This pamphlet--Whence Did The Negro Originate--was written in 1910 by the Rev. N. J. Tilghman, who was born in Salisbury, Maryland and lived in Palatka, Florida. The pamphlet details the racist theory that Black people became a separate race after the biblical Cain married an ape.

The author, Rev. N.J. Tilghman lived from 1828-1918 as an ordained minister of the Methodist church for most of his life. He was born in Salisbury, Maryland, in 1828, and later in his life, he decided to first enter the lumber business field. His family operated a lumber mill in Palatka, Florida. Later their mill was sold, and they decided to start a shingle mill, but their family was most known in their religious involvements. Rev. N. J. Tilghman was a member of the board of trustees and served many terms as chairman. For half of a century, he had been a Mason and additionally, was an Odd Fellow for several years. In his obituary, he is recalled as a “pillar of St. James Methodist Church”.