University of Virginia Library

THOMAS WALKER GILMER.

The ancestry of Thomas Walker Gilmer was highly worthy. His
paternal great-grandfather, Dr. George Gilmer, a native of Scotland,[23]
and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, migrated to Virginia
early in the eighteenth century, and settled in Williamsburg, where he

Exterior View, before alteration, of
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,
Built in 1740.

Interior View, before alteration, of
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,
Built in 1740.

successfully combined the vocations of physician, surgeon, and druggist
for quite fifty years, dying January 15, 1757, widely loved and
esteemed in the colony. He was three times married: first, to a
daughter of Dr. Ridgway (a medical partner in early life), by whom
he had no issue; secondly, May 13, 1732, to Mary Peachy (died October
1, 1745), daughter of Thomas and Susan (Peachy) Walker, of
King and Queen County, Virginia, and sister of Dr. Thomas Walker,
the patriot and early explorer of Kentucky; thirdly, December 11,
1745, to Harrison (died November 1, 1755), daughter of Dr. Archibald
Blair, of Williamsburg, Virginia, a sister of Hon. John Blair, President
of Virginia Council and Acting Governor of Virginia, and a niece
of Commissary James Blair, President of William and Mary College.
By his second marriage, Dr. George Gilmer had issue four sons:
i. Peachy Ridgway, born March 6, 1737-8, married Mary Meriwether,
settled at "Lethe," Rockingham County (and had issue: 1. Thomas Meriwether,
married Elizabeth Lewis, and removed to Georgia, settling on
Broad River. He was the father of a large family, among them Hon.
George Rockingham Gilmer, member of Congress, Governor of Georgia,
and author of "The Georgians;" ii. George; iii. Mary Peachy;
iv. Elizabeth Thornton, married Major Robert Grattan; v. Lucy;
vi. Frances Walker, married Richard Taliaferro); ii. George, born
January 19, 1742-3, studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Thomas
Walker, and graduated at Edinburgh, Scotland. The issue of Dr.
George Gilmer by his third marriage was iii. John, born April 26,
1748; an officer under Lafayette in the Revolution, married Mildred
Meriwether, and died, in 1790, at his seat on Broad River, in the
State of Georgia; iv. William, born May 22, 1753, died May 30, 1753.

Dr. George Gilmer, the second of the name, returning to Virginia
after graduating, succeeded to the practice of his father in Williamsburg,
but after a time removed to Albemarle County, where he married
his first cousin Lucy (born May 5, 1751), daughter of Dr. Thomas
Walker by his first marriage with Mildred (nee Thornton), widow of
Nicholas Meriwether. He settled at "Pen Park," and soon attained
a lucrative practice in his profession. The friend and intimate associate
of Thomas Jefferson, he was an ardent patriot from the beginning
to the end of the struggle for Independence. He served Albemarle in
the House of Burgesses, and, as early as 1774, offered a resolution in
that body on the subject of the Crown Lands, which was seconded by
William Henry. He was gifted as an orator, and, when Lord Dunmore
seized the powder of the colony, Dr. Gilmer harangued the
citizens of Albemarle with such eloquence, that a company was immediately
formed to march to Williamsburg to demand redress. Of
this company Charles Lewis was chosen captain, and Dr. George
Gilmer lieutenant. The company marched to Williamsburg, but their
patriotic mission was anticipated by Patrick Henry. In the Convention
of 1775, which met at Williamsburg, Dr. Gilmer was returned

by Albemarle County as the alternate of Thomas Jefferson. His wife
was a worthy mate to such a patriot. During the early days of the
struggle for Independence, the patriots in different sections of the
country found great difficulty in corresponding with each other, and
it became necessary to establish a secret means of intercommunication
by private letter-carriers. Mr. Jefferson, during a visit to his friend
Dr. Gilmer at this period, in conversation with him, deplored the want
of funds to defray the expense of such correspondence. Mrs. Gilmer,
who was present, immediately left the room, and speedily returning
with her personal jewels, of much value, handed them to Mr. Jefferson,
and, with tearful eyes, asked him to use them in the cause of her
country. Nor was she less a heroine than a patriot. When the British
troops, under the command of Tarleton, entered Charlottesville in pursuit
of the Assembly, as has been detailed in a preceding sketch, Mr.
A., a friend of Dr. Gilmer, was a guest of Mrs. Gilmer, her husband
being absent professionally. Mr. A., mounting his horse, attempted to
escape, but was shot down, and carried off by the enemy. Mrs. Gilmer,
learning that he was still alive, determined to succor him; and, accompanied
by a maiden sister only, made her way perilously through the
village, filled with drunken and disorderly troopers, to the presence of
Tarleton himself, on her errand of mercy. He was so filled with admiration
at the courage displayed by Mrs. Gilmer, that he not only delivered
to her the helpless and insensible form of her friend, but sent
his own surgeon to attend him until Dr. Gilmer returned. Mr. A.
happily recovered, to gallantly serve his country, and to bequeath to
his descendants a debt of gratitude to the worthy couple of "Pen Park."

