Alexander Gilliam History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 May be copied for non-profit purposes. USGENWEB Montana Archives Alexander P. Gilliam, County Assessor of Jefferson County and one of Boulder's enterprising businessmen was born in Asheville, North Carolina, February 13, 1857, a son of William and Elizabeth (Porter) Gilliam, also natives of the South. During the late war the father served as a carpenter in the Confederate Army and was killed by a bushwhacker soon after the close of the struggle, leaving a wife and five children. Mrs. Gilliam survived her husband only a short time. Alexander P., the third child in his father's family, resided with his uncle W.Y. Porter after the death of his parents. When only thirteen years of age he started in life on his own account, having received only a limited education but afterward spent ten months at the Peabody Academy in the Susquehanna Valley. Previous to that time he had been employed as a clerk and after leaving college followed the same occupation in a grocery house at Spartanburg, South Carolina. At the age of nineteen years he owned a small grocery business. In 1877 Mr. Gilliam went to Helena, Texas; in 1879 engaged in the lumber business in eastern Oregon; in June 1881 left Walla Walla on horseback for Butte City where he followed freighting with mule teams; in 1883 took a drove of horses to the British possessions and in 1884 located at Elkhorn, Jefferson County, Montana. While at the latter place he followed freighting and was also engaged in the livery, coal and wood business. In 1889 Mr. Gilliam was elected Assessor of Jefferson County, after which he moved to Boulder, and is now serving his second term in that office. He purchased Mr. Walter's interest in the Walter and Maxfield meat business in 1883 and the firm is now known as Maxfield and Gilliam. They have the only meat market in Boulder. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format forprofit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express writtenpermission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.