William H. Gilmore

William Harrison Gilmore (October 17, 1839 – April 18, 1910) was a Vermont political and military figure. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives, the Vermont State Senate and as Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia.

William H. Gilmore
From Volume 2 of 1903's Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont
Born	October 17, 1839 Fairlee, Vermont
Died	April 18, 1910 (aged 70) Bellows Falls, Vermont
Buried	Upper Plain Cemetery, Bradford, Vermont
Allegiance	United States of America  Vermont
Service/branch	Union Army Vermont National Guard
Years of service	1861–1864 (Army) 1882–1910 (Vermont National Guard)
Rank	Sergeant (Army) Major general (National Guard)
Commands held	Vermont National Guard
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Other work	Farmer Town treasurer Bank president Member, Vermont House of Representatives Member, Vermont Senate

Biography

William H. Gilmore was born in Fairlee, Vermont, on October 17, 1839. The son of state legislator and probate judge Alexander H. Gilmore, he was educated at New London Academy (now Colby-Sawyer College) and began a career as a farmer in Fairlee.[1][2]

Civil War

William H. Gilmore, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, 8th Vermont Infantry

In 1861 Gilmore joined Company D, 8th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Enlisting as a private, he served until being mustered out in 1864, and rose in rank to become the regiment's supply sergeant. On several occasions he was commended for sustaining the regiment in battle by arranging for the timely acquisition and distribution of food, ammunition and equipment.[3][4]

Post-Civil War

After the war Gilmore returned to farming in Fairlee. A Republican, he was Town Treasurer for over 39 years, and served in the Vermont House in 1878 and the Vermont Senate in 1882.[5] Gilmore was a member of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers and the Grand Army of the Republic, and served as president of the Orange County Agricultural Society.[6][7][8] In addition, the Sons of Veterans post in Williamstown was named for him.[9][10]

Gilmore was also active in several businesses, including serving as president of the Bradford National Bank.[11]

Continued military service

William H. Gilmore, Vermont Adjutant General

In 1882 Gilmore accepted appointment as a colonel on the staff of Governor John L. Barstow, a fellow veteran of the 8th Vermont, and he served until 1883.[12]

In 1886 Gilmore was elected by the Vermont General Assembly to serve as Quartermaster General of the Vermont Militia, with the rank of brigadier general.[13]

Gilmore was elected Quartermaster, Inspector and Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia with the rank of major general in November 1900 and served until his death.[14]

Death and burial

In later years Gilmore resided in Bradford during the winter and in a cottage on Lake Morey in Fairlee during the summer.[15]

Gilmore died in Bellows Falls, Vermont, on April 18, 1910. He had become ill in March while in town to inspect the local National Guard company, and he remained bedridden in a Bellows Fall hotel while being treated for pneumonia and other ailments.[16] He was buried in Bradford’s Upper Plain Cemetery.[17]

His grave is near that of Herbert Thomas Johnson, one of Gilmore's successors as adjutant general.[18][19]

Family

In 1866 Gilmore married Mary T. Haselton (1839–1917). Their children included Alexander H. Gilmore (June 2, 1866 – February 5, 1939), who became a newspaper editor in Newport News, Virginia, Macon, Georgia, and New Castle, Delaware,[20] and Kathie Gilmore, the wife of Harry B. Chamberlin, a Vermont businessman who served as an officer in Vermont National Guard, joined the army for the Spanish–American War and was later assigned to Alabama, California and other posts throughout the country.[21][22]

References

1. Elias Child, Genealogy of the Child, Childs and Childe Families, Volume 1, 1881, pages 255-256
2. Vermont General Assembly, Vermont Legislative Manual, 1904, page 63
3. Vermont General Assembly, Vermont Legislative Manual, 1902, page 59
4. George N. Carpenter, History of the Eighth Vermont Volunteers, 1886, pages 134-135, 277
5. Vermont Historical Society, Proceedings: 1909-1910, 1910, page 71
6. Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, Proceedings of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, Volume 2, 1906, page 109
7. Grand Army of the Republic, Journal of the National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1901, page 57
8. Vermont State Board of Agriculture, Vermont Agricultural Report, Volume 9, 1886, page 387
9. Williamstown Historical Society, A History of Williamstown, Vermont, 1781-1991, 1991, page 109
10. Vermont in the Civil War, Sons of Veterans of the Civil War, Vermont Division, retrieved November 25, 2013
11. Frank P. Bennett and Company, United States Investor, Volume 15, May 28, 1904, page 839
12. Vermont General Assembly, Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, 1883, page 302
13. Vermont General Assembly, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1902, page 426
14. Hiram Carleton, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, pages 212-214
15. Phyllis Lavelle, Along the Connecticut River, 1996, page 14
16. Vermont Journal, Death of Gen W. H. Gilmore, April 22, 1910
17. William H. Gilmore at Find a Grave
18. Herbert Thomas Johnson at Find a Grave, retrieved January 6, 2014
19. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Herbert Thomas Johnson, retrieved January 6, 2014
20. New Castle News, A. H. Gilmore Dies Suddenly, February 6, 1939
21. Daughters of the American Revolution, Lineage Book, 1918, pages 78–79
22. Carleton, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, page 214