The issue of Dr. George and Lucy (Walker) Gilmer was: i. Francis
Walker, an accomplished scholar and writer, the first professor of
law of the University of Virginia, and who selected in Europe the
remaining six professors with which that institution[24] was organized in
1825; ii. Peachy R.; iii. Mildred, the first wife of the eminent William
Wirt; iv. George, married Eliza, daughter of Captain Christopher Hudson,
a gallant patriot of the Revolution. Of their issue, Thomas Walker,
the subject of this sketch, was born at "Gilmerton," his father's seat,
in Albemarle County, April 6, 1802. He early exhibited studious
habits, and, at the age of fourteen, was sent to live with his uncle,
Mr. Peter Minor, at "Ridgway," for private tuition in his family. The
tutor, a meek and quiet young man, was but a few years older than
young Walker Gilmer, and occupied the same room with him and a
cousin of the same age, William Gilmer. The mischievous boys often
made the mild teacher the victim of their pranks, one of which was to

crawl under his bed after he was asleep and to slowly raise themselves
under him until he would roll out upon the floor. Before he would
recover from his surprise, they would be snoring in their pallet.

The beset pedagogue was at a loss to what to ascribe his nocturnal
visitations, and quite believed himself haunted by evil spirits. He reported
his troubles to Mr. Minor, who immediately suspected the true
offenders, and soon detected them. The following morning the lads
were aroused from their slumbers by an unusual tread upon the stairway,
and soon had reason to tremble at the stern presence of their
uncle Peter, accompanied by a negro man, "Pudding," bearing a plentiful
supply of birchen rods. The order was given to "horse Walker,"
and, in a twinkle, he was hoisted upon "Pudding's" back, and the birch
uplifted over him. Walker begged a parley, and forthwith commenced
an extemporaneous plea of apologies, entreaties, and promises of amendment,
which arrested the impending rod, and finally prevailed upon his
uncle to pardon him. To William, too, who stood by in quaking suspense,
mercy was also extended; and long after, in mature years, when
the reputation of his fellow delinquent was established as an orator, he
would often jocularly recall this early occasion of peril, and say to Gov.
Gilmer that he had heard all his great speeches, but never one so powerful
and impressive as the pathetic effort from the back of "Pudding."

From "Ridgway," young Walker Gilmer was sent to school to Dr.
Frank Carr, an excellent classical scholar, and a gentleman of extensive
learning and much literary taste. The friend and companion of William
Wirt, he is reported to have assisted him in the preparation of
"The Old Bachelor." Here young Gilmer's talents were fitly nurtured.
He was thoroughly grounded in classic lore, and acquired a thirst
for letters which was invaluable to him in his subsequent career. He
remained two years under the care of Dr. Carr, and then continued his
scholastic course under Mr. John Robertson, a Scotchman, of whom it
is said that he "taught more clever men than any other single teacher
ever did in Virginia, and whose classical knowledge was such that he
would often hear a recitation in Homer without reference to the book."
From the school of Mr. Robertson, young Gilmer was sent to that of
a Mr. Stack, in Charlottesville. Whilst here, as a member of a Thespian
Society, he exhibited fine histrionic talents. Young Gilmer completed
his studies in Staunton, the pecuniary embarrassment of his father
bringing them to an abrupt termination. He now entered the office of
his uncle, Peachy R. Gilmer, at Liberty, Bedford County, Virginia, as
a student of law. This gentleman was an eminent lawyer, a fine classical
scholar, and possessed extraordinary conversational powers. Some
of his letters were pronounced, by his friend and brother-in-law, William
Wirt, as "inimitable specimens of epistolary style." Whilst at
Liberty, and, indeed, for some years previously, young Walker Gilmer

