James Gillborn
Aka James GILLMAN, GILMAN or GILBOURNE
| Birth: | Not known |
| Christen: | 15 Feb 1803, Nottingham St. Mary |
| (Probable) Father: | James GILLBORN (chd. 1782 -?) |
| (Probable) Mother: | Catherine LAMMIN (ca.1781 - ?) |
| Spouse 1: | Elizabeth Stacey |
| Marriage: | 5 May 1822, Nottingham St. Nicholas |
| Spouse 2: | Maria Godderidge |
| Marriage : | 11 Jul 1852, Radford St. Peter, Notts. |
| Death: | 20 Dec 1868 Nottingham St. Ann |
Oh what a confusing life this has been to trace! The search started when the marriage certificate of his daughter, Catherine Gilbourne, indicated her deceased father, James, had been a soldier, and his own death certificate described him as a military pensioner. The birth certificate of a second daughter, Matilda, gave her mother as Maria Gilbourne, formerly Godderidge. No birth certificate was given in the GRO indexes for Catherine Gilbourne, nor a wedding certificate for James Gilbourne. No pension records could be found at the Public Records Office (PRO - now The National Archives) for James Gilbourne either. Searching for a wedding of Maria Godderidge however, showed a marriage in Radford, Notts on 7 November 1852 to James GILLMAN (as well as a later marriage to Isaac Shipley). Searching the pension records again did indeed find documentation in the name of James GILLMAN (sometimes James GILMAN). Further checking of the birth indexes, expecting to find the birth of Catherine GILLMAN were unsuccessful, but she was nearby, registered in 1854 as Catherine GILLBORNE. Rechecking register entries for James GILLMAN threw up an earlier marriage to Elizabeth STACEY 5 May 1922, with a daughter Emma being born in 1832.
The baptism of James GILLBORN, son of James GILLBORN and Catherine nee LAMMIN, is given in the Nottingham St.Mary registers for 1803, and is probably the person described here, there being no record found for the christening of James GILLMAN.
Having determined that James GILLMAN and James GILBOURNE were probably one and the same person, his military career was tracked in detail. Towards the end of his career he was punished several times for drunkenness, and on one of these occasions was court martialled after striking the arresting officer. Twenty four years in the military clearly took its toll. He was discharged in 1848 and became a Chelsea pensioner. His discharge recommendation reads thus:
which says - I certify that James Gillman is unfit for further service, he being worn out - having served six years in the marines previous to his entering the 89th Regt.
This was another surprise - his enlistment papers stated that he had not previously served in the armed forces.
He was admitted to out-pension 9 January 1849 in Nottingham.
| GRO Death Index: | Nottingham Dec 1868 7b 167 | |
| 1851 Census: | Taylor's Yard, Ilkestone Rd., Radford | HO107/2129/383/135 |
| 1861 Census: | 13 Glasshouse St., Nottingham | RG9/2458/52/148 |