Thomas Walker Gilmer was born in Gilmerton, Albemarle County, on 6 April 1802, to George and Elizabeth (Hudson) Gilmer. Gilmer studied law and was admitted to the bar in Albemarle County. He practiced law in Charlottesville and briefly acted as editor of the Virginia Advocate. Gilmer married Anne E. Baker, daughter of Congressman John Baker, of Shepherdstown, Virginia, on 23 May 1826. Elected to the House of Delegates to represent Albemarle County for the session of 1829 to 1830, Gilmer served intermittently until 1840, performing the duties as speaker of the House of Delegates for his final two sessions. While in the Legislature, Gilmer opposed the re-chartering of the state banks and fought to prosecute Virginia's Revolutionary War claims against the federal government. A member of the Whig Party, Gilmer was elected as governor of Virginia on 14 February 1840. Gilmer, however, only served one year out of his three-year term as governor resigning on 20 March 1841. His resignation came about as a result of a dispute with the General Assembly following a controversy between Gilmer and William H. Seward, Governor of New York. In 1840, Seward refused to extradite three men charged with stealing a slave in Virginia. When Seward demanded the extradition of a fugitive shortly thereafter, Gilmer refused, but the General Assembly passed a resolution compelling Gilmer to acquiesce. Subsequently, on 31 May 1841, Gilmer was elected to the Twenty-Seventh Congress, serving until 16 February 1844. A loyal proponent of President John Tyler and the annexation of Texas, Gilmer resigned from Congress on 16 February 1844 to accept President Tyler's appointment of him as Secretary of the Navy. Gilmer's time as Secretary of the Navy was short-lived, however, following an explosion while on board the U.S.S. Princeton on 28 February 1844. He was interred at Mount Air Cemetery in Albemarle County. Gilmer County, West Virginia, was named in his honor in 1845.
From the guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Thomas W. Gilmer, 1840-1841, (The Library of Virginia)
