Joseph Albree Gilmore (June 10, 1811 – April 17, 1867) was an American railroad superintendent from

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, and the 29th governor of New Hampshire from 1863 to 1865.

Biography

Joseph A. Gilmore was born in

Weston, Vermont Weston is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 623 at the 2020 census. Home to the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, it includes the villages of Weston and The Island. History Weston was originally the western pa ...

, on June 10, 1811. He was educated in Vermont, and moved to Boston to learn the mercantile business. Gilmore then moved to

, where he established a wholesale grocery business. Gilmore became involved with the

Concord and Claremont Railroad The Concord and Claremont Railroad was an American railroad company during the mid-nineteenth century in New Hampshire spanning from Concord to Claremont. History Chartered on June 24, 1848, the Concord and Claremont Railroad was established and ...

, serving first as a construction agent, and later as the railroad's general superintendent. He also served as superintendent of the

Manchester and Lawrence Railroad The Manchester and Lawrence Railroad was a railroad company that was chartered in New Hampshire, United States, by businessmen from Manchester, to build a rail line from that city to the Massachusetts state line. History The Manchester and La ...

and the

Portsmouth and Concord Railroad The Portsmouth and Concord Railroad (later the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad) was a railroad in New Hampshire (United States) that existed under various names from 1845 to 1945. History and construction By 1845 the state of New Hampshire had ...

. Originally a Whig, Gilmore joined the Republican when it was founded in the mid-1850s. He served in the New Hampshire State Senate from 1858 to 1860, and was the Senate's President pro Tempore in 1859. Gilmore was elected governor in 1863 and reelected in 1864, and served from June 3, 1863, to June 8, 1865. Serving during the American Civil War. Gilmore's term was consumed by support for the Union, including a loan to provide bonuses and supplemental salary payments to soldiers, and arranging for the transport of soldiers traveling to New Hampshire on furlough and returning to the front lines.

Death and burial

Gilmore died in

, on April 17, 1867, and is buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Family

Gilmore was married to Ann Page Whipple, and they had eleven children. Their daughter Ann was the first wife of Senator

William E. Chandler William Eaton Chandler (December 28, 1835November 30, 1917), also known as Bill Chandler, was a lawyer who served as United States Secretary of the Navy and as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. In the 1880s, he was a member of the Republican "H ...

. Their son Joseph Henry Gilmore was a

Newton Theological Seminary Newton Theological Seminary or Newton Theological School may refer to: * Newton Theological Institution (1825–1965) * Andover Newton Theological School (1965–2017) * Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School Andover Newton Seminary at Y ...

trained Baptist pastor, and wrote the words to the hymn
He Leadeth Me
, inspired by the 23rd Psalm.

Notes

External links

*

at
National Governors Association
'
Joseph A. Gilmore
at ''Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography'', Volume II (1909)
Joseph Albree Gilmore
at ''American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection'' (2013) 1811 births 1867 deaths New Hampshire Whigs 19th-century American politicians New Hampshire Republicans New Hampshire state senators Governors of New Hampshire People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War People from Weston, Vermont Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery Union (American Civil War) state governors Republican Party governors of New Hampshire {{NewHampshire-politician-stub