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Overview
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Preferred Citation
Restrictions on Access
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| Record Creator: | Gillilan, James David |
| Title: | James David Gillilan Papers |
| Date Span: | 1878-1933 |
| Abstract: | James David Gillilan was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister and missionary. The collection is made up of documents relating to his ministry. |
| Extent: | 1.65 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | gcah.ms.682 |
James David Gillilan (1858-1935) Methodist missionary in Utah. He was also a minister, principle, and presiding elder. He was born on May 19, 1858, in Jackson, Ohio. His early schooling was in the public schools there, but mostly he educated himself. On May 19, 1880, he married Alice Wiseman.
He joined the Pittsburgh Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1883. He was sent to the Utah mission, where he served for fifteen years, including several as superintendent. He joined the Idaho Conference in 1898, and served there until his retirement in 1933. During this time, he served as the superintendent of the La Grande District, (1904-1910), and of the Boise District, (1911-1917). He was named delegate to the General Conference three times, 1904, 1912, and 1916. In 1918, he served on a commission sent to the Orient to survey the Church's missionary work there.
He died in 1935. The date and location are unknown.
The collection provides a detailed account of Gillilan's life, and of Methodism in Ohio and Utah. The most significant items in the collection are Gillilan's thoroughly kept diaries. In addition, he was a meticulous keeper of scrapbooks, collecting many articles about Methodism and religion in his time. He was also a published author, and copies of many of his published poems and essays are present in the collection. It seems that he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Strickland Gillilan. It is possible that this is a family member. In his collection are also present two threatening letters. One dates from 1886, and is from Gillilan's time in Tooele, Utah. It relates to issues of polygamy and Mormonism. The other is less specific, but threatens Gillilan' s "precious throat." Gillilan's papers contain approximately 2000 sets of sermon notes, numbered from 5 to 2394. The system by which these numbers were assigned is unknown. One of Gillilan's diaries, the largest, contains several pages of what seem to be land ownership claims and mining records. He may have obtained this book, already used, and subsequently used it for his journal. Another of his diaries contains several pages written in a substitution code, and several more in shorthand. The key to Gillilan's code is in the Diaries: General File. Many of the books and documents are fragile, and should be handled with extreme care.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
The collection is arranged by record type. All material is arranged chronologically, with undated material placed at the front of folders. Note that materials found loose in the diaries were photocopied and placed in a general file, but the original materials were returned to their places.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, J. D. Gillilan Collection, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items' call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 1342-5-1: 1 | Diaries I | 1878-1879 |
| 1342-5-1: 2 | Diaries II | 1887-1901 |
| 1342-5-1: 1 | Diaries III | 1880-1881 |
| 1342-5-1: 2 | Diaries IV | 1882-1883 |
| 1342-5-1: 3 | Diaries: General | Undated |
| 1342-5-1: 4 | Published Writings | 1897-1898 |
| 1342-5-1: 5 | Correspondence | 1886 |
| 1342-5-1: 6 | Sermons I (Numbers 5-1841) | Undated |
| 1342-5-1: 7 | Sermons II (Numbers 1842-2127) | Undated |
| 1342-5-1: 8 | Sermons III (Numbers 2128-2394) | Undated |
| 1342-5-1: 9 | Photographs | 1933 |
| 1610-1-1: 1 | Scrapbook I: Financial | 1880-1887 |
| 1610-1-1: 2 | Scrapbook II | Undated |
| 1610-1-1: 3 | Scrapbook III | Undated |
