James Gilmour (14 October 1782 - 29 January 1858) was a prominent Scottish-born entrepreneur, farmer, school trustee, justice of the peace, militia officer, and co-founder of both

Douglastown, New Brunswick Douglastown is a Canadian suburban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick. Douglastown is home to the city of Miramichi's shopping district, which includes a large enclosed shopping mall, multiple strip malls and numerous other sto ...

, and Gilmour, Rankin & Co. Born in 1782, James Gilmour was the brother of Allan Gilmour, Sr, and the son of Allan Gilmour and Elizabeth Pollok. He was sent in 1812 (together with

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 establish a base on 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) for the family's

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, James Gilmour and Alexander Rankin, founded the small community of Gretna Green (later

), and established a new branch for the firm, Gilmour, Rankin & Co. Gilmour and Rankin first developed a sawmill, offices and a house at

, and later established a shipbuilding yard and a second sawmill. They were one of the largest and most influential employers in the region, highly successful as timber merchants and ship builders. James Gilmour returned to Scotland in 1840, and died at

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census revealed that the village had 3,114 occupants, do ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

in 1858.Gilmour and Rankin collection at UNB
/ref>

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. People from Miramichi, New Brunswick 1782 births 1858 deaths People from Eaglesham {{Canada-business-bio-stub