The Lizzie Gilmore Collection
The Lizzie Gilmore collection is a series of letters written by Elizabeth C. Gilmore, primarily to her cousins in Crittenden County, Kentucky. “Lizzie” immigrated to Lebanon, Missouri from Kentucky in 1860 or 1861. After settling in the Ozarks, she married James E. “John” Gilmore, a carpenter from New York. Through her letters, Lizzie notes political differences among her family, guerrilla warfare in Missouri and Kentucky, and the hardships she faced in Laclede County. She commented on the fears of living among the war split community of Lebanon and the nature of co-existence.
Lizzie declared her loyalty to the Union, but she specifically stated, “but that is as far as I go.” It is unknown if she was opposed northern aggression, advocated for states rights, or supported slavery. After the last shots of the War were fired, violence raged on in the Ozarks, and Lizzie continued to share her suffering with her extended family. John and Lizzie’s only child succumbed to an early death in the years after the War. This collection provides a glimpse of life for a Laclede County citizen facing the struggles of war and reconstruction in the Ozarks.
Contributed by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA
