Jilson was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, in 1839, to parents Mary and Sylvester Jillson.

[1][2] He moved from Massachusetts to South Carolina in 1866 to teach for the Freedmen's Bureau.

[6] Jillson was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 1868 to 1871,[7] and chaired the education committee.

[8] During his political career, Jilson was affiliated with the Republican Party.

Its leaders resigned instead of accepting African American deaf students.