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��THE GRANITE MONTHLY.
��Henry the Eighth. It has not, indeed, the sensuality that marked the counte- nance of the royal Tudor, but there is the same force and energy, the frank- ness, and the shrewd foresight that the observer can perceive about the ancient portrait. The portrait in the State- house, at Concord, was painted by Harvey Young, of Boston. He painted it from a bust, and a portrait executed by an amateur, and it is believed to be a good likeness, although the family have other portraits that are different in details. The venerable Dr. William Perry, who has been a resident of Ex- eter since 1814, says that Gov. Gil- man was the most dignified man he ever saw. He preserved his straight- ness and vigor to the last, and many now living remember the solid, digni- fied figure of the old man, as he took his daily walks, with his hands behind him.
The house has undergone some changes since the governor's day. An addition has been put on one end, and it has been made into a double tenement. Martha Gilman, a distant relative of the governor, owned the house for a few years. In 1S37 it was purchased by a Mr. Burleigh. It is now owned by Mrs. Lovering. Mrs. Gordon, a niece of Gov. Gilman, is one of the present occupants. The grounds formerly extended westwardly much further than at present, occupy- ing the site on which now stands the residence of Charles Conner, Esq. They comprised an acre or more, and were decorated by an arbor and flower beds.
Just beyond Mr. Conner's house, on the same side of the street, and just opposite the county-house, stands an- other notable building. It is the his- toric mansion " under the elm," the abode for many years of Hon. Nich- olas Gilman, and to which came letters from Madison, George Clinton, Gen. Knox, Webster, Langdon, John Adams, and many others of the distinguished men of the day. The place takes its name from a stately tree, of the genus ul m us, more than one hundred and
��forty years old, that stands in front of the house. The generous shelter af- forded by its shade seems to have been appreciated by the old mansion.
The main part of the house pre- serves its antique appearance. It is two stories in height, with the regula- tion gambrel-roof. The large ell and the piazza have been built since 1800. The square part was built somewhere between 1730 and 1740, by Dr. Dud- ley Odlin. Dr. Odlin obtained the land of his father, Rev. John Odlin, who purchased it from the estate of Rev. John Clark, by whom it had been purchased, April, 1696, from Councillor John Gilman. The estate comprised some four hundred acres, extending in a westerly direction to the river. It has been preserved intact to this day. Dr. Odlin died in 1747, leaving the house and land to his son, Dr. John Odlin, who conveyed it to Col. Nich- olas Gilman, Dec.]o, 1782, since which time it has been occupied by the Gil- mans.
Col. Gilman, as we have said, died in 1 7 S3. His large property was di- vided among his sons. The youngest, Nathaniel, had married Miss Abigail Odlin, a relative of Dr. Odlin, and he now became the owner of the original Odlin property. It was his home for the remainder of his life. Nathaniel was a boy of sixteen when the Revo- lution commenced, and did not go to the field at all. But he did useful ser- vice at home, in assisting his father in his manifold employments. He suc- ceeded his father as financial agent for the state, and was a prosperous and prominent citizen. Though he did not fill the nation's eye like his older brothers, Col. Nathaniel Gilman filled many important offices in his day. He was prominent in the state militia, was a state senator, and served as state treasurer for many years. He died in 1 84 7, at the age of eighty-seven. He was the father of four daughters and seven sons.
Nathaniel Gilman was the tallest and the stoutest of the three brothers. He was the Roman of them all, six
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