Col. James Gilliland and Eliza Rankin

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Husband Col. James Gilliland ^{1 2}

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           Born: 27 Jan 1804 - Buffalo Valley, Union Co, PA 2
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           Died: 1 Apr 1889 - Linden, near Washington, D. C. 2
         Buried: 

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         Father: Joseph Gilliland (1770-1840) 1 3 4
         Mother: Catharine Cowden (Abt 1769-1830) 2 5

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       Marriage: 

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   Other Spouse: Mary Hampshire (      -      ) 6 - 30 Dec 1857 6

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Wife Eliza Rankin ⁶

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            AKA: Ellis Rankin 7
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           Died: 1854 6
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         Father: John Rankin (1779-1848) 7 8
         Mother: Isabella Dundass (      -      ) 8

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Children

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1 M Capt. John R. Gilliland ⁶

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2 M James C. Gilliland ⁶

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3 F Isabella Gilliland ⁶

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         Spouse: Rev. W. O. Wright (      -      ) 6

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4 F Henrietta Gilliland ⁶

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5 F Catherine Gilliland ⁶

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General Notes: Husband - Col. James Gilliland

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He was born in Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania, and his early days were spent at Spring Mills, where his father kept a hotel. He was a keen observer of events, had a retentive memory, and his father's associations being with Judge Potter, Andrew Gregg and the prominent residents of Penn's Valley, the early incidents of the settlements of Penn's Valley were derived from listening to the conversation of his father's friends, and to Col. Gilliland, local historians at Bellefonte were indebted for many important occurrences and interesting tales that otherwise would have passed into oblivion. While yet a young man, Mr. Gilliland was engaged by Hon. Isaac McKinney as a clerk in his store near Jacksonville, where he received good business training. In 1825 Judge McKinney built Hecla Furnace, and while with the Judge he assisted in taking "arks" down Bald Eagle and then West Branch to Port Deposit and Baltimore, and on one of these occasions the Judge insisted on his visiting Washington city. His business connections with Judge McKinney made him well acquainted throughout Centre County, and he soon became influential in politics, and when William L. Smith, the prothonotary, died in office, March 11, 1831, Mr. Gilliland was appointed his successor. He served as such until January 12, 1836.
After retiring from this office he erected a fine stone residence on Alleghany street, in Bellefonte, later owned by Mrs. Pifer, and engaged in the mercantile business therein. In 1837 he was one of a committee, with John Irvin and John Hall, which erected a new Presbyterian church edifice. He was engaged several years in settling the estate of Gen. Philip Benner. In the spring of 1847 he purchased from the Gratzes three tracts of land in Snow Shoe township, and in partnership with Henry Van Dyke and John McCormick immediately built a first-class sawmill, established a blacksmith shop, and completed an elegant flouring-mill on the purchase. In 1849 Messrs. Gilliland and Van Dyke laid out the town of Moshannon, and in 1851 the Presbyterian church there was built on ground donated by them. Mr. Gilliland was chosen one of the elders and became clerk of the Session. On the breaking out of the war, he was made captain of a company raised at Snow Shoe, but on going to Harrisburg, owing to his advanced age, he was assigned to duty in the quartermaster-general's office under Gen. Hale, where he served some time, when Gov. Curtin appointed him commissary and quartermaster of the 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania Veterans, from which position he was transferred to Washington city as assistant agent of the State of Pennsylvania, to look after the interests of the soldiers of that State; this office he filled during the war, according to the testimony of Gov. Curtin, "admirably and with great fidelity." This was also the unanimous testimony of the soldiers from Pennsylvania. On the close of the war he moved some seven or eight miles out of Washington, where he resided the rest of his life. He was a genial, pleasant man, had great conversational powers, was a ready writer, and was all his life a great advocate of temperance and religion. [CBRCP-CCJC, 43]

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Notes: Marriage

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While on their wedding trip they stopped at Washington city and called on President Jackson. They were received in the east room, and the President honored the bride by taking a seat on the sofa, between her and the bridesmaid. He entertained the party for an hour. [CBRCP-CCJC, 44]

1 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1883), Pg 406.

2 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 43.

3 —, History of Venango County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk, & Co., Publishers, 1890), Pg 1055.

4 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 43, 700, 908.

5 Charles A. Babcock, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1919), Pg 892.

6 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 44.

7 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 202.

8 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1883), Pg 222.