Allan Gilmour Sr. (October 1775 – 4 March 1849) was a Scottish-born lumber merchant and shipowner. Born in 1775, Allan Gilmour Sr. was the son of Allan Gilmour and Elizabeth Pollok. He attended the Mearns parish school in the 1780s and early 1790s, and by 1795 ran a small timber business there. By 1802, he had moved to Glasgow and his trade now extended to the Baltic, Russia, and Norway. In 1804, he co-founded the Glasgow-based firm

Pollok, Gilmour and Company Pollok, Gilmour, and Company was a Glasgow-based timber-importing firm established in 1804 by Allan Gilmour, Sr and the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. The company soon became the leading British firm in the North American timber trade. ...

, together with the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. Gilmour took charge of pursuing increased international trade for the business, making several trips to North America and Norway to open additional lines of trade. At its peak, and as a result of Gilmour's enterprises, Pollok, Gilmour & Company controlled one of the largest fleets of ships in the world, commanding over 100 vessels. Suffering from the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

blockade of Baltic timber, he quickly established a new, North American base for the company, sending his brother James Gilmour, and Alexander Rankin to the Miramichi River ( New Brunswick, Canada) in 1812.

was soon the largest operator in the British North American timber market, with further branches established at Saint John (1822), Quebec (1828), Montreal (1829), Bathurst, N.B. (1832), and Dalhousie and Campbellton (1833). In 1837 a rift developed between Gilmour and the Pollok brothers. To resolve the dispute, effective leadership was transferred to

Robert Rankin Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with ''Snuff Fiction'' in 1999, by ...

, the manager of the Saint John operation. After his retirement, his health soon declined. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1849. He died later in the same year leaving most of his property, to the sons of his brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

References

Bibliography

*John Rankin,
A history of our firm: being some account of the firm of Pollok, Gilmour and Co. and its offshoots and connections, 1804-1920
', publ. 1921. 1775 births 1849 deaths British merchants Colony of New Brunswick people {{Canada-business-bio-stub