KIT NUMBER: 87589
For more information on this Gordon family, contact:
Msgtgordon@verizon.net or bgordon121@comcast.net
Descendants of John Gordon
JOHN GORDON is the name of our earliest known ancestor. He came to Berks county Pennsylvania sometime on or before 1795. His age and country of origin are unknown. Our best guess would be that he was born sometime between 1765-1777, and that prior to immigrating to America he may have come from either England/Scotland or Germany.
Quick overview:
- John Gordon - born ? died ?
- William Gordon - born 26 Jan. 1799 and died 31 Oct. 1858 - Pa.
- Jacob Gordon - born 14 Mar. 1836 and died 14 Apr. 1917 - Pa.
- Morris Gordon - born 24 Dec. 1861 and died 20 Nov. 1946- Pa .
- Harry D. Gordon - born Jun. 1894 - Pa.
Our Research:
Our research begins with the discovery of the biography of David Gordon (my great-grand uncle). The biography gives genealogical information pertaining to William (my ggg-grandfather) and his descendants. Among them are my gg-grandfather Jacob Gordon, my great-grandfather Morris W. and my grandfather Harry David Gordon.
Note: my comments are in brackets.
THE BIOGRAPHY:
-From the book "History of Dauphin County Pennsylvania" © 1907 by Luther Reily Kelker Volume II, page 647-648.
" DAVID GORDON, representative citizen of Derry Church, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, prosperous farmer and prominently identified with the present political history of the county, is a member of the fourth generation of the Gordon family in this country. The Gordons emigrated from England to America at a very early date, being among the first settlers in what is now Annville, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The name of the pioneer ancestor of this branch of the Gordon family has not been preserved, but we have it on good authority that he had a son named William.
William Gordon, grandfather of David Gordon, was born January 26, 1799, died October 31, 1858. He migrated to Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, residing for many years in Derry township, near the "Old Derry Church," which is now owned by Thomas Wagner. While living at Derry Church his house was destroyed by fire, three of his children were burned to death, and a fourth [Jacob], who became the father of David Gordon, was severely burned about the head. Subsequently William Gordon purchased a farm on Swatara creek, cultivated this, and spent the remainder of his days there. He was a man of considerable prominence and influence in his time and community, and was a strong supporter of the Republican party. He was a member of the United Brethren church, in whose affairs he was an active and ardent worker. He and his wife are buried in the United Brethren cemetery at Derry church [just outside Hershey Park in Hershey Pa.]. He married Maria M. Straw, born February 6, 1799, died November 25, 1884. They were the parents of fourteen children, among whom were Jacob, see forward; Joseph resides in Harrisburg; William, deceased, was a resident of Derry township; Mrs. Samuel Rice, deceased; Katherine, deceased, was the wife of David Keefer, of Derry township; Leah, deceased, was the wife of William Howard.
Jacob Gordon, son of William and Maria M. (Straw) Gordon, was born in Derry township, Pennsylvania, about 1836. His education was as good as could be obtained in the common schools of the period, and he then took up the occupation of farming. He cultivated a farm in Berks county, Pennsylvania for a short while, and was employed in the stone quarries of the late George W. Cumbler, at Steelton, for a period of twelve years. Later he removed to Highspire, and obtained a position at the Middletown Pipe Works. He moved to Middletown a number of years ago, and is residing there at the present time (1906). Ever since his early manhood he has given his strong and active support to the Republican party. At the beginning of the civil war he was drafted but wished to be released because of an illness from which he was suffering at the time. He is a consistent member of the United Brethren church. He married Mary Lamey [Leamy], born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, died December, 1902, buried in Oberlin cemetery, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Their children were: 1. Morris W., born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, is a farmer and veterinary surgeon, and a manufacturer of horse and cattle powder. He resides in Derry township, is a stanch Republican, and attends services at the Church of God. He married Emma Ulrich and had eight children, seven of whom are now living: William, deceased, Carrie, Harvey, Anna, Harry, Charles, Maud, and John., 2. Cyrus L., is in the employ of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. He married Susan Orndorf, and had children: Clara, Mamie, deceased, Agnes, Harry, Martin, Sadie, Annie, Melvin, Dorothy, and Cameron, deceased. 3. Frank, died in infancy. 4. Joseph, a farmer of Hanover township. He married Sallie Feckler [Fackler], and had children: A child who died in infancy, Charles, John, deceased, Paul, Joseph, Jennie. 5. David, see forward. 6. Emma J., married George Hocker and resides at Elwood, Indiana. Their children are: John, Mary, Rebecca and Edna. 7. Jacob L., is a steel tester for the Pennsylvania Steel Company and resides in Middletown. He married Carrie Frey, and has one child: Harold." …[the bio continues with more detail on the life of David Gordon.]