was much aided and stimulated in his studies by correspondence with his
uncle, Francis W. Gilmer, then a member of the bar of Winchester,
Virginia. He was a close and assiduous student, and in less than a year
applied for and obtained a license to practice law, and located himself
in Scottsville, Albemarle County, within a few miles of "Mt. Air," the
residence of Captain Hudson, his maternal grandfather; but, tempted
by the wide field offered in the new western country, he removed in a
short time to St. Louis, Missouri. Very flattering prospects of success
dawned upon him in that thriving city, but he was induced to abandon
them and return to Virginia from a desire to aid his father in the management
of his affairs and in the care of a large family. A striking
instance of his magnanimity and generosity at this period is given.
Always a favorite with his grandfather, Mr. Hudson, the latter had
made a will constituting him his sole heir. When Walker Gilmer
heard this, he insisted successfully that Mr. Hudson should alter the
provisions of the will, and divide the estate equally among his brothers
and sisters, after having first secured a competent provision for his
father. In his new field of practice in Charlottesville, and the bar of
Albemarle and the adjacent counties, Mr. Gilmer met with formidable
competition in a host of legal and forensic talent, headed by Philip Pendleton
Barbour, subsequently a Judge of the Supreme Court of the
United States, but competition only inspired greater exertion, and six
years of unflagging devotion to his profession placed him in the front
rank of the Albemarle bar. "As a lawyer, he was distinguished for
acuteness of mind, adroitness in debate, clear perception of the true
issue, skill in the examination of testimony, a fine grasp of the strong
points of his cause, and intuitive detection of the weak ones of his opponents."
He was rather an able and skillful advocate than a profound
jurist; and wielded more power over the sympathies and instincts of the
jury than over the learning of the judge. In the year 1825, the disposition
to amend the Constitution of Virginia began to manifest itself
among the friends of reform in notable signs of a desire for concerted
action. Notices were published for holding a Convention in Staunton,
on the 25th of July, of that year, to consider the best means of effecting
the common object, and meetings were held in many counties to appoint
delegates to this Convention. A meeting of the citizens of Albemarle
in favor of a Convention assembled in Charlottesville, in response to a
call in the Central Gazette. Thomas Jefferson Randolph, the grandson
of Thomas Jefferson, presided; and Thomas W. Gilmer offered a series
of resolutions asserting the right of the people to change the existing
defective Constitution, and recommending the appointment of delegates
from the county to the Convention to be held in Staunton. The resolutions
were adopted, and Thomas Mann Randolph, Valentine Wood
Southall, and Thomas Walker Gilmer appointed delegates. The Convention
met as appointed, and Mr. Gilmer attended. Thirty-eight
counties were represented. Among the delegates were some of the
most prominent men of Virginia, among whom were Charles Fenton
Mercer, Judge John Scott, John R. Cooke, Callohill Minns, Daniel
Sheffey, Lucas P. Thompson, Philip Doddridge, and others of like
reputation and influence. The Convention remained in session for
several days, and finally recommended, by a very large majority:
1. The white basis of representation; 2. The extension of the right
of suffrage; 3. The abolition of the Council of State—a lingering relic
of the earliest form of government of Virginia as a colony; 4. The
adoption of some practical provision for future amendments, and,
5. The adoption of a memorial to the Legislature to submit the question
of a Convention to the vote of the people. Mr. Gilmer took an
active part in the debates, and offered an important amendment to the
resolution of the committee on the extension of suffrage, which was
adopted. The speeches in the body were characterized by the Richmond
Enquirer as being able and eloquent. It is noteworthy that the
third and fourth measures of reform recommended were both rejected
by the State Convention of 1829-30. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, by an
effective speech, killed the former; and, when the Convention were
about to adopt the latter, John Randolph of Roanoke gave it a summary
quietus with a senseless sneer and a demonstration with his skinny
forefinger. While in attendance upon the Staunton Convention, Mr.
Gilmer met with Miss Ann E. Baker, the daughter of Hon. John
Baker, a member of Congress from Virginia. She became his wife in
the month of May following. During the political canvass which resulted
in the election of General Andrew Jackson to his first term as President,
Mr. Gilmer became one of the editors of the Virginia Advocate, a newspaper
published in Charlottesville, and devoted to the success of the
party of General Jackson. He had for several years been a constant
contributor to the Central Gazette, also published in Charlottesville, by C.
P. McKennie, and had acquired some reputation as a writer. His coeditor
of the Advocate was John A. G. Davis, professor of law in the
University of Virginia, a man of rare modesty, brilliant talents, and
profound learning. The Advocate was ably edited, and did good campaign
service. During the editorial career of Mr. Gilmer a controversy
arose between the Virginia Advocate and the Lynchburg Virginian about
the opinion of James Madison on the Bank question, which was carried
on for some time with acrimony, and ended in a personal difficulty
between Mr. Gilmer and Richard H. Toler, the editor of the Virginian.
Mr. Gilmer went to Lynchburg and demanded an apology from Mr.
Toler for some offensive language he had used towards him, and, not
feeling satisfied with the result of the interview, assaulted Mr. Toler.
The parties afterwards became friends, and frequently met in the State
Legislature on the most amicable terms. In the spring of 1829, Mr.
Gilmer was returned by the county of Albemarle to the State House
of Delegates. This period, which witnessed the birth of the great Whig
and Democratic parties, was one of convulsive throe to the Nation;
the political cauldron seethed with mad passions of party spirit. Mr.
Gilmer was placed on the important committee of Courts of Justice, and,
at the end of two weeks, he is recorded as moving to add to the standing
committees one on Revolutionary Claims. It was formed with himself
as chairman. He studied the subject fully, and by active research
established, in his exhaustive report, unsatisfied claims of Virginia on
the Federal Government which had been overlooked or neglected in
former settlements. He moved resolutions of instruction to the Virginia
Senators in Congress in relation to the bounty lands for the Virginia State
and Continental Lines, which drew attention to the matter, and resulted
in an advantageous change of the former provisions in favor of the officers
and men of the Virginia State Line. During the Legislative session an
effort was made to renew the charters of the State banks, though it would
be three years before they expired. This measure was ably and successfully
opposed by Mr. Gilmer. At the spring election of 1830, Mr. Gilmer
received the verdict of approval of his course in a re-election to the House
of Delegates with an increased majority; and when, after the adoption
of the amended constitution, new elections were held, his popularity was
further vindicated by a vote nearly double of that of any other candidate
for local suffrage of his county. When the General Assembly met in
December, 1830, Mr. Gilmer was nominated for Speaker of the House
of Delegates by William M. Rives, of Campbell County, who said in his
nominating speech: "Mr. Gilmer has left the traces of his genius upon
the memory of the members of the last session, and the proofs of his
ability on the journal." The former Speaker, Linn Banks, was, however,
elected. This session of the Legislature was one of the most important
ever convened in Richmond. Upon it devolved the task of remodeling
the Statute Laws in accordance with the amended constitution.
The ablest men in the State had been summoned to this duty in the
House of Delegates. Among them may be named: Benjamin Watkins
Leigh, James Barbour, Richard Morris, Archibald Bryce, Vincent
Witcher, Thomas S. Gholson, William H. Brodnax, George W. Summers,
George C. Dromgoole, and John Thompson Brown. The debates
were marked by great ability, learning, and eloquence. Mr. Gilmer
took an active part in all of the leading questions of the session, and won
laurels from the ablest champions in this brilliant arena. In the winter
of 1830-1, Mr. Gilmer was induced, by the solicitations of his friends, to
undertake the editorial conduction of a political newspaper to be published
at Richmond. He accordingly published a prospectus in the
Enquirer of April 12, 1831, proposing to issue, on the 1st of July, a
newspaper to be called the Times, but the scheme was abandoned in
consequence of his being appointed, by Governor John Floyd, Commissioner
of the State to prosecute the Revolutionary Claims of Virginia
on the United States. Governor Floyd, in his annual message, in speaking
of this appointment, says of Mr. Gilmer: "If zeal, talent, and
assiduity furnish any augury of success, we may confidently indulge
the most pleasing anticipations of it." Mr. Gilmer spent the greater
part of the summer, autumn, and winter of the year 1831 in Washington
City, collecting the materials and preparing the evidence for asserting
the claims of Virginia before Congress, and thus escaped the
excitement, during the legislative session of 1831-2, on the slavery
question. In the spring of 1832 he was again elected a member of the
House of Delegates. Mr. Gilmer was also a delegate from Albemarle
County to the Convention held in Charlottesville, June 12, 1832, to
nominate a candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with General
Jackson, and of which James Barbour was the choice, but the previous
nomination, by the Baltimore Convention, of Martin Van Buren, negatived
their action.

