Daniel T. Tillman, born in Wadesboro in 1927, was appointed a circuit court judge in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1972.

After graduating in 1954 from Georgetown University School of Law in Washington, D.C. — in the university’s second class to accept African-Americans — he returned to North Carolina and passed the state bar examination. He then decided to practice law in St. Louis for better opportunities. After graduating from high school, Tillman was drafted and spent 1946-1947 in the army as a munitions worker. He earned his way through A&T College in Greensboro by working as a waiter at the Greensboro Country Club. He financed his study of law at Georgetown University by working as a waiter at a well-known seafood restaurant. In 1962, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern Illinois University.

After passing the Missouri Bar, he practiced law and was a teacher at Hubbard Business College. He became interested in politics, realizing the need for voting to help change conditions. He served positions as assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri and assistant prosecuting attorney for St. Louis. In 1970, Governor Warren E. Hearnes named Tillman to the bench on the St. Louis Circuit Court. There were relatively few black judges at the time. In addition, he was president of the Missouri Trial Judges Association and served on the boards of the Urban League and Harris-Stowe State University. Judge Tillman retired in 1997.

At the time of his appointment as circuit court judge, Tillman told a newspaper reporter at the Saint Louis Globe-Democrat that he believed his new position might inspire others from poor families to work harder for an education. He also commented that the family must teach respect for the law. Tillman and his wife, a pediatrician, had two children. His mother, Nellie Tillman, lived her last years with her son’s family. Judge Daniel T. Tillman died on July 23, 2014 and was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis County, Missouri. His parents, Daniel F. Tillman (1883-1952), a carpenter, and Nellie Mask Tillman (1898-1999), a teacher, are buried at Westview Memorial Park on Highway 74 West outside of Wadesboro. His mother lived to be 101 years old. The judge’s younger brother, Dr. Otis Tillman, was a doctor in the High Point area for 46 years.

Judge Tillman was a big man— 6 feet, 4 inches tall, at 250 pounds. He was one of the most successful attorneys to come out of Anson County.

Steve Bailey is employed with the Anson County Historical Society and has specialized in local African-American family history for 20 years.

Bailey
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Steve-Bailey-toned.jpgBailey

Tillman
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Daniel-Tillman-fz.jpgTillman

Steve Bailey

Guest columnist