Representative George W. Gillie

George W. Gillie (August 15, 1880 – July 3, 1963) was an American veterinarian and Republican politician who served five terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1939 to 1949. His decade in the House of Representatives spanned the end of the Great Depression, the entirety of World War II, and the early years of the postwar era, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents.

Gillie was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, on August 15, 1880. In 1882 he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who first settled in Kankakee, Illinois. Two years later, in 1884, the family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, which became Gillie’s long-term home and the base of his professional and political life. He attended the public schools in Fort Wayne, laying the foundation for a career that would combine technical training in veterinary medicine with public service.

Pursuing further education, Gillie attended International Business College in Fort Wayne in 1898, gaining business and administrative skills that would later complement his public work. He then studied at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, from 1899 to 1901, before enrolling at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. At Ohio State he completed professional training in veterinary medicine, graduating in 1907 as a doctor of veterinary surgery. This medical and scientific background shaped his early career and informed his later engagement with agricultural and public health issues.

Following his graduation, Gillie returned to Indiana and entered public service at the local level. From 1908 to 1914 he served as a meat and dairy inspector for Allen County, Indiana, a role that placed him at the intersection of veterinary science, public health, and regulatory oversight. In 1914 he began the private practice of veterinary medicine in Fort Wayne, building a professional reputation in the community. Alongside his veterinary work, he embarked on a law-enforcement career, serving as sheriff of Allen County during three separate periods: 1917–1920, 1929–1930, and 1935–1937. These terms as sheriff gave him substantial experience in county administration, public safety, and local governance.

Gillie’s local prominence and Republican affiliation led to his election to national office. He was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-sixth Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 3, 1939, to January 3, 1949. During his five terms in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process at a time of major national and international challenges, including the mobilization for World War II, wartime economic controls, and the transition to a peacetime economy. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process and worked to represent the interests of his Indiana district, drawing on his background in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and local law enforcement. In 1948 he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Eighty-first Congress, bringing his decade of continuous congressional service to a close.

After leaving Congress, Gillie remained active in civic and professional pursuits. He engaged in agricultural activities, reflecting both his veterinary training and his long-standing connection to rural and farming communities in Indiana. He also served as a jury commissioner for the federal courts for the Northern District of Indiana, contributing to the administration of justice at the federal level. Throughout his later years he continued to reside in Fort Wayne, maintaining his ties to the city where he had grown up, practiced his profession, and launched his political career.

George W. Gillie died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on July 3, 1963. He was interred in Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, closing a life that spanned immigration from Scotland, professional achievement in veterinary medicine, local law-enforcement leadership, and a decade of service in the United States Congress as a Republican representative from Indiana.