In 1832, Littleton Waller Tazewell having resigned his seat in the
United States Senate, William Cabell Rives, who had just returned
from his mission to France, was nominated by Mr. Gilmer, in the Virginia
Legislature, to fill the vacancy, and was elected without opposition.
Though Mr. Gilmer, by his absence as Commissioner at Washington,
had fortunately escaped the excitement of the discussion of the
slavery question, he had now to bear his part in the fury of the storm
which rose about nullification and appalled the hearts of the stoutest
patriots with the menacing thunders of civil war. On the 10th of December,
1832, General Jackson issued his proclamation, which, together
with the ordinance of nullification and the other proceedings of the Convention
of South Carolina, was made the subject of a special message
to the General Assembly by Governor Floyd. It was referred to a
special committee, of which Mr. Gilmer was a member. General W.
H. Brodnax, the chairman of the committee, reported a series of resolutions
disapproving the ordinance of nullification as passed by South
Carolina, and requesting that State to suspend it until after the adjournment
of Congress; but also condemning in strong terms the heresies of
the proclamation of General Jackson, and reiterating the right of secession
as the proper remedy when all peaceful opposition to unconstitutional
legislation by the Federal Government had failed. An interesting
debate occurred on this report, in which Mr. Gilmer participated in a
speech of great ability. He announced the essence of State Rights to
be the right of a State to judge for itself of infractions of the Constitution,
and of the modes and measures of redress. The crisis was a fearful
one, and Virginia met it nobly. She stood upon the troubled waters
and lulled them into peace—sternly rebuking, on the one hand, the evil
and mad spirit of arbitrary power which produced the proclamation,

