From The Gettysburg Times (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) 
November 2, 1953 

GILLILAND HOME 
IS DEDICATED
HERE ON SUNDAY

   The Gilliland Presbyterian Home at 220 Baltimore St. was dedicated in brief ceremonies Sunday afternoon as a memorial to the father and brother of Miss Ella Gilliland, whose estate of nearly a quarter million dollars provided the home and much of the income that will be needed for its support.
   Among the approximately 100 persons who gathered for the dedication were the first three guests at the home, which eventually will be able to accomodate a dozen elderly Presbyterian ladies.
   The home, which was part of Miss Gilliland’s property, has been completely remodeled and redecorated with the exception of the third floor which will continue to be rented until requirements of the home need that additional space.
“Seems So Like Miss Ella”
   The dedicatory prayer was delivered by the Rev. Clyde R. Brown, pastor of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church. The invocation was given by the Rev. Harry S. Ecker, pastor of the Lower Marsh Creek Church, and the benediction by the Rev. Herman D. Beatty, supply pastor for the Great Conewago Presbyterian Church at Hunterstown. Representatives of those three congregations serve on the board of trustees for the home.
   State Senator Donald P. McPherson, who is chairman of the board of trustees for the home, concluded a statement on the life of Miss Gilliland with these words:
   “It seems so like Miss Ella, that left alone in the world after the death of her parents and brother, with no close relatives, she should leave the estates she had acquired through her self-sacrifice and by inheritance to establish this home where other women of her religious faith and, like her, left alone in the world without close family ties can spend their days in physical comfort and with Christian companionship in a place where God abides.”
Her “Prayer Rocker” There
   After the invocation, the hymn, “God Our Help In Ages Past” was sung by the assemblage. Mr. McPherson’s statement followed; then the dedicatory prayer after which Mrs. Margaret McGuire sang, “Bless This House.”
   In his statement Mr. McPherson spoke of Miss Gilliland’s “lovable qualities, her intense loyalty to her friends, her adventuresome spirit, her life of service that included work with the youth of the community and in her church.”
   He made reference to Miss Gilliland’s “prayer rocker,” one of the chairs from her collection of antiques that remains in the home.
Memorial Plaque
   The assistant teacher of Miss Gilliland’s last Sunday School class, Miss Harriet M. Krauth, is one of the three original guests in the home. The others are Miss Sara Lott and Mrs. J. Kerr Lott.
   A balance remaining in the treasury of Miss Gilliland’s class is being used to help defray the cost of a bronze plaque that has been placed in the home. It states that the home was “established through the generosity of Miss Gilliland and as a memorial to her father, J. J. F. Gilliland, and her brother, William H. Gilliland.”
   Miss Gilliland died December 11, 1950, from the effects of a fall. The Gilliland Presbyterian Home trustees incorporated last December and proceeded with complete remodeling of the home. The interior of the first two floors was repainted and re-papered and new and refinished furniture was provided.
   The work was handled by the board of trutees which includes: Chairman McPherson, Herbert G. Hamme, J. E. Wells, J. Willis Beider, Oren H. Wilson, J. S. Cairns, E. D. Scott, Mrs. J. P. Dalbey, Mrs. Wayne M. [Keet], Mrs. E. W. Thomas, the Rev. Clyde R. Brown, Mrs. Ira Henderson, Mrs. William M. Lott, J. Clair Ford and Allen S. Stauffer.
  Today an “open house” is being held at the home from 2 to 5 p.m. with refreshments for the visitors to come to be shown through the home by Mrs. William Wilson, the matron, and members of the board.

-- transcription by Kate Maynard, 2010