The Gilmer family resided in Savannah, Georgia. Jeremy Francis Gilmer (1818-1883) was born in Savannah, Georgia and married Louisa Frederika Alexander, also of Savannah, in 1850. He was a graduate of West Point and was an engineer in the U.S. Army until the Civil War broke out and he was appointed a colonel in the Confederate States Army and was the Chief Engineer to Major General Albert Sidney Johnston. Gilmer was later appointed to Major General, Chief Engineer of the War Department and assisted in setting up defenses in Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. From 1867 until his death in 1883, Gilmer was the president of the Savannah Gas Light Company.
From the description of Gilmer family papers, 1878-1881. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 605900813
