Kate’s Notes: The town of Jamesport, Daviess County, Missouri, was laid out in 1857 by Dr. James Allen and James Gillilan; the latter also served as the town’s first postmaster. The town was incorporated as a city in 1872 and its name changed to Jamesport. For more genealogical information on this Gillilan line please refer to the following link:
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~livcomo/Pioneers/b509.htm
and to these books:
A History of Northwest Missouri by Walter Williams
The house of Dunlap by James Arthur MacClellan Hanna
The McNeel family record: descendants of pioneer John McNeel and Martha Davis of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, 1765-1967
By Betsy (Jordan) Edgar

THE

HISTORY OF DAVIESS COUNTY

MISSOURI
_________

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL INFORMATION, AND A COMPENDIUM OF ACTUAL FACTS
_________

IT CONTAINS

A CONDENSED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI AND ITS CHIEF CITIES-
ST. LOUIS, KANSAS CITY AND ST. JOSEPH; A RELIABLE HISTORY OF DAVIESS 
COUNTY -- ITS PIONEER  RECORD, WAR HISTORY, RESOURCES, BIO-
GRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT CITI-
ZENS; GENERAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS OF GREAT
VALUE, AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF MISCELLA-
NEOUS  MATTER,  INCIDENTS, ETC., ETC.

___________

ILLUSTRATED

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KANSAS CITY, MO.:
BIRDSALL 7 DEAN
1882

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WILLIAM J. GILLILAN.

   The gentleman bearing the above name was born in Daviess county on the 6th day of May, 1849, and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Jordin) Gillilan, natives of Pocahontas county, Virginia. They came to this State in 1839, and to Daviess county the year following. Our subject received his education and grew to manhood in his native county, and began business for himself at the age of eighteeen years as a blacksmith at Jamesport and continued that business about eight years, then enetered mercantile business in company with George W. Miller, in 1877, under the firm name of Miller & Gillilan, which business they still continue very profitably.
   Mr. Gillilan was married in Grundy county, Missouri, October 30, 1872, to Miss Melissa King, daughter of Rufus and Henrietta King. The issue of this union has been two children, named Bessie and Virgil.
   Mr. Gillilan is a member of Evening Star Lodge No. 39, A.O.U.W., of Lodge No. 339, I.O.O.F., and of Lodge No. 201, A.F.& A.M.