.
Joel was born about 1745 who is undocumented except in Henry's will.
Nancy was born about 1747 and married Reuben Wheeler.
Bennett was born about 1753 and was also a Patriot.
Henry Jr. was born about 1754, also a Patriot.
John was born about 1761, also a Patriot.
The Tilley family originally lived in the areas of Orange, Albemarle, and Spotsylvania Counties, Virginia.
Edmund settled on the Dan River in the Sauratown Mountain Range near Hanging Rock. His sister Agnes and husband David Graves settled on the Dan River adjacent to Edmund. His brother Lazarus settled on the Dan River just a few miles upstream of Edmund and David Graves. Lazarus and David Graves migrated to Kentucky around 1800. His remaining siblings all settled along the north side of the Dan River. One of the two villages belonging to the people of the Saura Nation was located along the south side of the Dan River in the area where the Tilleys settled, but if they still occupied the village, they soon left.
It is believed that Edmund's wife was the sister of Patriot David Graves, and her name may be Phebe Graves; their known children were:
Nancy was born in 1768 and married 1st cousin Aaron Tilley.
David was born in 1770
John was born in 1775 and married Polly Cloud.
Joel was born in 1782 and married Lucy Lankford.
Edmund Jr. was born in 1783 and married Sarah Frances.
Betsey was born in 1791 and married Frederick Hill.
Susan was born in 1792 and married William Riggs.
Edmund Tilley was recorded in a census as being in manufacturing, possibly as a wagonwright, wheelwright, or blacksmith. He lived on a 150-acre plot of land, which included a large part of the Dan River and a steep mountainside. In 1802, the Snow Creek Primitive Baptist Church was built, and Edmund Tilley, along with other members, including Matthew Hill, were present during its constitution on the first Sunday of December. Both Edmund and Matthew were Patriots. Many of Edmund's descendants have since been buried at the church, with some more recent burials having no markers.
The Patriot died on 6 December 1835 in Stokes County, North Carolina, and is believed that he and his wife may be buried at the Snow Creek Primitive Baptist Churchyard. In his Last Will and Testament, Edmund mentioned his good friend, the Quaker leader Matthew Moore, who owned a significant amount of land in the area known as Quaker Gap, where Edmund and his son David lived. Census records consistently show Edmund's household to be full, including a few enslaved people and their children.
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