John Gordon, West Chester Co., N.Y., mid 1700's
According to the book, "The Gordons of Pitlurg (Scotland) and America," written by Franklin S. Gordon (c/r 1941), a man by the name of John Gordon left his family behind in Perth Amboy, N.J. and moved to West Chester Co., N.Y., in 1745. Franklin Gordon recorded much as pertains to John Gordon's ancestry but he had no knowledge about what happened to John and/or if he ever married and had children. If by chance you are descended from the above-referenced John Gordon, there is a little bit of information about him and a wealth of information about his father, Thomas Gordon, in the book I mentioned above.
Briefly I will tell you that in 1684, Thomas, who was a Quaker, and his first, Helen, left Aberdeen for America with their four children and his brothers, Charles and George, and eventually they settled near Perth Amboy, N.J. There was also another brother, Robert Gordon, who came later but the book doesn't say exactly when or where he settled.
About two years after Thomas came to America with his family, Helen and all four of their children died. It is not known why (some sort of epidemic?). Eight years later, Thomas married Janet Mudie, daughter of the Honorable David Mudie, of Perth Amboy, Judge of tghe Court of Common Right and a member of the Governor's Council)and they had five children, Andrew, Thomas, John, Mary, Euphemia and Margaret.
Thomas Gordon was a powerful political figure in the province of New Jersey during the early years of the 18th century. A lot of information pertaining to his life, including his ancestry, is recorded in the above book.
In the said book, the subject of this message (John Gordon) is referred to as a "Quaker merchant of New York City."And as I said above, it seems as though he dropped off the radar screen of life since Franlin Gordon (author of the above-mentioned book) had no knowledge of him whatsoever after he left Perth Amboy and went to New York.
On the day before he died, Thomas Gordon, John's father, willed to him one-half of his plantation on the Rariton River, but it appears that John did not want it and instead gave his share to brother Andrew before moving to West Chester County, N.Y., in 1745.
I hope this little bit of information will prove helpful somebody. Please note that John is not a member of "my" Gordon clan, but he may belong to someone "out there" who's been searching for information about him. If so, perhaps now you have something to go on. Good luck!
More Replies:
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Re: John Gordon, West Chester Co., N.Y., mid 1700's
Lori Crawford 6/18/08
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Re: John Gordon, West Chester Co., N.Y., mid 1700's
Tim Smith 4/08/08