Francis Meriwether GILMER

banker Businessman Industrialist planter

June 8, 1810 (age 81)

Oglethorpe County, Georgia, United States, United States

He received his education in common schools in Kentucky. He was a Democrat and a Methodist, and he had five children by his marriage in May 1838 to Sara Eleanor Taylor. A son, James Nicholas Gilmer, was adjutant general of Alabama during the Civil War. His wife died, and he was later married to Martha Ann Gratten. After her death he was married a third time, to Callie McKeithen. In about 1830, Gilmer moved to Alabama where he clerked in a store, taught school in Haynesville, and ran a cotton warehouse. He became a cotton broker during the late 1830s. He was a founder of the Central Bank of Alabama in Montgomery in the 1840s and of the Red Mountain Iron and Coal Company. During the 1850s, he also built the Southern and Northern Alabama Railroad, of which he was the first president. Gilmer supported secession. In 1861, he was appointed by Governor Thomas O. Moore to serve on the committee which was sent to urge Virginia to secede. He supported Jefferson Davis’s bid for the presidency of the Confederacy and served him as a financial advisor. Gilmer also gave much of his fortune to help the war effort. The Confederacy was never able to make good use of his business expertise. Gilmer, who also owned several plantations, was president of the Central Bank of Alabama, which became a deposit bank for the Confederate government during the war. When the war ended, he continued as bank president and farmed for a time. Little is known of his postwar career.

Francis Meriwether GILMER

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banker Businessman Industrialist planter

Background

GILMER, Francis Meriwether was born on June 8, 1810 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, United States, United States. Son of Nicholas Meriwether and Amelia (Clark) Gilmer.

Education

Public school.

Career

He received his education in common schools in Kentucky. He was a Democrat and a Methodist, and he had five children by his marriage in May 1838 to Sara Eleanor Taylor. A son, James Nicholas Gilmer, was adjutant general of Alabama during the Civil War.

His wife died, and he was later married to Martha Ann Gratten. After her death he was married a third time, to Callie McKeithen. In about 1830, Gilmer moved to Alabama where he clerked in a store, taught school in Haynesville, and ran a cotton warehouse.

He became a cotton broker during the late 1830s. He was a founder of the Central Bank of Alabama in Montgomery in the 1840s and of the Red Mountain Iron and Coal Company. During the 1850s, he also built the Southern and Northern Alabama Railroad, of which he was the first president.

Gilmer supported secession. In 1861, he was appointed by Governor Thomas O. Moore to serve on the committee which was sent to urge Virginia to secede. He supported Jefferson Davis’s bid for the presidency of the Confederacy and served him as a financial advisor.

Gilmer also gave much of his fortune to help the war effort. The Confederacy was never able to make good use of his business expertise. Gilmer, who also owned several plantations, was president of the Central Bank of Alabama, which became a deposit bank for the Confederate government during the war.

When the war ended, he continued as bank president and farmed for a time. Little is known of his postwar career.

Religion

"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.

Politics

Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.

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Francis Meriwether GILMER

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