Gilmer, W. B. (Louisa, Va.)
Biographical Note
The W. B. Gilmer of this collection lived at "Woodbourne" in Louisa, Virginia, and worked for the Gilmer Manufacturing Corporation in Louisa in the 1950s. Gilmer was one of the founding members of the Louisa Chapter of the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties, a political organization that fought integration in Virginia's public schools. Gilmer may have been secretary or another officer in the chapter. He left the group in 1959 or 1960, as he felt there was too much talk and not enough action, like boycotting businesses.
W. B. Gilmer is probably Weir Burton Gilmer, Sr. (1891-1964). He was born to William B. Gilmer, Jr., and Emma Haardt on August 17, 1891, in Montgomery, Alabama. He worked as a chemist and consulting chemical engineer in Georgia and Virginia and for the Tata Oil Mils Company, Ltd., in Ernakulam, India, as manager of their oil mill and butter plant. Gilmer married Minnie Ruth Monroe (1891-1980) on December 22, 1916, in Savannah, Georgia, and they had several children: Weir Burton, Jr., Ruth, John R., and Margaret Lynn. According to the obituary for Lynn Gilmer Guilford, she was born in the family home, "Woodbourne". Gilmer died on February 20, 1964 in Richmond and is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery in Louisa, Virginia.
External sources:
U. S. Federal Censuses, 1930-1950
"Weir Burton Gilmer, Sr.", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29936086/weir-burton-gilmer, accessed on June 15, 2023.
"Weir Gilmer" in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/2036699:9278, accessed March 6, 2024.
"Weir Burton Gilmer" in the U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/572070:1174, accessed March 6, 2024.
"Mr. Weir Burton Gilmer" in the U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current, Ancestry.com, from The Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, Dec. 29, 1916, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/112745487:62116, accessed March 6, 2024.
"Guilford Lynn Obituary", The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.), August 3, 2014, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dailyprogress/name/guilford-lynn-obituary?id=10449961, accessed March 6, 2024.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
W. B. Gilmer Papers
The W. B. Gilmer Papers document the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties from 1954-1962. The organization was formed to prevent integration in Virginia's public schools. The collection includes broadsides, circulars, letters, certificate of incorporation, newsletters and memos, and newspaper clippings.
Please note: This collection contains racist ideology and language that may be upsetting to researchers.