THE FAMILY BIBLE
Next, the discovery of William Gordon's family bible is found at the Hummelstown Historical Society in Dauphin County. The bible record reveals the names of Williams's parents, John Gordon and Maria Magdalena Franz. This is where we first find mention of John Gordon. (John must be the pioneer ancestor whose name had been forgotten in the biography above.) The family bible (copyright 1836) lists Williams's marriage information as well as the names, and some births and death dates of their children. The dates and names recorded in the bible match much of the information found in the David Gordon biography. However, two discrepancies exist between the biography and the bible….
1.) The maiden name of Williams's wife differs; in the biography her last name is Straw and in the bible record it is Klee. The birth and death dates are the same. I am confident that the bible info is correct concerning her maiden name since the bible is the earlier work and in addition lists Maria's parents names [Frederick Klee and Maria Noecker]. [also the bible data confirms the deaths of three children who died on the same day… just like the bio. and in a separate source from a newspaper article it is confirmed that the 3 children died by fire.]
2.) The bio suggests that the Gordons came from England, but the bible and it's data are written in German. This is where some confusion sets in. If the Gordon's are from England, why is everything written in German?
SIDE NOTE: my father remembers that his grandfather Morris spoke fluent Pennsylvania dutch.
CHURCH RECORDS
Building upon the information from Williams's bible, we began looking for John Gordon and Maria Magdalena Franz in Pennsylvania marriage records prior to Williams's birth in 1799. The only reference we found, was listed in a book of marriages for Berks county from 1730-1800. Continuing to follow such evidence, we see the Gordon's migrate westward into Lebanon County. (Geography lesson… Western Berks County borders Lebanon and Lancaster counties and Lebanon County borders Dauphin County on the West and Lancaster County in the south.)
I’ve pieced this information together in chronological order. It draws a reasonable conclusion based upon our current data. The deviations in the spelling of the Gordon surname seem consistent with various other surnames in the region. There is a strong German population that permeates the local culture during this time frame; it tends to Germanize everything around it. Below are the results of my research:
1795 - Johannes Garten and Maria Magdalena Frantz married in Alsace Twp. Berks County on 22 Dec. 1795. Paul, “Berks County Pa Marriages 1730-1800” -Marriage performed by Rev. William Boos of the German Lutheran Reformed Church in Reading, Berks county Pa. -PSL (Pa. State Library) in Harrisburg.
(I believe his name is correctly John Gordon because I found no such person as Johannes Garten in the Pa. census in Berks or the surrounding counties.)
1797 - Maria Magdalena Gorden, born 6 Feb. 1797 to Johannes and Maria Gorden in Alsace twp. Berks County. “Pa Births Berks Co. 1781-1800” by John Humphrey – from baptismal records of the Trinity Lutheran church in Reading Pa. Baptized April 19, 1797. -Sponsors were Nicolas and Maria Frantz. -PSL.
(I believe the sponsors are the parents of Maria Frantz.)
1799 - William Garden, born 26 Jan. 1799 to John and Maria Magdalena.
"Berks County Births 1705-1800", Vol. 5, in the record of the Tulpelhocken Trinity United Church of Christ, Millardsville, Jackson Twp. Lebanon County, Pa. (Birth date matches the William Gordon Family Bible Data).
1803 - Regina Gordon, born 18 Jan. 1803 to Johannes Gordon and wife, Bethel twp. Lebanon Co. Pa. “Lebanon Co. Church Records Vol 3” – Zoar Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mt. Zion, Bethel twp. Baptized on 8 Apr. 1803, -Sponsor Eva Walbornin. -PSL. (This person fills a gap between births and is likely one of Johns children. The relationship to this sponsor is unknown.)
1807 - Lea Gordon, born 5 Aug. 1807 to John Gordon and wife, Annville, Lebanon Co. Pa. “Jerusalem Evangelical Church Records 1807-1865”. -Sponsor Anna Mar. Frantz. -LCHS (Lebanon Co. Historical Society). (I believe this sponsor may be the mother's sister.)
