Gilliland, James

THE GILLILAND FAMILY.— Among the pioneer families of French Creek township were the Gillilands, a name familiar throughout the county from its earliest settlement to the present time. The ancestry came from Ireland and settled in Pennsylvania, east of the mountains. James Gilliland came to Venango county in 1802, when a young man, and made a settlement on Little Sandy creek, about a mile north of Polk, where he resided until his death in 1860, at the age of eighty- six years. He is remembered as one of the leading citizens of the community in which he lived, was an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and it was largely through his efforts and liberality that the congregation at Polk was organized and a house of worship erected. His wife, Margaret, was a daughter of James McClaran, one of the early settlers in the vicinity of Polk. She survived her husband seventeen years and died in 1877, aged eighty- four years. Five children were born to her: James; Mrs. Jane Billingsly; Mrs. Mary Hughes; Joseph, and A.C., the last two being the only survivors. By a previous marriage Mr. Gilliland was the father of two children: Hannah and Eliza, both deceased.