Papers : 1720-1960.

Call Number:
HIL-MICL FC LFR .G5F3P3
Category:
Family
Creator:
Gillmore Family.
Material Description:
1 microfilm textual records 35 mm
Background:

George Gillmore(1720-1811) was born in County Antrim, Ireland, studied at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1769 emigrated to the American Colonies. He was ordained by the Church of Scotland in 1773 and preached in Voluntown, Connecticut, until 1775 when he was forced by the local rebels to stop preaching because of his Loyalist sentiments. He farmed to support his family and moved several times before being forced to flee to Quebec, where he became Chaplain to the troops at Sorel. 

In 1785 he and his family, who had joined him at Sorel, Quebec, moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. Here he served the Presbyterian congregations at Windsor and at Newport until 1791, thereafter he moved to Horton. With this appointment he assumed responsibility for the Church at Grand Pre, and here he was buried when he died at the age of 91 years on 20 September 1811.

Contents:

The reel contains:

  • A note from a Gillmore Family historian.
  • Part of a diary chronicling a trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Some accounting notes just before the date of his transatlantic voyage
  • Chirldren's birth and death, 1774.
  • Correspondence between Mr. Tucker and Dr. Hardie, 1959.
  • Transcript of diary of Gillmore's transatlantic voyage. This transcript is a typed copy of the hand-written diary which appears earlier on the film (second item). Entries give a good idea of the discomforts and treatment accorded to passengers. He adds many comments on the short allowances and the wickedness on the part of the passengers and the crew.
  • The Gillmore Sage, 1720-1960. Contains a biography of Reverend George Gillmore together with a genealogical record of his descendants through Rebecca Densmore, Jane Hunter, Samuel Gillmore, Ann Smith, Sarah Bennett-Cummings, and George Gillmore. Also includes a list of sources.
  • George Gillmore's claim to the British Government for losses sustained during the American Revolution (typescript).
  • Maps showing different places Gillmore lived
  • A map/plan showing 500 acres granted in Paradise Ardoise Hill, now called Willow Hill Road, Hants County, Nova Scotia, in 1786.
  • Diagram with a drawing of the Presbyterian church in Grande Pre, Nova Scotia.
  • Map/chart showing the places of Gillmore's ministry. Includes Minas Basin and his route to Halifax.

 

Originals:

The original records are held by The Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council and Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council Archives, Sackville, New Brunswick.

Finding Aids:

A brief inventory description is found at the beginning of the reel. 

Several introductory pages from The Gillmore Saga, are available in print.

Notes:

There is a date error in the brief inventory description at the beginning of the microfilm reel; 1796 should read 1769.