William Jefferson Gilchrist
birth: 31 Mar 1869 in Richland Township, Fulton Co., IN to Thomas Gilchrist & Phoebe Keely
death: 20 Dec 1943 in South Bend, St. Joseph Co., IN
burial: I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Richland Center, Fulton Co., IN
marriage: 31 Dec. 1898 in Fulton County, IN
Millie Artemicia Mow
birth: 02 Jul 1880 Fulton County, IN to David B. Mow & Catherin Buehler/Beehler
death: 19 Sep 1920 Richland Township, Fulton Co., IN
burial: I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Richland Center, Fulton Co., IN
Children of William Jefferson Gilchrist and Millie Artemicia Mow:
- Virgil James Gilchrist (28 Mar 1900 – 08 Apr. 1971) m. 25 Oct.1927 in South Bend, St. Joseph Co., IN to Alcie Elizabeth O’Dell
- Byron Bruce Gilchrist (27 Jan 1903 – 07 Jan 1998) m. 18 Aug. 1928 in South Bend, St. Joseph Co., IN to Emma Berneice Pfeiffer
William Jefferson Gilchrist lived in:
- 1869 – 1902 Rochester Township, Fulton Co., IN
- 1902 Richland Township, Fulton Co., IN
- In his later years he lived first with his son, Virgil and his family in Floyd and Clark Counties in Indiana, and then until his death, with his younger son, Byron and family in South Bend, St. Joseph County, IN.
Other Information:
Will GILCHRIST attended the old Burton Evangelical Church until the
family moved to Richland Township. Then he became very active in the Grand
View Evangelical Church in the Whippoorwill Community, serving in the
capacity of Sunday School Superintendent of that church for many years.
Will was described as “the sweetest-tempered, most gentle man in the
world,” by one sister of Elizabeth (O’DELL), Will’s daughter-in-law.
William was a handsome man, probably just under 6′ tall and of sturdy
build, but not heavy.
William always seemed to be standing at a distance from other people in snapshots, and most usually, he would be positioned to the right side of the photo. Will’s son, Byron GILCHRIST, in June, 1996, gave this report, “That right eye was injured from a severe bump Dad received and the bone deterioration that the injury caused. As a boy,
he hit himself in the eye with the leg of a milking stool. He had reached
across the back of one of the cows to get the stool down from where it was
hanging on the barn wall. The cow shifted her stance; he lost his grip on
the stool and a leg of the stool hit him in the eye. There was a clinic in
Michigan where Dad spent several weeks in treatment. He lost the sight in that eye, and maybe he did position himself that way in pictures to hide it or so that he could
best see the others people in a group.” The wedding picture of Will and Artie Gilchrist reveals a distinct difference in the appearance of that eye and the left one.
Although Will grew up on a farm and continued to maintain his father’s farm after Thomas was not able to do it, Will’s first love was carpentry. He did not want to be a farmer, but felt obligated to carry on for his father. He taught both of his sons to do both kinds of labor and both of them earned their living in construction work, but farmed enough to provide food for their families.
Submitted by:
E. Ann Grubb
Your Email: eanng1177@gmail.com
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