 Member
of a distinguished New Hampshire family and second son in a family
of eight, Nicholas Gilman was born at Exeter in 1755. He received
his education in local schools and worked at his father's general
store. When the War for Independence began, he enlisted in the New
Hampshire element of the Continental Army, soon won a captaincy, and
served throughout the war.Gilman
returned home, again helped his father in the store, and immersed
himself in politics. In the period 1786-88 he sat in the Continental
Congress, though his attendance record was poor. In 1787 he
represented New Hampshire at the Constitutional Convention. He did
not arrive at Philadelphia until July 21, by which time much major
business had already occurred. Never much of a debater, he made no
speeches and played only a minor part in the deliberations. He did,
however, serve on the Committee on Postponed Matters. He was also
active in obtaining New Hampshire's acceptance of the Constitution
and in shepherding it through the Continental Congress.
Gilman later became a prominent Federalist
politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789
until 1797; and in 1793 and 1797 was a presidential elector. He also
sat in the New Hampshire legislature in 1795, 1802, and 1804, and in
the years 1805-8 and 1811-14 he held the office of state treasurer.
Meantime, Gilman's political philosophy had
begun to drift toward the Democratic-Republicans. In 1802, when he
was defeated for the U.S. Senate, President Jefferson appointed him
as a bankruptcy commissioner, and 2 years later as a
Democratic-Republican he won election to the U.S. Senate. He was
still serving there when he passed away at Philadelphia, while on
his way home from Washington, DC, in 1814 at the age of 58. He is
interred at the Winter Street Cemetery at Exeter. |
