Theodore Clyde Tilghman was born on November 29, 1882, in Gates County, North Carolina. Tilghman was captain of the 322nd Infantry during World War I. He was deployed overseas from July 1918 to June 1919 and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Tilghman was honorably discharged in June 1919 with the rank of major. He died in Hampton, Virginia, on September 1, 1956.