Lee Stephen Tillotson

Lee Stephen Tillotson (December 8, 1874 – July 18, 1957) was a Vermont military officer and attorney who served as Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard.

Lee Stephen Tillotson
Tillotson as a brigadier general in 1913.
Born	December 8, 1874 Bakersfield, Vermont
Died	July 18, 1957 (aged 82) Townshend, Vermont
Buried	Parish Cemetery, Newfane, Vermont
Allegiance	Vermont  United States
Service/branch	Vermont National Guard United States Army
Years of service	1898–1917 (National Guard) 1917–1938 (Army)
Rank	Brigadier General (National Guard) Colonel (Army)
Commands held	Vermont National Guard
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War World War I
Other work	Attorney Judge Author

Early life

Lee S. Tillotson was born on December 8, 1874 in Bakersfield, Vermont.[1] Tillotson attended local schools, and graduated from Brigham Academy in 1890. He then joined the Central Vermont Railway in St. Albans, working as a clerk in its main office from 1890 to 1899.[2]

Start of military career

Tillotson joined the Vermont National Guard in 1898. Enlisting as a cornet player, he rose in rank to become the principal musician of the 1st Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Spanish–American War.[3] He continued his military service after the war, obtaining a commission as a first lieutenant in 1901 and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was also an active member of United Spanish War Veterans.[4]

Musical activities

During his life Tillotson continued to pursue his musical interests. He sang in and directed choirs in St. Albans, Boston and Washington, D.C., and also served as Treasurer of the Handel and Haydn Society.[5][6]

Start of legal career

Tillotson as a captain in 1907.

Following the Spanish–American War Tillotson resigned from the Central Vermont Railroad to pursue legal studies in the office of St. Albans Attorney Alfred A. Hall. He attained admission to the bar in 1902 and began a practice in St. Albans.[7]

A Republican, Tillotson served as Judge of the St. Albans Municipal Court from 1904 to 1906.[8] Tillotson was also involved in other business and government activities, including serving as a member of the board of directors for the gas lighting company in St. Albans and a member of the Vermont Commission on Probation.[9][10]

Adjutant General

In 1910 Tillotson was appointed Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard with the rank of brigadier general, filling the position following the death of William H. Gilmore.[11] Tillotson's appointment was a generational break, because he was the first Vermont Adjutant General since the American Civil War who was not a veteran of that conflict. Tillotson won reelection every two years, and continued to serve as Adjutant General until the start of World War I.[12] (The Adjutant General is selected for a two-year term by a secret ballot of the Vermont General Assembly. Elections are held in February of each odd numbered year, with the term commencing the following March.)[13][14]

World War I

He resigned as Adjutant General to enter the regular Army for service in France during World War I, accepting a reduction in rank to serve on active duty, and receiving a commission as a major in the Adjutant General's Corps.[15] He served initially on the staff of the Militia Bureau. In France he served as adjutant of the 93rd Division, a segregated unit of African-American soldiers and white officers. Tillotson then transferred to the staff of the American Expeditionary Forces Services of Supply. Upon returning to the United States, Tillotson served as assistant adjutant of Camp Meade, Maryland, responsible for out processing and discharging soldiers returning from the war.[16][17]

Post-World War I

Tillotson returned to Vermont in 1919 and ran unsuccessfully for the adjutant general's position, losing to Herbert T. Johnson, who had acted as adjutant general during Tillotson's wartime service.[18] Tillotson then continued his service in the regular Army. In April, 1920 he transferred to the Infantry branch, and his postings included adjutant and executive officer of the 21st Regiment, Hawaiian Division.[19] He also became an active member of the American Legion.[20] In 1927 he joined the Judge Advocate General Corps, and was assigned to the War Department’s General Staff.[21]

From 1929 to 1933 Tillotson was the army's liaison officer to the U.S. Senate Committee on Military Affairs.[22] At the time of his retirement in 1938, he was judge advocate of the First Corps Area in Boston.[23] Tillotson retired from active duty as a colonel in 1938.[24][25][26] During his Army service Tillotson authored The Articles of War, Annotated and Index/Digest to Uniform Code of Military Justice.[27][28]

Masonic career

Lee S. Tillotson as Vermont's Masonic Grand Master in 1909

Tillotson was an active Mason attaining the 33rd Degree and serving as Vermont's youngest-ever Grand Master. He also authored History of Ancient Craft Masonry in Vermont and Digest of Masonic Law in Vermont.[29]

