There he served in the militia against the Mormons, was a county sheriff, and a member of the Missouri State Senate before immigrating to the Oregon Country.
Collins said that her father was highly successful at forcing slaves back into captivity and was elected sheriff on the strength of this reputation.
[1] Following the war he settled in Missouri where he continued his military service as a captain in the state militia during the battles with the Mormons in 1838.
[7] After the Whitman massacre in 1847, the Provisional Government of Oregon organized a force of about 600 and made Gilliam colonel to prosecute the Cayuse.
[8] Gilliam then headed back to The Dalles to resupply that settlement and then on to Oregon City to report to Governor George Abernethy when he was accidentally shot and killed in what is now Morrow County on March 24, 1848.