George Gilmer

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Dr. George Gilmer (1743-1795), Thomas Jefferson's friend and physician, was an influential Albemarle County landowner in the late 18th century. "Pen Park" was the Gilmer family estate in Albemarle County.

About

Born in Williamsburg in 1743 to a Scottish immigrant with the same name, George Gilmer studied medicine at the College of William & Mary. He married his first cousin, Lucy Walker, and moved to Charlottesville shortly before the American Revolution in which he served as a lieutenant. In addition to being a personal friend, Gilmer was also the attending physician to Thomas Jefferson and his family. He also appeared as a delegate in Jefferson's stead at the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg in 1776.[1][2]

In the summer of 1776, George Gilmer attended the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, acting in Thomas Jefferson's stead. During the Revolution, Gilmer served as a Lieutenant in the Albemarle County First Independent Company of Gentleman Volunteers and as a military surgeon.[3]

In 1777, Dr. Gilmer purchased the land on which Pen Park now exists[4].

Gilmer served as sheriff in 1787 and was also elected to the House of Delegates. [5]

Descendants

His grandson Thomas Walker Gilmer was a governor of Virginia and secretary of the navy who died in an explosion on the USS Princeton in 1844.[7]

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References

  1. Web. George Gilmer, Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia, retrieved July 30, 2012.
  2. Web. The Gilmers In America, New York: Printed for private distribution, 1897, retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. Web. THOMAS JEFFERSON ENCYCLOPEDIA, George Gilmer, retrieved November 29, 2023.
  4. Lancaster, Robert A. Historic VIrginia Homes and Churches. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <http://tinyurl.com/yf76m2n>.
  5. Print: Looking Back, Vera V. Via, Daily Progress, Lindsay family January 6, 1960, Page 28.
  6. Web. 1825: Old School, The University of Virginia Magazine, Fall 2011, retrieved July 30, 2012.
  7. Lancaster, Robert A. Historic Virginia Homes and Churches. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <http://tinyurl.com/yf76m2n>.

[[Category: Revolutionary War veterans