Nonprofit profile: Gilroy’s namesake’s story told in new book
Student’s 1981 masters thesis is the basis for John Gilroy’s biography
Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2020 issue of Gilroy Life
Gilroy History Museum volunteer Phill Laursen shows the cover of the newly released book that details the life of John Gilroy, a sailor who arrived in Alta California in 1814. Photo courtesy Phill Laursen
By Marty Cheek
About five years ago, when the Old St. Mary Cemetery was reopened after being refurbished, Phill Laursen and Gilroy History Museum colleague Tom Howard stood beside John Gilroy’s gravestone. Laursen shook his head and commented, “It’s too bad no one’s ever written a book about him.” Howard told him, “Well, at the museum we have a master’s thesis written about him.”
The next day the museum was open, Howard brought out the thesis about the man the city of Gilroy was named after. The academic document was written by Truda Cooling Nelson in 1981. Laursen skimmed the 214-page book “John Gilroy: A Biography” and exclaimed, “This is great, we have to publish it.”
When Nelson decided to return to college and finish her bachelor’s degree, she chose San Jose State University. After completing the degree, Nelson quickly went on to earn a master’s.
A professor at SJSU suggested the Californio-era pioneer John Gilroy as a subject for her thesis, and Nelson dove into her research. She was fascinated and passionate about learning every detail about his history, journey, and the land of his namesake. She successfully completed her thesis while tending to five children.
Because the research paper is the author’s property, the museum needed Nelson’s permission to publish it. The thesis was written in 1981 and the museum’s volunteer staff didn’t know where she lived. Laursen pulled out his iPhone and Googled her name. Within two minutes he was chatting with Nelson.
“I explained that profits from the publication will go to the museum, and she immediately gave permission to publish her work,” Laursen said.
The thesis at the museum is a photocopy. Laursen scanned it and used optical character recognition technology to bring the words into a text file.
“Finishing touches were done by the Printing Spot’s very capable Lisa Weiby,” he said. “She made a major contribution.”
Nelson’s research and documentation were thorough, and her writing was good, so staff made no changes to the text other than correcting one spelling error.
“For the Willson family name, she used the conventional form with just one ‘L,’ but we changed it to the authentic two ‘L’s,’” Laursen explained.
Laursen enjoys maps and photography, so he created some illustrations to the 80-page biography
“I have no doubt people will enjoy learning about our city’s namesake,” he said. “Few people have had a chance to get beyond rumors about how he got here and why he lost so much of his land.”
Readers will discover the journey the Scottish-born John Gilroy took to come to California from England in 1814, the skills he possessed that made him a success in the Californio period prior to statehood, his travels around Central California, the story of one local rancher’s offer of a daughter in marriage, and his eventual marriage to the daughter of another, the life of his family, his industries, assignments to negotiate with Captain John C. Fremont and to visit Oregon with the Mexican Army to see what the British were up to, and much more.
“Truda was deeply connected with and proud of her work, and is thrilled the Gilroy Historical Society is using her published work to benefit the museum and inform local residents,” Laursen said.