REV. MILES SELDEN,

Last Colonial Rector of St. John's Church, in 1773.

From a miniature in the possession of the family.

and, on the other, calming and soothing the excited feelings of her too
intemperate sister. Mr. Leigh was sent to bear a message of counsel
and peace to South Carolina. Henry Clay, on the 12th of February,
offered in the United States Senate his Compromise Bill, which was
adopted; and when the Convention of South Carolina reassembled in
March the ordinance of nullification was repealed.

In the spring of 1833 Mr. Gilmer was again re-elected to the House
of Delegates. When the Assembly met in December the subject of the
removal of the public deposits from the Bank of the United States was
warmly discussed, and resolutions were adopted in the House of Delegates
condemning the course of General Jackson as an arbitrary assumption
of power, and instructing the Virginia Senators to vote for restoring
the deposits to the United States Bank. Senator William C. Rives resigned
his seat rather than obey the instructions, and Benjamin Watkins
Leigh was elected in his place. In the spring of 1835 Mr. Gilmer was
again elected to the House of Delegates. The session of 1835-6 was
perhaps the stormiest ever held in the State. The recently amalgamated
political parties of heterogeneous and diverse elements were in an
embryo state, and every man distrustful of his next neighbor in politics.
The discussions on the recently developed designs of the abolition
party, which was rearing its hydra head, were fierce in the extreme.
The question of the Presidential succession, with all the issues of the
preceding administration involved, was a prolific factor of ferment. A
fire-brand was thrown into the House by the Expunging Resolutions
introduced by Colonel Joseph S. Watkins, of Goochland County. This
measure of party servility was adopted, and Senator John Tyler, as has
been narrated in a preceding sketch, refused to obey the instructions,
and resigned his seat, which was filled by the election of William C.
Rives.

