George R. Gilkey, a prominent Merrill businessman and local historian, was born November 21, 1909 in Aurora, Illinois, the son of George L. and Madge Gilkey. He graduated from Merrill High School and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. For most of his life, Gilkey was associated with the Anson & Gilkey Company, a door and sash factory, which was one of Merrill's largest industries. The Gilkey family had been active in lumbering and millwork from 1884 when Gilkey's grandfather, George F. Gilkey, co-founded the Gilkey & Anson Lumber Company. George R. Gilkey was vice-president of the Anson & Gilkey Company in 1972 when the firm was sold to Kiechefer Industries Incorporated of Milwaukee. At the time of his death, Gilkey was president and secretary of Merrill Equipment Company and a director of Page Milk Company.
Gilkey was an amateur historian who researched and wrote on the history of Merrill, Lincoln County, and vicinity. He was a founder, president, and treasurer of the Lincoln County Historical Society, a member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the Northland Historical Society of Woodruff, and he served on the board of trustees of T.B. Scott Free Library. Gilkey died February 13, 1974.
