Francis Redding Tillou (
c. 1795 – 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
c. 1795. 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]
On February 15, 1822, he married Caroline M. "Cara" Drake (
c. 1793).[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]
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]
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]