In the Presidential election of 1836 Mr. Gilmer voted for Hugh Lawson
White, of Tennessee, in opposition to Mr. Van Buren. Both Judge
White and General Harrison were voted for by the Whigs of Virginia.
The shattered condition of the health of Mr. Gilmer induced him to
spend the latter part of the winter of 1837-8 in the South, and at the
solicitation of capitalists in Virginia he extended his journey as far as
Texas, as agent for them in the selection of lands. This trip made Mr.
Gilmer cognizant of the resources of the infant republic of Texas, and
enabled him to form a just estimate of its value to the United States,
and he was henceforth an ardent and fast friend of its annexation to
our Union. Whilst in Texas he was appointed by the government as
joint commissioner with Mr. A. G. Burnley, to negotiate a loan of ten
millions of dollars for the State. On receiving the appointment he hastened
by home, on his way to the Northern cities, to effect the loan;
but his negotiations were broken off by the unfavorable turn of the

money affairs of the country, which soon resulted in the suspension of
specie payments by the banks. He was compensated, however, by the
government of Texas, with $5000 in the bonds of the republic, for his
services. Mr. Gilmer was again elected to the House of Delegates of
Virginia in 1838. Whilst engaged in legislative service Mr. Gilmer was
a frequent contributor to the newspaper press, and in 1834 he published
in the Richmond Whig a series of articles on the "Right of Instruction"
and other subjects; and whilst in the North, endeavoring to effect a loan
for Texas, he contributed to the Pennsylvanian some very interesting
articles on the history of the Texan Revolution, which were extensively
copied by the press. In the summer of 1835 he wrote letters weekly
from the watering-places of Virginia to the Whig, in which he graphically
described the scenery of the country and portrayed the characters
and manners of those with whom he was thrown. February 22, 1837,
he delivered an address before the Virginia Historical Society, at its
annual meeting, which was published in the current number of the
Southern Literary Messenger.

When the Legislature met in 1838, Mr. Gilmer was elected Speaker
of the House of Delegates by acclaim, his being the only nomination.
He was re-elected Speaker when the House of Delegates met again, in
December, 1839. February 14, 1840, he was elected Governor of Virginia,
to succeed David Campbell on the expiration of his term on the
31st of March. He entered zealously upon his duties. He was ex offficio
President of the Board of Public Works, and, not being satisfied
with the means of information at the command of the Board, he made
a careful personal examination of nearly all the important public works
of the State. This tour, in the summer of 1840, was at his own private
expense. The information thus obtained enabled him to prepare
a very able and valuable message to the Assembly, lucidly presenting
the public and material interests of the State. He also reopened with
Governor Seward, of New York, a controversy for the surrender of
Peter Johnson, Edward Smith, and Isaac Gransey, charged with slave-stealing
in Virginia, and who were fugitives from justice. Their rendition
was ably demanded. Seward, after a delay of six months, replied,
refusing to surrender the fugitives. The exasperated Assemby of Virginia,
on the 13th of March, 1841, enacted in retaliation a law which
subjected all vessels trading from any port in New York to Virginia to
a search for stolen slaves. It was, however, made prospective, to allow
New York another opportunity to redress the grievance complained of;
and the Governor was authorized to suspend the operation of the law
when the demand of the State should be complied with, and the law
of New York extending the right of trial by jury should be repealed.
On the 16th of March, three days after the passage of the retaliatory
law, a demand was made by Governor Seward on the Executive of
Virginia for the surrender of R. F. Emry, charged with felony in New

York, and arrested in Virginia. Governor Gilmer refused to comply
with the demand until the demand of Virginia for the surrender of the
slave stealers, as above, should have been complied with. Thus was the
issue joined between North and South, but the Legislature of Virginia
receded from its bold position, and failed to sustain Governor Gilmer.
Debate ensued, and modified resolutions were passed and communicated
to the Governor on the 18th instant. On the same day he sent to the
Assembly a message in which he ably vindicated his course, and resigned
his office. The resignation of Governor Gilmer was a complete
surprise to the Legislature. Much heated discussion ensued, and party
spirit ran high. The passions of his opponents led them to extreme
measures. It was proposed to supply his place by a new election, and
the commencement of the gubernatorial term was changed by enactment
to the 1st of January; but the Legislature were unable to agree
to elect a successor, and adjourned, leaving the office of Governor to
be filled successively by the senior Councillor of State for the yearly
term of such precedence, as provided by law. He was thus succeeded
until the 31st of March following by John Mercer Patton.

As soon as the resignation of Governor Gilmer became known he was
solicited to declare himself a candidate for Congress from the Albemarle
district. He accordingly did so, and was elected by a handsome majority,
and took his seat, on the 31st of May, in the Congress which had
been convened by the proclamation of President Harrison, dated the
17th of March.

