Person:Thomas Gilmore (8)

Thomas Davidson Gilmore was born November 18, 1814, near Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, to Andrew H. and Margaret (Price) Gilmore. He attended school until age 12, when he began apprentice work in his father's blacksmith shop. On January 2, 1834, he married Matilda Savidge. In the next two years, Thomas and Matilda had two children: Martha Frances, born November 21, 1834, and Mary Matilda, born May 1, 1836. In October of 1836, before his 22nd birthday, Thomas, along with Matilda, Martha, and Mary left for Illinois with a wagon, two yoke of oxen, a horse with bridle and saddle, $4 in cash, a few household goods, and his blacksmith tools. They stopped at the area called Old Town Timber, 3 miles north of the newly-established Empire township and neighboring town of Le Roy in McLean County. Thomas erected a log cabin with puncheon floor and a clapboard door with wooden hinges. Inside, in one corner, he set up what is referred to as a raccoon bedstead, which had one leg with poles running from it to the side and end logs in the walls. Boards were then laid between the side rail and wall to complete the bed. Thomas also made stools and a clapboard table. The family settled in just before the chill of winter. He set up his blacksmith shop and began working from 4 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m., handling the large amount of work available. At one point, the shop was lost in a fire but then rebuilt. During 1837, a tree fell upon Thomas and broke one of his legs, causing him to be confined to rest at home for 4 months. Thomas did not hunt as he did not have success the one time he attempted to hunt deer. He fired and missed six times, then gave up. He did tend crops, though instead of travelling to Chicago to sell his corn and wheat like other settlers, he would hire other people to sell his crops in exchange for his blacksmithing services. Thomas and Matilda had another child, Joseph Price, on June 5, 1838, before Matilda's death on October 5, 1839. On December 11, 1840, Thomas mailed Mary Jane Brannaman, daughter of David Brannaman and Mary Hulderman, who had moved from Virginia. Thomas and Mary Jane had Andrew D., who was born March 2, 1842, but died in infancy, and Ira Franklin, born November 10, 1843. In 1846 Thomas made a trip to Kentucky to visit, but he became engaged in business there and remained for about 3 years. He returned to Old Town Timber and settled there, where he resumed his blacksmith business until 1855, when he stopped to tend solely to his farm of about 155 acres. Thomas and Mary Jane had a daughter, Lucinda Margaret, on January 14, 1850, and then another, Kentucky Jane (named for the state of his birth), on February 9, 1855. In 1857, Thomas's father, Andrew, moved from Kentucky to purchase land close to his son. Andrew lived on that land until his death on October 17, 1870. After Andrew's arrival, Thomas and Mary Jane had two more daughters: Elizabeth Ada on July 24, 1859, and Augusta Maude on September 16, 1862. Thomas Davidson Gilmore passed away on October 30, 1896, short of his 82nd birthday. In 1874, E. Duis described Thomas this way in his book, "The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois" (page 579):

"Mr. Gilmore is nearly six feet in height, weighs about one hundred and seventy pounds, is very muscular, and must have made a good blacksmith. He has a bald head, with a good development of brain, has dark eyes, a nose slightly Roman, and whiskers nearly white. He is a humorous man, very accommodating, very honest and fair-minded. He has been quite successful; has a good home and enjoys life. He likes his residence in Old Town Timber, but has warm feelings for old Kentucky, and for this reason named one of his children after that dear old State."

1. ↑ Thomas Davidson Gilmore, in Duis, E. The good old times in McLean County, Illinois: containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk War, and descriptions of all matters of interest relating to McLean County. (Bloomington Ill.: The Leader Pub. and Print. House, 1874)
   578.

   Thomas D. Gilmore was born November 18, 1814, in Warren County, Kentucky.

2. ↑ Thomas D. Gilmore, in The History of McLean County, Illinois: containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., portraits of early settlers and prominent men, general statistics, map of McLean County, history of Illinois, illustrated, history of the Northwest, illustrated, constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, &c., &c. (Chicago: W. LeBaron Jr. & Co., 1879)
   882.

   THOMAS D. GILMORE, farmer, Sec. 3; P.O. Le Roy: born in Warren Co., near Bowling Green, Ky., Nov. 18, 1814.