Tilghman Howard

Who was Tilghman Howard?

Tilghman Ashurst Howard was a U.S. Representative from Indiana. He was born near Pickensville, South Carolina. He moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1816 and was admitted to the bar there in 1818. In 1830, he moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and in 1833 to Rockville, Indiana. President Andrew Jackson appointed him district attorney for Indiana, and he served as such from 1833 to 1837. In 1838, he sought, unsuccessfully, to be elected to the U.S. Senate. He was elected to the House of Representatives on August 5, 1839, and served until he resigned therefrom on July 1, 1840.

In 1841, Tilghman unsuccessfully defended the blacksmith Noah Beauchamp against a murder charge. Beauchamp was convicted and executed in Parke County, Indiana.

He sought election as Governor of Indiana in 1840 and as United States Senator in 1843 but was unsuccessful. He was appointed chargé d’affaires to the Republic of Texas on June 11, 1844. He died in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas and is buried in Rockville, Indiana.

Howard County, Indiana, and Howard County, Iowa, are named in his honor.