Thomas Walker Gilmer (April 6, 1802 – February 28, 1844) was an American statesman. He served in a number of political positions in Virginia, including election as the 28th

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

. Gilmer's final political office was as the 15th

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, but he died in an accident ten days after assuming that position.

Personal life

Gilmer was born t
George Gilmer
and Elizabeth Anderson Hudson at their farm, "Gilmerton", in

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Cha ...

. He was taught by private tutors and his uncl
Peachy Ridgeway Gilmer
in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

and Staunton, and studied law in Liberty (now

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

), Virginia.Jamerson, p. 61Lewis, p. 686 Gilmer practiced law in Charlottesville. He was, briefly,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

of the ''Virginia Advocate'', a Charlottesville newspaper. On May 23, 1826, Gilmer married Anne Elizabeth Baker of Shepherdstown, now in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. Her late father, John Baker, had been a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. They had a son, George Hudson Gilmer, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister. In 1829, Gilmer purchased Israel Jefferson, a former slave of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, who is best known for claiming that Sally Hemings was Thomas Jefferson's concubine. Gilmer later agreed to let Israel pay his own purchase price for his freedom after Gilmer's election to congress, as Israel desired to stay with his wife, a free woman.

Political career

Gilmer first served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

from 1829–36, representing Albemarle County. He returned in 1839–40 and was named

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. On February 14, 1840, Gilmer was elected the 28th

. While in office, he had a disagreement with the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

over the

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

stealers, which played a part in his running for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

the following winter. In March 1841, he entered the

27th Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. between March 4, ...

as a Whig, and after

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

unexpectedly ascended to the presidency, Gilmer voted to sustain Tyler's vetoes of legislation favored by other Whigs. Gilmer was re-elected to the 28th Congress as a Democrat in 1842 by a close vote. His competitor,

William L. Goggin William Leftwich Goggin (May 31, 1807 – January 3, 1870) was a nineteenth-century Whig politician and lawyer from Virginia. Early and family life Born near Bunker Hill in southern Bedford County, Virginia, to Mary Otey Leftwich (1789-1854 ...

, contested the result but before the report of the investigating committee, which recommended that Gilmer be seated, could be acted on, Gilmer resigned from Congress to accept Tyler's nomination as Secretary of the Navy. Goggin then won the special election to fill the vacated seat. As one of President John Tyler's close

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

allies in Washington, Gilmer was involved in the effort by the Tyler Administration to make the

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

the basis for his failed bid for re-election in 1844. On February 15, 1844, he was appointed by Tyler to be the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and resigned his seat in the Congress the next day to enter on the duties of the office; but, 10 days later, he was killed by the bursting of a bow gun on board while on a tour of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

below

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. His death meant the loss of a valuable ally for Tyler and some historians suggest that it may have delayed the Texas Annexation effort.

Electoral history

1842: Gilmer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 50.21% of the vote, defeating William Leftwich Goggin.

Legacy

Gilmer is buried at Mount Air Cemetery in Gilbert, Virginia. A year after his death, Gilmer County, Virginia was named in his honor; it is now part of West Virginia. The city of

Gilmer, Texas Gilmer is a city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, Texas. It is best known for being the home of the East Texas Yamboree and the birthplace of popular music singers Don Henley of the Eagles band and Johnny Mathis, as well as blues musicia ...

, is also named for him. (Gilmer is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of surrounding

Upshur County, Texas Upshur County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,892. The county seat is Gilmer. The county is named for Abel P. Upshur, who was U.S. Secretary of State during Pre ...

, named after Abel Parker Upshur, (1790–1844), another victim of the explosion in February 1844 on board the naval ship on the

, below

Two ships of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

over the years have been named in his honor.

Notes

References

* *

External links

A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Thomas W. Gilmer, 1840-1841
a
The Library of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmer, Thomas Walker 1802 births 1844 deaths Accidental deaths in Virginia Deaths by explosive device Governors of Virginia People from Albemarle County, Virginia Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates Tyler administration cabinet members United States Secretaries of the Navy Virginia lawyers Editors of Virginia newspapers Virginia Whigs Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians