Allan Gilmour, Sr.

Who was Allan Gilmour, Sr.?

Allan Gilmour, Sr was a prominent Scottish-born lumber merchant and shipowner.

Born in 1775, Allan Gilmour, Sr. was the son of Allan Gilmour and Elizabeth Pollok. Initially dealing in the Baltic timber trade, he co-founded the Glasgow-based firm Pollok, Gilmour and Company, together with the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. Suffering from the Napoleonic blockade of baltic timber, he quickly established a new, North American base for the company, sending his brother James Gilmour, and Alexander Rankin to the Miramichi River in 1812. Pollok, Gilmour and Company was soon the largest operator in the British North American timber market, with further branches establiished at Saint John, Quebec, Montreal, Bathurst, N.B., and Dalhousie and Campbellton. In 1837 a rift developed between Gilmour and the Pollok brothers. To resolve the dispute, effective leadership was transferred to Robert Rankin, the manager of the Saint John operation.

After his retirement, his health soon declined. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1849. He died later in the same year leaving most of his property, to the sons of his brother James