Clair Amasa Gilson (1889 - 1962)

Born 15 Nov 1889 in Niles, Berrien, Michigan, United States

Ancestors

Spouse of Clara Esther (Bowering) Gilson — married 13 Feb 1915 in St. Joseph, Indiana, United States

Died 6 Jul 1962 at age 72 in Stuart, Martin, Florida, United States

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Biography

Clair Amasa Gilson was born in Niles, Berrien, Michigan, on 15 November 1889. He was the son of Amasa John Gilson (1863-1941) and Frances E. (St Clair) Gilson (1868-1928)^[1]

He held a degree in engineering from Michigan State University.

Clair married his wife Clara E. Bowering in Michigan on 13 February 1915 in St. Joseph County, Indiana. He was a millwright in Niles at the time.^[2] Their first son, Clair E., died in infancy. ^[3]. Two more sons born to them lived to adulthood: Richard in 1917 and Stuart in 1919.

Clair was unable to serve during World War I due to having "Brights Disease".

Clair Gilson was a civil engineer and developed a circular slide rule for use by banks, businesses and accounting offices. This new form of a slide rule was patented by Gilson on October 19, 1915, and was considered far more accurate than the traditional straight slide rule.

The very first circular model was printed paper glued to a 3 5/16” plywood disk. Later it was placed on a 4” steel disk. He began selling the new circular slide rule in Niles, Michigan. The original symbol for the business was the "Be Wise" owl.

About 1919, George W. Richardson who owned Richardson Rule Works (for figuring the scales), sold that business to Clair Gilson. Additional patents by Gilson included a Mechanical Calculating Device in 1922.

By 1927, Gilson with his wife and sons had moved to St. Lucie County, Florida.

The Gilson Slide Rule Company was re-established near Bessey Creek along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River at the southern edge of St. Lucie County.

His father, John Gilson, after his wife's death, also lived with the Gilson family on Britt Road where the Gilson Slide Rule Company manufactured and sold the many forms of Gilson Slide Rules. John served as the clerical management for the company.

A few of the various types of Gilson slide rules included the Gilson Binary Slide 8, the Midget Slide Rule (with a diameter of 4") and the Gilson Atlas Slide Rule.

Orders for the slide rules came from all across the United States and many foreign countries. In 1930, a Gilson Slide Rule could be ordered for $2.00.

In 1937, Clair's son, Richard Gilson, while still a teenager, calculated and drew the scales and divisions, resulting in a 75 foot effective scale good for four decimal places.

The Gilson family carried on a highly success business over the decades.

By the beginning of the early 1960s, Clair Gilson's health was in a serious decline. Daniel W. Fagen, a long time friend and businessman in the area had continuously asked Gilson to sell him the slide rule business. Clair finally agreed and the sale was made final in May 1, 1962. This was Clair's life long business of 47 years.

Just a few weeks later Clair passed away, on 6 July 1962, at the age of 72, in Stuart, Martin County, Florida. He is buried there at Fernhill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum.^[4] He was unable to completely instruct Daniel on the full manufacturing process of the slide rules. A road near Britt Road, close to the Gilson home and slide rule company was named Gilson Road.

Daniel Fagen with his wife Roxine, owned the Fagen Transfer Storage Company on Flagler Ave. in Stuart. Daniel moved the slide rule operations and equipment to Flagler Avenue. By trial and error he learned the process and especially how to construct parts for the manufacturing equipment, much of which was over 40 years old.

By the early 1970s, Fagen sold the slide rule business to another individual, who also had to learn the process. However, he was unable to achieve any success from the business since the new electronic calculators had come onto the general market and were highly successful.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6R77-S2S?cc=1325221&wc=9B76-GPP%3A1030554301%2C1030647901%2C1032975901 : 5 August 2014), Michigan > Berrien > ED 82 Watervliet township Coloma village > image 5 of 33; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZCT-4CV : Thu Mar 07 23:46:10 UTC 2024), Entry for Clair A Gilson and Clara E Bowering, 13 Feb 1915.
3. ↑ Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952 for Clair Gilson, Certificates, 1897-1920 222: Berrien-Delta, 1916, online at Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60872/images/44471_354885-00136?pId=601308765.
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #25563253

See also:

• References and images used by permission of Michael Konshak, curator, International Slide Rule museum: https://www.sliderulemuseum.com/Gilson.shtml.