Descendants of James Gillilan, Jr. and Margaret Boggs

Captain Coleman Gillilan

Capt. Coleman Gillilan

This rare photo of Capt. Coleman Gillilan was discovered in the historic photographs archives of the Portsmouth, Ohio Public Library. Coleman Gillilan born 19 November 1837 in Jackson County, Ohio, (wife Sarah K. Frye) was the son of Jesse Gillilan (b. 19 Dec 1802, Greenbrier Co. W.Va. d. 5 May 1864, Jackson Co., Ohio) and Elizabeth Coleman (b. 23 Dec 1800, Antrim County, Ireland; d. 14 Sep 1850, Ohio). This line descends from the Augusta VA family of Nathan Gilliland, whose son James dropped the "d" from the Gilliland surname.

Gillilan received his rank of Captain in service with the 173rd Ohio Infantry, organized at Gallipolis, Ohio.

Captain Coleman Gillilan's home

The old home of Captain Coleman Gillilan,
Portsmouth, Ohio, circa 1880s.

Strickland Gillilan

Strickland Gillilan

Journalist, writer and poet Strickland Gillilan
Born 21 Sep 1869, Scioto Twp, Jackson Co, OH
Died April 25, 1954, Warrenton, Virginia
Son of Lewis Gillilan and Mary Alice Claar.

J. D. Gillilan

James David Gillilan

James David Gillilan (1858 - 1935) was a Methodist missionary who was born in Jackson County but traveled throughout the west, finally settling in Idaho. He was the author of two books (that I know of), Trail Tales, which recounts his experiences in the Utah mission, and a biography of Thomas Corwin Iliff, a fellow missionary. I recently obtained an autographed copy of Trail Tales and read the Iliff biography online, as it is available as a Google digitized book.

James was a brother of the noted humorist and writer Strickland Gillilan, and like Coleman Gillilan, was a descendant of James Gillilan Jr. and Margaret Boggs via their son Jesse. Coleman was one of Jesse's sons, whereas Strickland and James David were sons of Jesse's son Lewis. In the above photo you can see the remarkable resemblance between Coleman and James David. I also see the resemblance of both men to Warren and Peter Gilliland, descendants of Samuel, James' brother.

Lewis McClellan Gillilan, educator

Lewis McClellan Gillilan

Lewis was another of the noted siblings of a family that included writer Strickland Gillilan and the Rev. John David Gillilan. Among his other siblings were Mrs. Adeline Gettles of Frankfort, Ohio; Alice Virginia Gillilan and Mrs. Georgia Gillilan Hunter of Jackson, Ohio; and Dr. Ezekiel E. Gillilan of Columbus, Ohio.

» Download Obituary for Lewis McClellen Gillilan (PDF)

Lewis McClellan Gillilan