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 Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

-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 Alexander Rankin (December 31, 1788 – April 3, 1852) was a Scottish-born merchant and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1827 to 1852. He was born a ...

to the

Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...

(

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) 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