farmer politician shipbuilder statesman
John Taylor Gilman was born on December 19, 1753, Exeter, in the Province of New Hampshire. He was the eldest son of Nicholas and Ann (Taylor) Gilman of Exeter, New Hampshire, and a descendant of Edward Gilman of Hingham, England, who came to Massachusetts in 1638.
His father was a shipbuilder and merchant, and with the outbreak of the Revolution became state treasurer.
After a common-school education, John was associated with his father in business and later served under him as a clerk in the treasurer’s office, thus gaining experience in accounting and financial matters which stood him in good stead in later years.
He had received the degree of M. A. from the college in 1794 and LL. D. in 1799.
In 1775, John had a short period of service in the militia, but his work during the war was largely civilian in character. He was a member of the legislature in 1779-81, served on the Committee of Safety, and in 1780 attended a conference of state delegates at Hartford to discuss the conduct of the war.
He was several times elected to the Continental Congress, but his actual attendance was limited to a few months in 1782 - 83. In June 1783, he succeeded his father, who had died earlier in the year, in the treasurership, and remained in that office for the next five years.
From 1788 to 1790 and again for a few months in 1791, he was a member of the federal board of commissioners for the settlement of accounts between the United States and the individual states.
He had in the meantime served in the New Hampshire convention for ratifying the Federal Constitution and had been an earnest and influential advocate of that action.
In 1791, he was reappointed treasurer, remaining in office until elected governor in 1794.
He held the governorship from 1794 to 1805 and again from 1813 to 1816, his fourteen years constituting the New Hampshire record of service in that office.
For some years following his first election, he encountered only scattering opposition, but in 1799-1800 the banking policy of the Governor and his Federalist supporters gave great offense, and opponents organized a strong, coherent par ty.
There was but one chartered bank in the state, the New Hampshire Bank, of Portsmouth. The state held stock in this institution and Gilman was its president. When a group of political opponents led by John Langdon applied for a charter they were not only refused, but a law was passed intended to check banking operations by unincorporated organizations.
This combination of politics and finance, no rarity in American party history, gave a great impetus to the growing Republican movement. The Governor was charged with lobbying in the interests of the New Hampshire Bank and also with permitting the use of the state deposits for speculative purposes.
In any case, his majorities dwindled steadily, and in 1805 he was decisively beaten by John Langdon. The legislature had fallen under Republican control the preceding year and for the first time since the establishment of the state government the governor made free use of the veto power on its measures.
His service as governor was without striking incident and his messages dealt largely with matters of administrative routine. He was less active in public affairs for the next eight years but served two terms in the legislature.
Defeated for the governorship in 1812, a year later he began another period of three years in the executive office. The political campaigns of the war period were exceedingly bitter and majorities narrow.
He was opposed to the war, but promptly met the federal requisitions for the defense of Portsmouth, and inasmuch as New Hampshire sent no official delegates to the Hartford Convention in 1814, due to the Republican control of the Council, he escaped some of the obloquy visited upon the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Late in life, however, the implacable Isaac Hill assailed him with charges of disloyalty. In 1816, just as the Dartmouth College dispute began to grow acute, he left office.
In addition to his ex officio service while governor, he had been a trustee by election since 1807. While protesting against the removal of President John Wheelock, he refused to support the University faction and maintained a neutral position.
His decision not to resign as trustee of the College, however, was of great tactical value to those who supported the College interests, since he would undoubtedly have been replaced by an active opponent. He retired in 1819 when the victory of the college in the United States Supreme Court had been won.
Gilman was one of the three commissioners appointed by the government of the old confederation to settle the accounts of the states. In 1797, he was chosen a governor, was annually re-elected for 10 successive years, and again in 1813 - 14, and '15, after which he declined to be a candidate. He was a zealous federalist, and his popularity in New Hampshire was so great that he was frequently chosen governor when his party was in the minority.
Throughout his life, Gilman was a consistent Federalist, and, unlike his brothers Nicholas and Nathaniel, stood by the party when its fortunes declined.
Gilman was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.
Gilman was also a trustee and benefactor of Phillips Exeter Academy. He is described as a man of fine appearance and dignified manners, “who wore the old-fashioned cocked hat of the revolution with an ease and dignity not unbecoming his high station”, but because of good living and lack of exercise, he became exceedingly corpulent in his last years.
Gilman was three times married: on January 13, 1776, to Deborah, daughter of Nathaniel and Dorothy (Smith) Folsom, who died on February 20, 1791.
On July 5, 1792, he was married to Mary, sister of his deceased wife and widow of Caleb Adams, who died October 15, 1812, and on December 29, 1814, to Mrs. Charlotte (Peabody) Hamilton.
