Allan Gilmour was a businessman in the shipping and timber industries and worked for the family firm in Britain and Canada. He was born at Craigton, Mearns (Strathclyde), Scotland, the son of John Gilmour, a farmer, and Margaret Urie. In 1819 he was hired as a clerk by Pollok, Gilmour and Company

Pollok, Gilmour and Company

Pollok, Gilmour, and Company was a Glasgow-based timber-importing firm established in 1804 by Allan Gilmour, Sr and the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. The company soon became the leading British firm in the North American timber trade, chiefly through its Miramichi, New Brunswick operations...

, a firm established by his uncle Allan Gilmour, Sr.

Allan Gilmour, Sr.

Allan Gilmour, Sr was a prominent Scottish-born lumber merchant and shipowner.Born in 1775, Allan Gilmour, Sr. was the son of Allan Gilmour and Elizabeth Pollok. Initially dealing in the Baltic timber trade, he co-founded the Glasgow-based firm Pollok, Gilmour and Company, together with the...

 and partners John and Arthur Pollok.

In 1821 he was promoted to clerk in the company's booming Miramichi, New Brunswick

Miramichi, New Brunswick

Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...

 branch (Gilmour

James Gilmour (Miramichi lumber baron)

James Gilmour was a prominent Scottish-born entrepreneur, farmer, school trustee, justice of the peace, militia officer, and co-founder of both Douglastown, New Brunswick, and Gilmour, Rankin & Co....

, Rankin

Alexander Rankin

Alexander Rankin was a Scottish-born merchant and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1827 to 1852....

 & Co). In 1824 he transferred to a new branch in Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....

, and in 1826 joined the Saint John, New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

 operation (Robert Rankin

Robert Rankin (1801-1870)

Robert Rankin was a timber merchant and shipowner. He contributed greatly to the amazing growth of the shipbuilding and timber trades in 19th century Canada.-Early life:...

 and Co.). In 1828 he joined a new venture, Allan Gilmour and Company, a partnership established by Allan, his uncle (Allan Gilmour, Sr), and William Ritchie of Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

.

He died at Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.