William Gilliland

www.gillilandtrails.org/documents/bios/bio_WillGillNY.rtf

At a little over twenty years old, Will, as he called himself, emigrated from Ireland to America and arrived in New York City in about 1754. He soon established himself in the mercantile trade working for others then established his own business by April of 1759 when his advertisements first appeared in the City’s newspapers. Some time prior to 1759, Will had met a young lady named Elizabeth Phagan at the home of mutual friends. At that time young Elizabeth, also of Irish extraction, was an orphan with an estate of some 1500 pounds, a considerable sum in those days. Upon the earlier death of her mother, her father and only brother had returned to the island of Jamaica where they both had soon died. As a result and because of her young age, she had been placed under the guardianship of two prominent men of the City. A relationship between Will and Elizabeth soon developed and they were married in February of 1759. He was 25, she 19. A daughter Jane soon followed in 1760.