William Gilmore, of El Dorado, one of Butler county's largest land owners, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Harrison county, January 26, 1843, and is a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Craig) Gilmore, both natives of Ohio, the former born in 1801, and the latter in 1808, near Cadiz. They were the parents of twelve children, as follows: Samuel, died at the age of twenty-one, of cholera, at New Madrid, Mo.; Eliza Jane, married Alexander M. Shaver in 1865, who died two years after; she died in 1868; John, resides at Webster City, Iowa, aged eighty-three years; Rachel, died at the age of three years; Craig, was killed in an automobile accident at Gibson City, Ill., in 1910; Sarah, died near LeRoy, Ill., in 1852; Albert, living at Gibson City, Ill.; William, the subject of this sketch; Mary Ann, died in 1857, at Le Roy, Ill., at the age of twelve; Johnson, died at Le Roy, Ill., in 1861, aged fifteen; one died in infancy, and Ephraim, resides near Lee, Ind.

William Gilmore was educated in the public schools of Illinois, and attended the Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, Ill., for two years. When he was twenty-two years of age, he was engaged in farming and stock raising in Illinois, and was interested in that business there from 1865 until 1893. The Gilmore family were interested in farming and stock raising together, and had about 3,000 acres of land in Ford, McLean and Champaign counties, Illinois. In 1893, Mr. Gilmore came to Butler county, Kansas, and bought 1,920 acres of land in Chelsea township, where he engaged in farming and the cattle business. About 500 acres of this ranch are now under cultivation, and he also owns 800 acres of very valuable land in Osceola county, Iowa, and is a very wealthy man. His fine, modern home is located on a six acre tract of land adjoining El Dorado on the west.

Mr. Gilmore was married in Ford county, Illinois, in 1879, to Miss Julia I. Bunch, of Edwards county, Illinois. She is a daughter of William and Mary (Clark) Bunch, pioneers of Edwards county, Illinois, both now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore have been born four children, all of whom are living, as follows: Mary Etta, unmarried, resides with her parents; Walter Ellsworth, resides on the home farm in Chelsea township; Carrie Harrison, and Benjamin Harrison, twins.

Mr. Gilmore is able to trace his family history back many generations, and has in his possession a family chart of the Craig family, his mother's ancestry, which gives a history of that family, beginning with John Craig, who was born in Ireland in 1775 and died in 1825. His wife bore the maiden name of Betsy Johnson, and was born in 1782, and died in 1864, at the age of eighty-two. Mr. Gilmore is one of Butler county's most substantial men, and the Gilmore family is one of the leading families of Butler county.

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