Charles Leslie Gilliland was born in Portland, Oregon, October 20, 1874, the son of Lyle Willis and Martha Elizabeth Groomes Gilliland. He was educated at private schools in Portland and as a young man worked as a rancher. Charles made annual trips to Arizona starting around 1901. On one of his first trips to Oracle, Arizona he met Helen Galey. The two were married April 16, 1908 and moved to Helen's home in Philadelphia, but continued to visit Arizona each winter. Helen's father, William Thomas Galey was the founder of the textile company Aberfoyle Manufacturing Company in Chester, Pennsylvania. Charles worked for his father-in-law as treasurer of Aberfoyle Manufacturing Company. He later founded the Cotton Products Company in Philadelphia, was director of the Chester-Cambridge Bank & Trust Company, and the Commercial National Bank & Trust Company, Philadelphia. The couple had a daughter, Helen Fairrie in Philadelphia in 1909, but there is no record of her after 1910. It is believed she died as a child. Their son Charles Jr. ("Charlie") was born in Philadelphia about 1911. Charles Jr. learned to trick ride horses on his visits to Oracle, Arizona and later was part of the rodeo circuit. Charles Gilliland was a member of the Union League, Philadelphia Country Club, Multnomah Athletic Club, and Portland Hunt club. In 1923 Charles purchased Phoenix Date and Citrus Properties, which later became Gilliland Groves. The 108-acre date palm and citrus ranch backed-up to the canal on 45th Street and Hazelwood, near present day Arcadia High School in Phoenix. The dates from the ranch were sold commercially under the trade name "Arawan." In addition to a ranch in Phoenix, the couple built a palatial residence in Oracle, called El Rancho Robles (The Oak Ranch). The Gillilands also built St. Helen's Church in Oracle in 1927. They provided the building costs, all the furnishings and vestments as well as endowed the church with a trust fund. Helen Galey Gilliland died in 1930. Charles remarried Lorraine Peaslee McArther in Phoenix on February 8, 1932. By 1936, Charles resigned from the Cotton Products Company in Philadelphia and made his permanent home in Arizona. He collected Navajo blankets and Apache baskets, bred wire-haired fox terriers, and was an avid hunter, enjoying many outdoor activities. Charles died in Phoenix on October 23, 1941.
From the description of Charles L. Gilliland Photograph Collection, 1906-ca. 1960 [photographs]. (Scottsdale Public Library). WorldCat record id: 224558615
