The early passageways of our ancestors were paved with equal hardship and determination. Again, I see the parallel between little Elizabeth Grace, the newest family member in the long line. Seems her nasal passages are a bit tight for the normal air flow, but she's working hard to get what she needs. Her great X 6 grandmother shared her tenacity as a fighter and her nature as a gentle spirit.
Introducing Elizabeth Lewis, born in 1765, my great X 4 grandmother, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis. She entered the world in Virginia and later married Thomas Meriwether Gilmer, son of Peachy Ridgway Gilmer and Mary Meriwether Gilmer.This may get confusing, all this "son of" and "daughter of" business, but it sort of keeps the line straight, in a roundabout way. Thomas brings in the Meriwether name through his mother who was the sister of Lucy Meriwether Lewis, mother of Meriwether Lewis. I'll leave the Meriwethers for another book or time and I'll focus on the Gilmers.
Here are a few tidbits about them. Much of my information came from Thomas and Elizabeth Lewis Gilmer's son, George Rockingham Gilmer and his book, Gilmer's Georgians, or Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia, of the Cherokees, and the author. He wrote about his great grandfather and was generous in his kind and factual approach. Dr. George Gilmer moved from Scotland to London to Williamsburg in 1731. He was the town's "physic" or doctor or apothocary until his death in 1757. The book is very descriptive about Peachy Ridgway, Dr. Gilmer's son, when it says in part that he was " blunt-spoken, open-hearted, and unthrifty. He cared not a straw for learning when young, and not much for books when he was old." Apparently his son, Thomas, was rather obese at age 16 weighing 200 pounds. He supposedly floated home in summer from his school two miles up the Shenandoah River.
The old house in this post was built by Thomas Meriwether Lewis and Elizabeth. It was still standing in Goosepond in 1964 when this photo was taken and appeared in The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. It has since been moved to Callaway Plantation near Washington, Georgia.
More on the Gilmer clan in the next post. For now, all Elizabeths are ready for a rest.
Here are a few tidbits about them. Much of my information came from Thomas and Elizabeth Lewis Gilmer's son, George Rockingham Gilmer and his book, Gilmer's Georgians, or Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia, of the Cherokees, and the author. He wrote about his great grandfather and was generous in his kind and factual approach. Dr. George Gilmer moved from Scotland to London to Williamsburg in 1731. He was the town's "physic" or doctor or apothocary until his death in 1757. The book is very descriptive about Peachy Ridgway, Dr. Gilmer's son, when it says in part that he was " blunt-spoken, open-hearted, and unthrifty. He cared not a straw for learning when young, and not much for books when he was old." Apparently his son, Thomas, was rather obese at age 16 weighing 200 pounds. He supposedly floated home in summer from his school two miles up the Shenandoah River.
The old house in this post was built by Thomas Meriwether Lewis and Elizabeth. It was still standing in Goosepond in 1964 when this photo was taken and appeared in The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. It has since been moved to Callaway Plantation near Washington, Georgia.
More on the Gilmer clan in the next post. For now, all Elizabeths are ready for a rest.
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