Later life

Tillotson returned to Vermont after retiring from the army. Initially he resided in Springfield and practiced law with Alban J. Parker, who went on to serve as Vermont Attorney General.[30]

He later lived in retirement, first in Northfield, and later in Newfane. Tillotson remained active, including serving on Newfane's Board of Selectmen and authoring numerous articles on American history and other topics.[31]

Death and burial

Tillotson died at the hospital in Townshend, Vermont on July 18, 1957, as the result of complications from a fall that left him with a fractured hip.[32] He was buried in Newfane's Parish Cemetery.[33][34]

Family

In October, 1917 Lee Tillotson married Ethel A. Adams (1892–1972)[35][36] in Montpelier, Vermont.[37] They had a son, John Adams Tillotson (1919–2005).[38] John Tillotson was a career soldier who attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.[39][40][41][42]

References

1. Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908, birth entry for Lee S. Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
2. The Tyler-Keystone magazine, Craft Movement in Vermont, October 20, 1909, pages 171–173
3. National Archives and Records Administration, Spanish American War Volunteers, 1898, entry for Lee Stephen Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
4. William Hartley Jeffrey, Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, 1907, pages 319–321
5. Sandusky Star-Journal, "Elaborate Holy Week Programs to be Broadcast by NBC Chains," March 31, 1928
6. Jeffrey, Successful Vermonters, pages 319–321
7. Albert Nelson Marquis, Who's Who in New England, 1915, page 1068
8. Vermont Auditor of Accounts, Biennial report, 1908, page 60
9. National Probation Association, Yearbook, Volume 8, 1916, page 43
10. Vermont Public Service Commission, Biennial Report, Volume 13, 1912, page 52
11. Peter H. Haraty, Put the Vermonters Ahead: A History of the Vermont National Guard, 1764-1978, 1978, page 142
12. Vermont General Assembly, Farewell address of Governor Horace F. Graham Archived 2014-01-03 at the Wayback Machine, 1919, page 7
13. Paul C. Dunham, Government Research center, University of Vermont, Vermont State Administrative Agencies, 1777-1946, 1965, page 13
14. "Title 20: Internal Security And Public Safety, Chapter 21: General Provisions, § 363. Officers Generally". The Vermont Statutes Online. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
15. Edwin T. Pollock, The Hatchet of the United States Ship George Washington, List of Passengers, 1919, page 253
16. Vermont Adjutant General, The World War Roster, 1919, page 1274
17. Floyd Phillips Gibbons, And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight, 1918, page 410
18. Boston Globe, "Loses Office on Return from War," January 24, 1919
19. United States Army Adjutant General, Official Army Register, 1922, page 850
20. Hattiesburg American, Shelby Soldiers May Join American Legion, May 7, 1919
21. United States Congress Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States, Volume 66, Part 1, 1931, page 13
22. Orrin B. Hughes, Vermont Bar Association Annual Meeting Proceedings, Biography, Lee S. Tillotson, 1957, page 66
23. U.S. Army Adjutant General, Official U.S. Army Register, 1937, page 45
24. International News Service, San Antonio Light, Army Orders, November 3, 1938
25. Army and Navy Journal, Inc., Army and Navy Journal, Volume 76, Issues 1-26, 1938, page 297
26. Hartford Courant, Colonel L. S. Tillotson's Retirement Announced, December 12, 1938
27. Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1946, page 656
28. Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1956, page 795
29. William Richard Cutter, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Volume 3, 1914, page 1643
30. Hughes, Vermont Bar Association, page 66
31. Margaret Tillotson Ragsdale, Tillotson, Tillison, and Tillitson: Descendants of John Tillotson, Immigrant to the American Colonies from the West Riding, Yorkshire, England, Volume 1, 1998, page 773
32. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Lee Stephen Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
33. Lee Stephen Tillotson at Find a Grave, retrieved December 2, 2013
34. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963, entry for Lee Stephen Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
35. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, entry for Ethel Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
36. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, entry for Ethel Adams Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
37. Vermont, Marriage Records, 1909-2008, entry for Ethel A. Adams, retrieved December 2, 2013
38. Vermont Birth Records, 1909-2008, entry for John Adams Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
39. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, entry for John A. Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
40. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, entry for John A. Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
41. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006, entry for John A Tillotson, retrieved December 2, 2013
42. John A. Tillotson at Find a Grave, retrieved December 2, 2013