| NAME | BORN | DIED | CEMETERY |
| John Gordon #11175 | 1765 Georgia |
c. 1840 Effingham County, IL |
|
| Married:
Francis Martin #11176 |
1767 Georgia |
21 Oct 1857 Smith Co., TX |
Wood-Verner Tyler, Smith, TX |
| Children:
Daniel Gordon #11177 |
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| Sarah Gordon #11178 | |||
| Pleasant Gordon #11179 | 1794 |
||
| John Gordon #11180 | 1797 |
19 Oct 1850 |
Wood-Verner Tyler, Smith, TX |
| Joseph Martin Gordon #11184 | 1804 |
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| William Gordon #11070 | 1808 Georgia |
4 Oct 1878 Huchabay, Erath, TX |
Hannibal Erath Co., TX |
| Abraham Gordon #11181 | 1812 Georgia |
bef 1880 |
|
| Nelson Gordon #11182 | 1815 Tennessee |
| John the elder is presumably buried in Illinois where his younger sons married. Francis Gordon and
three of the sons, John, William, and Abraham migrated to Smith County, Texas as early as 1848. Nelson
either accompanied them, or joined them at a later date. After the Civil War, some of the Gordon/Lewellen
families ventured to Coleman County, but Erath County would be the home for many during the 1880s.
Historian Earnest Wallace wrote that in 1848 the Texas western frontier was marked by the newly established towns of Sherman, Farmersville, Dallas, Wazahatchie, Ennis, and Fredericksburg. In 1849, the United States established a line of military posts to deter the Indians from passing into the settlements. These forts stretched from Eagle Pass to Fort Worth. Seven more forts would be established in 1852 along a line about 100 miles west of the existing ones. Wallace states, "By 1861 the aggressive Texans, aided by the military, had cleared the Indians from the region of the Cross Timbers and built their log cabins as far westward as Henrietta, Archer City, Palo Pinto, Comanche, Brownwood, Llano, Kerrville, and Uvalde." However, the Civil War disrupted the military's presence along the frontier, and settlements were abandoned or depleted. It would not be until the 1870s that General Ranald Mackenzie and the Fourth Calvary would bring the Indian situation under control and permit expansion westward. This very brief glimpse at the times is merely a reminder that there is much more to the story of our foreparents and their struggle for new lands and opportuities. ["Ranald S. Mackenzie on the Texas Frontier," by Ernest Wallace, Texas A&M University Press, 1963.] |
| Sarah married James Lewis. |
| John married Mahala (Ripson) or (Lewis) in 1842. The Historical Marker for Wood-Verner Cemetery states, "The earliest marked grave is that of John Gordon, who died in 1850." It is noted that this is the son, and not the father that is buried with Francis Lewellen in Wood-Verner Cemetery. |
| Joseph married Frances Sorrells. |
| Nelson married Catherine Lewis in 1839.
1870 Census TX Coleman Aug 1: Nelson Gordon 57 TX, Catherine 57 VA. |
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