John Gordon (1755 - abt. 1834)

Born 15 Apr 1755 in Easton, Northampton, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about Jun 1834 at about age 79 in Thamesville, Howard, Kent, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Birth

John was born in 1755.^{[2] [3]}

He was the son of Lewis Gordon and Mary Jenkins.

Marriage

Married Katharine Kuntz in 1780. ^[4][5][6]

Other

"John Gordon, Esq., the grandfather of David William Gordon, Esq., emigrated from Coventry, co. Warwick, England, to India, and thence to America. He served in the Royalists' forces during the Revolutionary War, at the termination of which he removed, with other United Empire Loyalists, to Canada, and finally settled in the township of Camden, co. Kent, Ontario. He m. in the State of Maryland, U.S.A., a German lady, and by her had issue, Michael John, of whom presently. {Aaron John {All deceased} Ephraim} J Sarah, m. Mr. Hewit, of co. Elgin, Ontario, both deceased. Elizabeth, m. Mr. Shipley, of co. Elgin, Ontario, both deceased. " ^[7]

"He grew to manhood in England, hence went to India, and after some time spent in that country, returned to England, in 1773 coming to America. He located in Pennsylvania, but being loyal to his native country the outbreak of the Revolution made it advisable for him to seek a home elsewhere , and he accordingly located in Amherstburg, County of Essex, Ont. About 1790 he moved to Howard Township, County of Kent, and settled at Thamesville, where he followed farming until his death in 1834." ^[8]

"Sometime after settlement of his father's estate and the end of the War, John and family removed to Upper Canada. Records indicate that they were first in the Detroit area and settled for sometime in Amherstburg, Essex Co. where dau, Sarah was born in 1787. John's name, based on several records, was found on a list of loyalist farmers living along the River Thames in Kent Co. John filed a petition for that land and in 1803 received title, by patent, and he reportedly lived on that land or in nearby Thamesville for the rest of his life." ^[9]

"John Gordon's land petition of 15 June 1797 from the River Thames seeking a land grant for his son Michael included the following information. He indicated that he, John, “joined the British Standard in N. Carolina in the year 1776 under the command of Col. McLeod.” Subsequent research, with assistance from Todd Braisted, indicates that Col. Donald McLeod (who was also a British Army Capt.) of the North Carolina Provincials was killed in the Loyalist defeat in N. Carolina during the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776. Most Loyalist survivors of the battle were captured, some pardoned later, and a few escaped. John may have escaped but in any event, did not return home to Easton, Pennsylvania until 1778. Some researchers claim that John later served with Butler's Ranger's but John did not mention that possibility in his petition and his name could not be found in the Ranger's muster records."^[10]

"We find some difficulty in fixing the arrival of the first settlers. Writing to the Surveyor-General in May 1791, McNiff states that in the Townships surveyed on the River he found twenty-eight families settled in front, some with considerable improvements. This would indicate that the settlers had been there some little time, and it does not seem unreasonable to put 1775 or 1780 as the date of first settlement.....In 1791, there is given a list of names of persons called Loyalists and serving in the King’s Regiment and Col. Butler’s Rangers to whom monthly food allowances were made. Those along the River (Col. Butler’s Rangers) were: Samuel Newkirk, farmer ; Peter Shank, farmer Jacob Guont, laborer ; Thomas Parsons. laborer ; John Wright, laborer ; Nat Lewis, laborer ; Thos. Williams, blacksmith John Goon, laborer ; Wm. Harper, laborer. The Loyalists were. Hezekiah Wilcox, farmer; Josiah Wilcox, laborer, Hugh Holmes, farmer ; John Pike, farmer Robert Pike, farmer; Robert Simplex, farmer ; Garr Brown, farmer ; Thomas Clark, farmer ; Jno. Hazard, laborer ; Jacob Hill, farmer ; John Gordon, farmer."^[11]

Death

He passed away about 1834. ^[12][13]

Sources

1. ↑ Gordon-4089 was created by Andrew Rice through the import of Rice Family Tree.ged on Sep 18, 2014. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada, http://www.uelac.org/. See John Gordon
3. ↑ Francis S. Fox, Sweet Land of Liberty: the Ordeal of the American Revolution in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2000, p. 179, footnote 5.
4. ↑ Early Ontario Settlers: A Source Book, by Norman K. Crowder (1787-1789 Detroit Returns – List of disbanded Troops and Loyalists, etc.),
5. ↑ Kentiana: Early Settlement and Surveys Along the River Thames in Kent County, by W.G. McGeorge, C.E.
6. ↑ Burke, Bernard, Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry, Harrison and Sons, London, 1891, Vol. 1, p. 132 - 133. Accessed on [1] , January 13 2018.
7. ↑ Burke, Bernard, GENEALOGICAL AND HERALDIC HISTORY of the COLONIAL GENTRY, 1891, Vol. 1, Harrison and Sons, London. p. 132 - 133. Accessed on [2]PP7 , January 13 2018
8. ↑ Commemorative biographical record of the county of Kent, Ontario containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, Toronto : J.H. Beers & Co., 1904, p. 84. Accessed June 2 2018[3]
9. ↑ United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, see: John Gordon, www.uelac.org, Accessed March 28, 2015.
10. ↑ United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, see: John Gordon, www.uelac.org, Accessed April 15 2018.
11. ↑ Kentiana: The story of the settlement and development of the County of Kent, Ontario By Kent Historical Society, 1939, Chapter: Early Settlement and Surveys Along the River Thames in Kent County, A synopsis of a paper by McGeorge, W.G. [4], Accessed February 9 2019.
12. ↑ Loyalist Land Grants, Ontario Archives: Shows children had orders in council for their father's land grants in 1834, placing his death at about 1834.
13. ↑ United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada, http://www.uelac.org/. See John Gordon

• Source: S-710419187 Repository: #R-1148418204 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Page: Ancestry Family Tree Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=64800902&pid=170
• Repository: R-1148418204 Name: Ancestry.com
• Francis S. Fox, Sweet Land of Liberty: the Ordeal of the American Revolution in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2000, p. 179, footnote 5.