Nicholas Gilman
American politician (1755-1814)
Nicholas Gilman Jr. (August 3, 1755 – May 2, 1814) was an American Founding Father, a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the U.S. Constitution, representing New Hampshire. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives during the first four Congresses and served in the U.S. Senate from 1805 until his death in 1814. His brother John Taylor Gilman was also very active in New Hampshire politics, serving as Governor of New Hampshire for 14 years, as well as a principal benefactor of Phillips Exeter Academy. Their childhood home in Exeter is now the American Independence Museum.
Family background and early life
Gilman was born in Exeter, Province of New Hampshire, to Ann (Taylor) and Nicholas Gilman, the second son in a family of six children. Gilman had four brothers and one sister who were named (from oldest to youngest) John, Nicholas, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Samuel, and Daniel. He also had two brothers who died before a year of age. Born during the French and Indian War, he was soon aware of the military responsibilities that went with citizenship in a New England colony. After attending local public schools, he became a clerk in his father's trading house, but the growing rift between the colonies and Great Britain quickly thrust Gilman into the struggle for independence.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Nicholas Gilman” is american politician (1755-1814). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Nicholas, Gilman and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american politician (1755-1814)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2048880. VIAF identifies the subject as 60488665. The Library of Congress control number is n84149436. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1755, 1814 and 1805.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Nicholas Gilman”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Nicholas Gilman primary sources, Nicholas Gilman archive and Nicholas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Nicholas Gilman”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Nicholas Gilman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.