A native of Ireland, Alexander "Sandy" Gilmer (Sept. 7, 1829 - July 30, 1906) came to the United States in 1846 at the age of seventeen. Settling first in Georgia, he worked for his brother John, who had a contract to supply ship masts to the French government. Later the brothers constructed a steamboat for use on the Chattahoochee River. In the late 1840s Gilmer came to Texas and entered the shipbuilding business in Orange in association with his cousin George C. Gilmer. Together they later opened a local mercantile. During the Civil War, Gilmer served as a Confederate blockade runner. Through his efforts, local cotton and lumber were exchanged for much needed supplies. In 1863 he participated in the Battle of Sabine Pass. After the war, Gilmer started a sawmill in Orange. Despite a series of fires which destroyed four of his mills by 1899, Gilmer became a leading lumberman of the area. His later holdings included mills at Lemonville and the Jasper County town of Remlig (Gilmer spelled backwards) and timberland throughout the coastal prairie of Texas. Gilmer died in 1906 while on a business trip to New York City. Twice married, he was the father of nine children by his second wife Cleora C. Thomas of Orange.