In the meanwhile, the death of President Harrison, which occurred
on the 4th of April, just one month after his inauguration, had devolved
the Executive office on John Tyler, the Vice-President. There was a
Whig majority in both branches of Congress. John White, of Kentucky,
was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr.
Gilmer entered actively on the work of reform in Congress. He proposed
the entire separation of the political press from the patronage of
the Government, and that the Executive should be required to report
to the Senate his reasons for all removals from office. These were
capital reforms, but failed. Mr. Gilmer labored, too, through the
medium of a special committee, of which he was chairman, for retrenchment.
He served also as a member of the important Standing
Committee of Ways and Means. On the 17th of June he offered a
resolution for the appointment of a committee to examine into the number
of the officers or agents of the Government, modes of transacting
business, and expenditures, to report at the next session if any reduction
in the expenses of the civil list, or in the number of persons employed,
might be effected. The resolution was adopted, and Mr. Gilmer
placed at the head of the committee.

President Harrison, in removing to Washington to assume his office,
had incurred much expense, which had considerably embarrassed his

estate. A proposition to give to his family $25,000, the Presidential
salary for one year, so enlisted the feelings and sympathies of all, that
few men could be found of the opposite party, much less of those who
had voted for him, bold enough to oppose it. Every impulse of Mr.
Gilmer led him to vote for the bill, but they were controlled by his
sense of duty as a Representative. In a brief speech he insisted that
Congress ought not to vote it in their representative capacity out of the
public funds, but privately from their own personal resources. They
had no right to be generous with the money of the people. He also
ably opposed the distribution among the States of the proceeds of the
sales of the public lands. He voted against the United States Bank in
every form in which it was presented. The extra session of Congress
adjourned on the 13th of September, after a session of about one hundred
days. At the regular session, which began on the first Monday
of December, 1841, Mr. Gilmer was transferred from the Committee of
Ways and Means to that of Foreign Relations, of which John Quincy
Adams was chairman. The action of Mr. Adams in presenting, January
24, 1842, a petition from Haverhill, Massachusetts, for an immediate
dissolution of the Union, the debate which resulted from a resolution
to censure him therefor, and the singular conduct of Mr. Adams in the
committee, so disgusted Mr. Gilmer and four other members of it that
they refused to serve any longer on it with Mr. Adams, and they were
excused by the House. In the debate on the general appropriation bill,
Mr. Gilmer, in a speech of great ability, advocated striking out all the
contingent expenses. He zealously supported President Tyler in the
independent course which the latter pursued. Mr. Gilmer was re-elected
to Congress, in 1843, over William L. Goggin, after a warm canvass.
When Congress assembled December 2, 1843, the majority in the House
of Representatives was changed, and was now largely Democratic. John
Winston Jones, of Virginia, was elected Speaker. The Cabinet of President
Tyler having resigned, as detailed in the preceding sketch of his
career, on the 15th of February, 1844, he nominated Mr. Gilmer to the
Senate to be Secretary of the Navy. The nomination was at once unanimously
confirmed. Mr. Gilmer immediately entered upon the discharge
of the duties of his post with the avowed determination to carry into execution
the reforms which he had advocated in Congress, but an All-wise
Providence intervened, and by a most afflicting dispensation removed him
from his sphere of human usefulness. He was, as has been narrated, one
of the victims of the awful catastrophe on the steamer "Princeton" on
the 28th of February, 1844. Thus died Thomas Walker Gilmer, in the
forty-second year of his age, stricken down on the very harvest-field of
his faithful labors, and with the sheaves of gathered honors standing thick
around him. He left issue four sons and two daughters: i. John, died
unmarried; ii. Elizabeth, married Colonel St. George Tucker, Confederate
States Cavalry, soldier, poet, and novelist; iii. Rev. George Hudson,
a minister of the Presbyterian Church; iv. Rev. Thomas Walker,
of the faith of his brother, married Miss Minor; v. James B., a member
of the bar of Texas, married Mrs. Elizabeth Ford; vi. Juliet. An
excellent portrait of Governor Gilmer is in the State Library at Richmond.
A marble slab marks his remains at "Mt. Air," Albemarle
County, Virginia.