Herbert Webb Gillman (18 May 1832 - 23 July 1898) was a Ceylonese Judge, the Postmaster General of Ceylon between 1867 and 1871 and an Irish historian.

Herbert Webb Gillman
Born(1832-05-18)18 May 1832
Died23 July 1898(1898-07-23) (aged 66)
Coachford, County Cork, Ireland
Resting placeMagourney Church, Coachford
NationalityIrish
Occupation(s)public servant; antiquarian; historian
Known forPostmaster General of Ceylon
Term1867 - 1871
PredecessorWilliam Barton
SuccessorThomas Edward Barnes Skinner
SpouseAnnie Mackwood
ChildrenHerbert Francis; Webb; Frances Hetty
Parent(s)Herbert; Esther née Bennett

Herbert Webb Gillman was born on 18 May 1832 in Coachford, County Cork, the only son of Herbert (1791-1877) and Esther née Bennett (1795-1842), third daughter of John Barter Bennett, a surgeon from Cork. His mother died when he was ten and in 1847 his father re-married Sarah Honeywood Pollock Skottowe Parker, the third daughter of Richard Neville Parker.[1]

Gillman undertook his tertiary studies at Trinity College Dublin, where he received a gold medal in mathematics[2] and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1853. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar on 26 January 1897.[3] Whilst reading for a fellowship at Trinity College, he was offered and accepted a post in the Ceylon Civil Service, where he remained for some twenty years. During his tenure he served as Postmaster General (1867); District Judge, Galle (1872); and acting Treasurer of Ceylon, where he assisted in the decimalisation of the rupee.[4] He also held positions on both the Legislative and Executive Councils.[5]

In 1866 he married Annie Mackwood, second daughter of Francis Mackwood (a tea plantation owner). They had three children: Herbert Francis (1867-1918), who joined the Indian Civil Service and served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council; Webb (1870-1933) who served in several campaigns including the Second Boer War; Anglo-Aro War and World War I, reaching the rank of General, receiving a KCB, KCMG and DSO for his military service; and Frances Hetty (1876-1959), who married Eyre Herbert Ievers.[1][5]

He retired from public service in 1875, for health reasons, and returned to the family home in Clontead More, to reside there with his family.[6] His father died on 2 December 1877 as did his stepmother four months later,[7] with Gillman inheriting the entire family estate. Gillman actively pursued his interests in antiquities and local history. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries; a fellow of the Bibliographic Society of London; and in 1892 became one of the founding members of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, serving as its vice-president for a number of years. He authored and co-authored a number of articles for the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, and became a leading authority on castles and tower houses in County Cork.[8]

Gillman died on 23 July 1898, at the age of 66, and is buried in the graveyard at the Magourney Church in Coachford.[9]

Bibliography edit

  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1892). "Carrignamuck Castle, County Cork: a stronghold of the MacCarthys". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 30–37.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1892). "Sir Cormac McTeige MacCarthy and the sept lands of Muskerry, Co. Cork; with a historical pedigree". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 193–200.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1892). "Castlemore, and connected castles in Muskerry, Co. Cork". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 213–220, 233–242.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1893). "Cloghan Castle, in Carbery, Co. Cork, identified. With map and sketch of its history". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. II: 173–179.
  • Lyons, John Rev.; Gillman, Herbert Webb (1895). "Togher Castle and district, Co. Cork". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 481–497.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1895). "Siege of Rathbarry Castle, 1642". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 1–20.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1895). "The rise and progress in Munster of the Rebellion, 1642". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. I: 529–42.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1896). "Muskerry yeomanry, Co. Cork, and their times". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. II: 193–209, 241–250.
  • Gillman, Herbert Webb (1896). "Index to the Marriage Licence Bonds of the Diocese of Cork and Ross". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. II: 287–288.
  • Gillman, Herbert Francis; Gillman, Herbert Webb (1897). "The castle of Dundanier, miscalled Dundaniel, near Inish-annon, Co. Cork". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. III: 315–328.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Burke, Bernard; Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1912). A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Ireland. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 267.
  2. ^ "Lot 112: 22ct mathematical gold medal, 1853". The Cotswold Auction Company. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  3. ^ Taswell-Langmead, Thomas Pitt; Carmichael, Charles Henry Edward; Eversley, William Pinder; Baker, Sir Sherston (1866). The Law Magazine and Review: A Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence, Volumes 21-22. Saunders and Benning. p. 361.
  4. ^ Digby, William (1879). Forty Years of Official and Unofficial Life in an Oriental Crown Colony: Being the Life of Sir Richard F. Morgan, Kt., Queen's Advocate and Acting Chief Justice of Ceylon, Volume 2. Higginbotham. p. 86.
  5. ^ a b Gillman, Alexander William (1895). Searches into the history of the Gillman or Gilman family : including the various branches in England, Ireland, America and Belgium. London: Elliot Stock. pp. 89–92.
  6. ^ "Clontead More House". Landed Estates Database. National University of Ireland Galway. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  7. ^ "CO-MORY-0075". HistoricGraves.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Obituary - Herbert Webb Gillman, BA, JP, BL, FRSA" (PDF). Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. IV. Cork Historical and Archaeological Society: 241–242. 1898.
  9. ^ "CO-MORY-0076". HistoricGraves.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

External links edit

Government offices
Preceded by Postmaster General of Ceylon
1867–1871
Succeeded by