William Henry Gordon (1801 - 1876)

Born 16 Sep 1801 in Adams County, OH

Ancestors

Husband of Juana Maria (Lucero) Gordon — married 27 Jun 1826 in Taos, New Mexico Territory

Descendants

Died 3 Oct 1876 at age 75 in Cobb, Lake, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Tammy Miles [send private message]

Biography

When William Henry Gordon was born on September 16, 1801, in Adams, Ohio, his father, John, was 43 and his mother, Mary, was 43. He married Juana Maria Lucero and they had eight children together. He then married Elizabeth Ann Alexander and they had one son together. He died on October 3, 1876, in Cobb, California, having lived a long life of 75 years, and was buried in Esparto, California.

Sources

http://www.bellavistaranch.net/genealogy/loney_and_gordon.html William Henry Gordon, Sr. (1801-1876) was born on Sept. 16, 1801 in Adams County, Ohio - one of five children born to John Gordon (1758-1832), who had fought in the American Revolution. William was a restless spirit, and he came west as a young man in 1823 to Taos, New Mexico, when it still was part of Mexico. There he became a Mexican citizen, converted to the Catholic faith, and took a Mexican wife named Juana (Juanita) Maria Lucero, also known as Mary Jane Lucero, who he married on June 27, 1826 in Taos. William was a fur trapper, which meant that he was often separated from his wife and children for weeks at a time, while he traveled far from home in search of pelts. He made the acquaintance doing these travels of other mountain men, such as Kit Carson and William Wolfskill, who had trapped as far west as California, which in those days was part of Mexico also. Their tales convinced William that California was a land of opportunity, so he and Juana, with their children and Juana's 11-year old sister Rufino Lucero, left Taos on Sept. 6, 1841 with a wagon train led by John Rowland and William Workman, and made their way to Los Angeles via the "Old Spanish Trail".

William upon arriving in Los Angeles made friends with the Mexican General Mariano Vallejo, the Commandant General of Alta California. Vallejo enticed Gordon to resettle at Cache Creek in a remote area of the northern San Joaquin Valley, in the fall of 1842 by making William the "Director of Colonization of the Northern District", and providing him with two square leagues (8,894 acres) of land, which became known as the Quesesoni Grant. This made the Gordons the first white settlers in what is now Yolo County. Gordon's Quesesoni Ranch in 1843-46 was a well-known rendezvous for trappers and hunters, and is mentioned almost as often in periodicals of the day as Sutter's Fort and Sonoma. Juana died at this homestead on March 22, 1844, becoming the first of the family to be buried in the family cemetery on the north bank of Cache Creek.

Relations between the Mexican government and hordes of American settlers streaming into California became strained in 1845 over American sympathies for the newly formed Republic of Texas, and related issues that eventually would lead to the Mexican War. Things finally came to a head in California in June of 1846 when a posse of about 20 riders stopped by Gordon's Cache Creek homestead while on their way to arrest Gordon's friend General Vallejo at his home in Sonoma, which was just over the hills and to the west of of Gordon's ranch. Gordon fed the posse, provided them with fresh mounts, and sent his sons Thomas and John along with the riders to insure that Vallejo and his family met no harm. Vallejo's subsequent arrest on June 14 marks the start of the Bear Flag Revolt, wherein California became independent from Mexican rule.

William, who by now was known to most of his friends and acquaintances as "Uncle Billie", married his second wife Elizabeth Corum (neé Alexander) on June 16, 1856 in Sonoma County, California, after which he moved in 1866 with Elizabeth and her son Charles Corum to Gordon Springs, which is in the Cobb Valley at the foot of Boggs Mountain in Lake County, California. He is rumored to have had a quicksilver claim called the Gordon Springs Mine somewhere around Boggs Mountain, but the location of which was kept secret from his family. Descendants of his stepson Charles (modern-day members of the Anderson family) still live in the area, and believe the stories of this claim.

William died on Oct. 3, 1876 at Cobb at the home of his stepson Charles Corum. Some rumors put his burial place at the foot of Windy Mill Road on the east side of Boggs Mountain. However, there is a headstone for him in the Gordon Cemetery, which is a private family cemetery that is located in a somewhat remote area of farm fields on the north bank of Cache Creek in Yolo County, more or less between Esparto and the Watts-Woodland Airport. Also, there is an obituary for William from an unknown newspaper, which states that his service was held at a local church with his remains "taken to the Gordon Ranch for burial" (please see the newspaper article to the left). Because the article names the Gordon Ranch, and not the Corum Ranch, this almost certainly puts William's final resting place at Cache Creek.

California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950

Name: William Gordon Birth Place: Adams County, Ohio Birth Date: 1801 Death Place: Cobb Valley, Lake County, California Death Date: 1876 Spouse: Marie Lucero Marriage Place: Taos Co, New Mexico Previous Residence: Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico Residence: Cobb Valley, Lake County, California Index Card Year: 1939

California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980

Name: Mr William Gordon Gender: Male Event Type: Marriage Marriage Date: 16 Jun 1856 Marriage Place: Yolo, California, USA Spouse: Elizabeth Ann Comins

1860 United States Federal Census

Name: William Gordon Age: 68 Birth Year: abt 1792 Gender: Male Birth Place: Ohio Home in 1860: Cottonwood, Yolo, California Post Office: Cache Creek Dwelling Number: 797 Family Number: 797 Occupation: Stalk Dealer Real Estate Value: 35200 Personal Estate Value: 38428 Household Members: Name Age William Gordon 68 Elizabeth Gordon 38 William Gordon 22 Joseph Gordon 20 Robert Gordon 1 William Walter 22 John Gorden 25 M Seaburn 40 Rosa Comore 28 Olin Pattee 58