Elizabeth “Bess” Achsah Gillmer was born 15 Jul 1871 in Newton Falls, Trumbull County, Ohio to Thomas Irvin and Helen (Earle) Gillmer. On 31 Aug 1904 in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, Bess married James Ward Packard, founder of Packard Motor Car Company, at age 33. The couple did not have children. She died 19 Jan 1960 at their mansion on Lake Chautauqua, Lakewood, New York.
Bio written and researched by Mountainbiker, 21 Feb 2015.
"J. Ward Packard married Elizabeth Gilmer on Aug. 31, 1904, in Warren, Ohio, and drove to Chautauqua Lake for their honeymoon. The Lakewood Historic Museum collection contains a fine photograph of a bow-tied Ward and elaborately hatted Bess at Panama Rocks on their wedding trip. They are seated in the latest model Packard (1904 Model L) in which they made the trip from Warren, Ohio. By 1905 the couple was already making plans for their mansion in Lakewood. Ward negotiated with the village to close Owana Way from Terrace Avenue to the lake in exchange for the property on which Village Hall now stands, and a donation of $1,500 toward its construction. During the next seven years, the property was cleared of earlier Packard houses and relocated about the village. The Packards traveled to Europe, gaining ideas for the construction and decor of their 32-room mansion. Its completion was marked by a dinner party on July 4, 1912. The three-car garage was built in 1914. In its second floor machine shop, Ward Packard continued his mechanical and electrical inventions".
Source: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/608043/A-look-at-J--Ward-Packard--Creator-of--Lakewood-s-Packard-Mansion.html?nav=5042. Copied excerpt.
Bio written and researched by Mountainbiker, 21 Feb 2015.
"J. Ward Packard married Elizabeth Gilmer on Aug. 31, 1904, in Warren, Ohio, and drove to Chautauqua Lake for their honeymoon. The Lakewood Historic Museum collection contains a fine photograph of a bow-tied Ward and elaborately hatted Bess at Panama Rocks on their wedding trip. They are seated in the latest model Packard (1904 Model L) in which they made the trip from Warren, Ohio. By 1905 the couple was already making plans for their mansion in Lakewood. Ward negotiated with the village to close Owana Way from Terrace Avenue to the lake in exchange for the property on which Village Hall now stands, and a donation of $1,500 toward its construction. During the next seven years, the property was cleared of earlier Packard houses and relocated about the village. The Packards traveled to Europe, gaining ideas for the construction and decor of their 32-room mansion. Its completion was marked by a dinner party on July 4, 1912. The three-car garage was built in 1914. In its second floor machine shop, Ward Packard continued his mechanical and electrical inventions".
Source: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/608043/A-look-at-J--Ward-Packard--Creator-of--Lakewood-s-Packard-Mansion.html?nav=5042. Copied excerpt.
Elizabeth “Bess” Achsah Gillmer was born 15 Jul 1871 in Newton Falls, Trumbull County, Ohio to Thomas Irvin and Helen (Earle) Gillmer. On 31 Aug 1904 in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, Bess married James Ward Packard, founder of Packard Motor Car Company, at age 33. The couple did not have children. She died 19 Jan 1960 at their mansion on Lake Chautauqua, Lakewood, New York.
Bio written and researched by Mountainbiker, 21 Feb 2015.
"J. Ward Packard married Elizabeth Gilmer on Aug. 31, 1904, in Warren, Ohio, and drove to Chautauqua Lake for their honeymoon. The Lakewood Historic Museum collection contains a fine photograph of a bow-tied Ward and elaborately hatted Bess at Panama Rocks on their wedding trip. They are seated in the latest model Packard (1904 Model L) in which they made the trip from Warren, Ohio. By 1905 the couple was already making plans for their mansion in Lakewood. Ward negotiated with the village to close Owana Way from Terrace Avenue to the lake in exchange for the property on which Village Hall now stands, and a donation of $1,500 toward its construction. During the next seven years, the property was cleared of earlier Packard houses and relocated about the village. The Packards traveled to Europe, gaining ideas for the construction and decor of their 32-room mansion. Its completion was marked by a dinner party on July 4, 1912. The three-car garage was built in 1914. In its second floor machine shop, Ward Packard continued his mechanical and electrical inventions".
Source: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/608043/A-look-at-J--Ward-Packard--Creator-of--Lakewood-s-Packard-Mansion.html?nav=5042. Copied excerpt.
Bio written and researched by Mountainbiker, 21 Feb 2015.
"J. Ward Packard married Elizabeth Gilmer on Aug. 31, 1904, in Warren, Ohio, and drove to Chautauqua Lake for their honeymoon. The Lakewood Historic Museum collection contains a fine photograph of a bow-tied Ward and elaborately hatted Bess at Panama Rocks on their wedding trip. They are seated in the latest model Packard (1904 Model L) in which they made the trip from Warren, Ohio. By 1905 the couple was already making plans for their mansion in Lakewood. Ward negotiated with the village to close Owana Way from Terrace Avenue to the lake in exchange for the property on which Village Hall now stands, and a donation of $1,500 toward its construction. During the next seven years, the property was cleared of earlier Packard houses and relocated about the village. The Packards traveled to Europe, gaining ideas for the construction and decor of their 32-room mansion. Its completion was marked by a dinner party on July 4, 1912. The three-car garage was built in 1914. In its second floor machine shop, Ward Packard continued his mechanical and electrical inventions".
Source: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/608043/A-look-at-J--Ward-Packard--Creator-of--Lakewood-s-Packard-Mansion.html?nav=5042. Copied excerpt.
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