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.
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.[1][2][3][4]
Gilmer practiced law in Charlottesville. He was,briefly,editor of the Virginia Advocate,a Charlottesville newspaper.[1][2]
In March 1841,he entered the 27th Congress as a Whig,and after John Tyler unexpectedly ascended to the presidency,Gilmer voted to sustain Tyler's vetoes of legislation favored by other Whigs. Gilmer was re-elected to the 28th Congress as a Democrat in 1842 by a close vote. His competitor,William L. Goggin,contested the result,but before the report of the investigating committee,which recommended that Gilmer be seated,could be acted on,Gilmer resigned from Congress to accept Tyler's nomination as Secretary of the Navy. Goggin then won the special election to fill the vacant seat.[6]
As one of President John Tyler's close Virginia allies in Washington,Gilmer was involved in the effort by the Tyler Administration to make the annexation of Texas the basis for his failed bid for re-election in 1844. On February 15,1844,he was appointed by Tyler to be the U.S. Secretary of the Navy,and resigned his seat in the Congress the next day to enter on the duties of the office;but,ten days later,he was killed by the bursting of a bow gun on board USSPrinceton while on a tour of the Potomac River below Washington. His death meant the loss of a valuable ally for Tyler,and some historians suggest that it may have delayed the Texas Annexation effort.[7]
Jamerson, Bruce F., Clerk of the House of Delegates, supervising (2007). Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1776-2007. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia House of Delegates.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Lewis, Virgil Anson (1887). History of West Virginia. Hubbard Brothers, Philadelphia. p.686. Retrieved 2008-10-27. gilmerton albemarle virginia gilmer.
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