Dr. Daniel Tilden, Pioneer Physician

According to the June 1870 issue of the Firelands Pioneer, Daniel Tilden was born in the village of Lebanon in Grafton County, New Hampshire on August 19, 1788. He obtained his medical degree from Dartmouth College in 1812. Dr. Tilden married Nancy Drake in 1814. Dr. Tilden moved to Ohio in 1817, settling in Cook’s Corners (now known as North Monroeville). He lived briefly in Norwalk before settling in Sandusky in 1839.

The biographical sketch in the Firelands Pioneer stated that Dr. Tilden “was assiduous in his attentions to the sick, often times spending hours day and night by the bedside, observing symptoms, administering medicines himself and noting the operations and the changing condition of the patient, at the same time giving largely of cheerful encouragement. It seemed to be a labor of love with him to give his services to the very poor.” Dr. Tilden had an abhorrence of oppression and injustice and he was anti-slavery in his political convictions. It was said that his recollections of assisting the poor and enslaved race gave him great pleasure, and he often had tears of joy at the thought that he had lived to see “the colored man free.”

Dr. Tilden was president of the Ohio State Medical Society in 1856, and he served as president of the Erie County Medical Society for many years. He had also served in the State Senate of Ohio from 1828 through 1835. On August 19, 1868, Dr. Tilden celebrated his 80th birthday. His daughter, Mrs. Annette Tilden Mills, invited several of his oldest friends to celebrate with him. After a lengthy illness, Dr. Tilden died on May 7, 1870. He is buried in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery.