Many thanks to Nancy Downard for retreiving these articles from the archives of The Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, Ohio. There are a number of these which I will transcribe as time permits, and will place them together as a file in our library.
    I thought the following article would make for a good beginning, since the reporter discusses the many branches of Gilliland families who converged in one small river town in southern Ohio.
    As usual, I’ve done my best to accurately transcribe the article but when I doubt I have placed those portions within brackets.

-- Kate

Page Four. 
THE PORTSMOUTH TIMES                 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1909

Atty. W.D. Gilliland 
Hangs Out Shingle

  Attorney W. D. Gilliland, who is the latest member of the legal P. Gilliland fraternity to enter into active practice here, just now is finding his chief difficulty in keeping the public from confusing him with other persons of the same name here or hereabouts.
    The name Gilliland or Gillilan as one family writes it, is not what one would call a common one, but here in Portsmouth there are quite a number of well known citizens who bear it. For instance there is Rev. Frank Gilliland, who is district superintendent of the Methodist church, and his two nephews, Rob and Harry Gillilan, the successful shoe drummers. Then, there is another attorney, Nate B. Gilliland, and none of these are any relatives to Attorney W.D. His only local relative is Prof. J. R. Gilliland, who is principal of the high school.
    Attorney W.D. Gilliland has been established in practice here since last September and is meeting with good success. He occupies the office suite with Bannon and Bannon in the Turley block and while he is retained by this firm in several capacities, he is prepared to look after a general practice upon his own [hook].
    Young Mr. Gilliland has had quite a varied and valuable experience in his career. He was born at Iquique, Chili, where his father, a Methodist missionary, was president of a college for many years. His father, Rev. J. P. Gilliland is a native of Philadelphia, but has always been attached to the Cincinnati conference. His sons received their common school education in New York City and Los Angeles, Cal., and their college work at Ohio Wesleyan. They came to Portsmouth from Chillicothe high school three years ago. Graduating from O.W.U. in 1904, W.D. Gilliland, registered as a law student with the Bannon’s and was admitted to the bar in 1907. He then located for a year to Iowa where he had charge of the foreign deparment of the Chamberlain Medicine Co. In this capacity, he made five trips to South and Central American states. Thus it will be seen that Attorney Gilliland, in addition to his own work as a student, has combined with it an experience in the commerical world, and the [----] training will serve him well in the practical work of his profession.
    Perhaps the most widely known Gillilan just now is the noted humorist, Strickland W. Gillilan. He is a cousin of the Rev. Frank Gillilan and the late Captain Cole Gillilan. Captain Gillilan used to insist that doubtless all of these Gillilands or Gillilans sprang from the same family several generations back.  It seems an unusual coincidence however that the several branches should have in time gathered together into this one community.  

["Cole" Gillilan is Captain Coleman Gillilan, whose portrait can be found in our Photo Library.]