Explorer, War Hero, and Elder Brother in the Gilder Legacy

William Henry Gilder was an intrepid American Army officer, Arctic explorer, journalist, and author, born in Philadelphia on August 16, 1838. As the eldest of the distinguished Gilder siblings, he embodied the family’s adventurous and civic-minded spirit. A Major in the Union Army, he later gained national recognition through his daring expeditions into the Arctic and his dispatches as a war correspondent and global traveler for the New York Herald.

Gilder was second-in-command on Frederick Schwatka’s 1878–80 Franklin Search Expedition, one of the most successful efforts to uncover the fate of Sir John Franklin’s lost party. He later traversed Siberia, China, and Korea, reporting on geopolitics and culture with vivid literary flair.

Though often abroad, William remained closely connected to his family—particularly his younger brother, Richard Watson Gilder, and Richard’s wife, Helena de Kay Gilder. Together, Richard and Helena transformed Four Brooks Farm in Tyringham, Massachusetts, into a retreat for artists, writers, and reformers. William’s experiences and letters contributed a worldly, heroic dimension to the life of this intellectual haven, making him a distant yet foundational figure in its story.

William died on February 5, 1900, in Morristown, New Jersey, and was buried at Bordentown Cemetery, near other members of the Gilder family. His bold legacy endures as part of the Gilder family’s larger influence on American cultural and civic life.