[2] He attended both public and private schools in nearby Flag Pond, and later at Mars Hill, North Carolina.

[3] In 1898, when the Spanish–American War broke out, he enlisted and served as a major in the Sixth Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry .

[3] Speaking of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, he said: "I am in thorough accord with the official accord of Secretary Balfour, as endorsed by the countries of France and Italy, on the subject of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and I shall gladly support a movement in that direction.... To whose care should it be more appropriately entrusted than the descendants of those who made such wonderful history there?

"[8] After his retirement from public life, Tilson returned to the practice of law in Washington D.C., and then in New Haven, Connecticut.

He also served as a special lecturer at Yale University on parliamentary law and procedure, and wrote Tilson's Manual.