Gilman family.

Samuel Gilman, Unitarian minister and author of “Fair Harvard,” was born on February 16, 1791, to Frederick and Abigail (Somes) Gilman in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At the time of his birth, the Gilman family was living in the house previously owned by Judith Sargent Murray and her second husband, John Murray. Gilman entered Harvard College in 1807, at the age of 16, and received his AB in 1811. While an undergraduate student, he met his future wife, Caroline Howard, who was born in Boston on October 1, 1794 to Samuel and Anna (Lillie) Howard. Samuel and Caroline married in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 25, 1819; they had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. Among their children was Annie Margaret Gilman. After the birth and death of her sixth child in 1831, Caroline Howard Gilman returned to an early love of writing, becoming one of the most popular women writers of the first half of the 19th century.

From 1817-1819, Gilman worked at Harvard as a tutor, while also studying theology in the area. Following their marriage, the Gilmans moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where Samuel had accepted a position as pastor of the Second Independent Church (which became the Unitarian Church in Charleston in 1839). He served the church until his death on February 9, 1858. Although he spent the majority of his career in the South, Gilman frequently returned to his New England roots, including his alma mater. In 1815, he was privileged to deliver the Phi Beta Kappa poem. In 1836, he composed the poem, “Fair Harvard,” in honor of Harvard’s bicentennial. The following year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity by the College, and in 1848, he delivered the Dudleian lecture.

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