The Gilmer Family Bible

In February 2011, I was contacted by a woman in Arkansas. Her brother owned an antique shop and purchased an old bible (printed in 1864) at an auction in Springfield, Missouri. Two days after putting it in his shop, a passerby bought it, but not before the sister took photos of the birth, deaths, and marriages pages, as well as the pages of photographs. She had done research on her own family and hoped to find a family member to pass the information on to. She found me.

The most logical last owner of the bible would be James Andrew Gilmer, son of Frank Gilmer, son of Robert Tilford and Anna Creighton Scott Gilmer.  James and his wife Aletha both lived into their 90's, died in Springfield, Missouri, and seem to have had no children. James was one of 7 children, of Frank and Susan Hughes Gilmer, but of the 7, three lived long lives and never married, one died at eight months, one died at 16, and the other (Ralph Waldo Emerson Gilmer) had but one daughter who died in 1998, had married, but seems to not have had any children. Frank, the father, was basically an only child - his parents had had a set of twins before him, but they died as infants. Therefore it makes sense that an old family bible with information going back generations would find itself with James Andrew Gilmer at his death.

Almost none of the photos are identified by name, but it would be logical to assume the following people would be included:
It's possible the following people could be included:
Here are links to the photos of the vital records pages:
Births
Births page 2
Marriages
Deaths
Here are links to the photos, with their relative positions on the page used as file names:

1A - labeled "Jimmy Tilford", this is obviously James Tilford (1791-1860), son of Robert & Sarah Workman Tilford. James was a brother of Elizabeth Tilford (1784-1865), making him Robert T. Gilmer's uncle
1B - labeled "Polly Tilford", this is obviously Mary Ann "Polly" Workman Tilford (1793-1860), wife of James Tilford, daughter of John & Fran Sina Duffell Workman, making her Robert T. Gilmer's aunt
1C - older male
1D - young woman
2A - woman
2B - young man
2C - older woman - same as in later photo - I THINK this is Susie Hughes Gilmer
2D - man
3A - woman - I THINK this is Anna Creighton Scott Gilmer; the age and style of dress seems to point to her generation
3B - man - this would then be Robert Tilford Gilmer, but whoever it is it's probably the husband of the woman in 3A
3C - old woman in white bonnet - I don't think she was a Tilford, comparing her to 1A and 4C. She doesn't seem to be a Scott, though; she seems older than Anna Longest Scott ever was (61) or Polly Ellis Maxwell ever was (47), and none of the siblings or in-laws of Andrew Scott were this old in the late 1850's when this appears to have been taken, as Andrew was the eldest. Her apparent age would match Ann Scott Kincannon (1771-1860+) or Elizabeth Scott Mastin (1783-?), but neither of those women lived near Iowa at all
3D - young woman, younger version of the woman in 2C, again I THINK this is Susie Hughes Gilmer
4A - older man
4B - old man - I THINK this is Andrew S. Scott (1786-1859), since he looks so much like Andrew's son James L. Scott and brother Martin Scott, and his apparent age in the photo and the date of the photo implies a birthdate near his
4C - old woman in dark bonnet - I THINK this Elizabeth (Tilford) Gilmer (1784-1865) because her very square jaw looks similar to Jimmy Tilford (above) and Robert Tilford Gilmer (somewhat, under the beard)
4D - child



Author: Matt Scott