Gilman, Nicholas, 1755-1814

GILMAN, Nicholas, (brother of John Taylor Gilman, granduncle of Charles Jervis Gilman), a Delegate, a Representative, and a Senator from New Hampshire; born in Exeter, Rockingham County, N.H., August 3, 1755; pursued an academic course; employed as a clerk in his father's countinghouse; served in the continental army during the Revolutionary War; Member of the Continental Congress 1787-1789; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and one of the signers of the Constitution; elected to the First and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1797); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1796; chairman, Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business (Fourth Congress); elected in 1805 as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate; reelected in 1811 and served from March 4, 1805, until his death in Philadelphia, Pa., May 2, 1814; interment in Exeter Cemetery, Exeter, N.H.

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>11/03/1810 NH US Senate Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>11/03/1804 NH US Senate Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>08/25/1794 NH At-Large Won 14.45% (-7.98%)</li>
<li>08/27/1792 NH At-Large Won 15.06% (+0.00%)</li>
<li>08/30/1790 NH At-Large Won 11.77% (-3.76%)</li>
<li>02/02/1789 NH At-Large Won 19.53% (-6.60%)</li>
<li>12/31/1788 NH Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/15/1788 NH At-Large - Initial Election Lost 5.79% (-10.17%)</li>
<li>12/31/1787 NH Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1786 NH Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>
<ul><b>SPECULATIVE, DID NOT RUN</b>
<li>12/08/1794 NH At-Large - Runoff Won 0.00% (-17.32%)</li>
<li>06/22/1789 NH At-Large - Special Won 0.00% (-17.67%)</li>
</ul>

<p>Nicholas Gilman Jr. (August 3, 1755 – May 2, 1814) was an American Founding Father, a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the U.S. Constitution, representing New Hampshire. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives during the first four Congresses and served in the U.S. Senate from 1805 until his death in 1814.His brother John Taylor Gilman was also very active in New Hampshire politics, serving as Governor of New Hampshire for 14 years, as well as a principal benefactor of Phillips Exeter Academy. Their childhood home in Exeter is now the American Independence Museum.</p>

<p>Gilman was born in Exeter, Province of New Hampshire, to Ann (Taylor) and Nicholas Gilman, the second son in a family of six children. Gilman had four brothers and one sister who were named (from oldest to youngest) John, Nicholas, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Samuel, and Daniel. He also had two brothers who died before a year of age. Born during the French and Indian War, he was soon aware of the military responsibilities that went with citizenship in a New England colony. After attending local public schools, he became a clerk in his father's trading house, but the growing rift between the colonies and Great Britain quickly thrust Gilman into the struggle for independence. New England merchants, in particular, resented Parliament's attempt to end its "salutary neglect" of the financial and political affairs of the colonies by instituting measures to raise and to enforce the raising of revenue measures that many Americans considered violations of their rights as British citizens. Gilman's father, along with Nathaniel Folsom and Enoch Poor, emerged as a leader of the Patriot cause in Exeter.</p>

<p>He represented his community in the New Hampshire Provincial Congresses, which met just after hostilities broke out at Lexington and Concord in 1775 and which later drafted the state constitution. During the American Revolution he served as the state's treasurer. His oldest brother, John, was a sergeant in Exeter's company of militia that marched to fight the Redcoats around Boston. Nicholas remained behind but was an ardent supporter of the Patriot cause, and he likely trained with the local militia regiment.</p>