Thomas Walker Gilmer

Thomas Walker Gilmer (April 6, 1802 – February 28, 1844) was an American statesman. He served in several political positions in Virginia, including election as the 28th Governor of Virginia. Gilmer's final political office was as the 15th Secretary of the Navy, but he died in an accident ten days after assuming that position. Personal life Gilmer was born to George Gilmer and Elizabeth Anderson Hudson at their farm, "Gilmerton", in Albemarle County, Virginia. He was taught by private tutors and his uncle Peachy Ridgeway Gilmer in Charlottesville and Staunton, and studied law in Liberty (now Bedford), Virginia. Gilmer practiced law in Charlottesville. He was, briefly, editor of the Virginia Advocate, a Charlottesville newspaper. On May 23, 1826, Gilmer married Anne Elizabeth Baker of Shepherdstown, now in West Virginia. Her late father, John Baker, had been a member of the United States House of Representatives. They had a son, George Hudson Gilmer, a Presbyterian minister.