Kate’s Notes: The Rev. James David Gillilan, a native of Jackson County, Ohio, was a descendant of a prominent Ohio line whose founders were James Gillilan Jr. and Margaret Boggs, natives of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. More information on the Rev. J .D. Gillilan can be found both in the Gilliland Trails library and forum.
   Gillilan died at Pocatello, Idaho in 1935. His wife was the former Alice Wiseman, also of Jackson County, Ohio, and the couple had a sizeable family, including children Zelica, James D., Clara L., and Paul L..
   The original article from the Salt Lake Herald was accompanied by a pen & ink portrait of Rev. Gillilan.

From The Salt Lake Herald
Salt Lake City, Utah
1 January, 1897

REV. J. D. GIILLILAN
____________
Pastor of the Liberty Park Methodist
Episcopal Church

   James D. Gillilan was born near Jackson, O., in 1858. Until the age of 17 he worked on his father’s farm, attending the county district school in the winter season, if not kept at home for some necessary task, as husking corn, killing hogs, going to mill or a thousand and two other things that every country boy had to do then. At the age of 17 he obtained a certificate scholarship entitling him to a right to teach school. Thus he did employ himself until 1883, usually attending some higher school in the summer.
    In May, 1883, he was appointed by Bishop Isaac Wiley, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal church in Utah, and was stationed at Tooele, where for four years he remained, having charge of the mission school work as well as preaching regularly at Tooele, Grantsville, Stockton, Ophir and occasionally at St. Johns and Slagtown. During his ministry on this large circuit there were erected two churches, one at Stockton, the other at Grantsville, although the latter was built exclusively from funds supplied by the board of church extension.
   In 1887 he was appointed to Beaver, where a good school was built up and maintained during the three years of  his stay, when in 1890 he was sent to Nephi to open the work in that important town. He and Miss May Franklin, who had contributed much to the success of the Beaver work, at once opened a school that soon outgrew the old saloon building in which it was held, but by Jan 1 a large new brick edifice had been erected through their zealous endeavors and the school and church adjourned to the new house, which was dedicated Jan. 4, 1891.
   In this year Eureka was added to Nephi and a circuit thus formed. The skeleton of a building for a church had been erected at Eureka. Mr. Gillilan set at once at the task of completing the house of worship, donning his overalls and with hammer and saw working until it was quite completed.
   At the request of the people he moved his family to Tintic and located in Eureka; the Nephi appointment was made a separate work in 1892, so his whole attention was given to the Tintic district; preaching services and Sunday schools were heald in Mammoth – Dragon Hollow – as well as in Eureka. Thus the preacher scoured the hills, hollows and holes where the miners lived and labored, to do them what good he could in the Master’s name. Unexpectedly to himself  Mr. Gillilan was in August, 1892, made presiding elder of the whole territory of Utah; he moved at once to Salt Lake City that he might have more convenient headquarters for the prosecution of his work. In 1894 Bishop Merrill appointed him to the Liberty Park church at Seventh East and Seventh South, which position he has since held and now fills.
   In connection with this church he has general chaplaincy of the state prison under the auspices of the Epworth League of his church.
   Since 1885 Mr. Gillilan has been the secretary of the Methodist conference in Utah, known as as the Utah mission, embracing the whole state.

-transcription by Kate Maynard, 2012