1809 - Johannes Gerdan*, born 7 Nov 1809 to Joh. Gerdan* and wife, Annville, Lebanon Co. Pa. “Jerusalem Evangelical Church Records 1807-1865” Bapt. 1810. -Sponsors Nicolaus Franz and wife. –LCHS. This record has been transcribed and is typewritten on onionskin paper (It could be a carbon copy). Certain characters are hard to read correctly. *The underlined letters could be a's, e's or o's. The original hand written record is not locally available. (I believe this person to be John Gordon who married Sarah Gamber and moved to Ohio in the 1850's. It matches John's age in the 1860 and 1870 Ohio census.)
SUMMARY
From Berks county the Gordon's gradually move westward into Lebanon County and settled in Annville Township around 1807. We lose track of John and Maria after 1809, but continue to see evidence of their children in the same area throughout the following decades. Over the next 200 years, many members of the Gordon family lived near Lebanon or in one of its surrounding counties. As far as their religious affiliation, the Gordon's appear to have been Lutherans and later switched to the Brethren in Christ church. All indications lead us to believe that they spoke fluent German (or Pa. Dutch, as it is known locally). Most of the Gordon's earned their living primarily as farmers.
GENEALOGY (*direct line of descent)
*John Gordon (Johannes Garten) married Maria Magdalena Frantz in Alsace Twp. Berks County on 22 Dec. 1795.
Children:
Maria Magdalena - born Feb. 6, 1797.
William - born Jan. 26, 1799 in Millardsville, Jackson Twp., Lebanon Co., Pa. and died Oct. 31, 1858 and is interred at the Old Derry Church cemetery, Hershey, Dauphin Co., Pa.
Regina - born Jan. 18, 1803.
Leah - born Aug. 5, 1807.
John - born Nov. 7, 1809.
*William Gordon married Maria Magdalena Klee on 20 August 1820 in Lebanon County Pa.
Children:
Catherine - born Jan. 14, 1822.
(son) - born Mar. 5, 1823 - died Mar. 8, 1823.
Sara - born Feb. 3, 1824.
Johannes - born May 9, 1825 - died Apr. 10, 1828.
Anna - born Nov. 26, 1826.
Maria - born Feb. 12, 1828 - died Feb. 12, 1837.
Elisabetha - born Aug. 11, 1829 - died Sep. 22, 1838.
Henry - born Feb. 27, 1831 - died Feb. 12, 1837.
Magdalena - born Dec. 21, 1832.
William - born Dec. 8, 1834 - died Feb. 12, 1837.
Jacob - born Mar. 14, 1836 in Annville Twp. Lebanon Co. Pa. and died Apr. 14, 1917 and is interred at Oberlin Cemetery, Oberlin, Dauphin County Pa..
Leah - born Mar. 9, 1838.
William - born Oct. 5, 1839.
Joseph - born Mar. 22, 1842.
*Jacob Gordon married Mary Leamy in 1861 in [Lebanon County] Pa.
Children:
Morris - born Dec. 24, 1861 in Berks Co. Pa. and died Nov. 20, 1946 in Londonderry Twp Dauphin Co. Pa. and is interred at Mt. Ober Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Lancaster County Pa. .
Cyrus - born abt. 1863.
Frank - born ? - died in infancy
Joseph - born Nov. 1865.
David - born Jul. 31, 1870 - died Jul. 5, 1930.
Emma - born Sep. 2, 1874 - died Mar. 31, 1947.
Jacob L. - born Feb. 4, 1879.
*Morris Gordon married Emma Ulrich on 25 Dec. 1886 in Jonestown, Lebanon County Pa.
Children:
William - died young.
Carrie - born Sep. 1888.
Harvey - born May 1891.
*Harry D. - born Jun. 1894 in Lebanon Co. Pa. and died Feb. 1979 in Lancaster Co. Pa..
Anna - born Jun. 1897.
Charles - born Nov. 1899.
Maude - born abt. 1902.
John - born abt. 1905.
We have verified much of our data through multiple sources and most of it is very reliable. However, concerning the early info on John Gordon (Johannes Garten), although convincing, it may not be without error. The reason being is that early census and tax records show other John Gordon's in the same geographic area before our John appeared on the scene. Even with this in mind, we believe our conclusions are at the least, highly probably.
This information is provided "AS IS" and may not be without some error, any corrections or challenges are welcome.
The Y-DNA test results are compliments of my father Donald Gordon.
Special thanks to my dad and my brother Michael who helped me with my research, and to all those friends and relations in the genealogical community who shared their information and time.
Written by Bruce Gordon. Updated on 24 July 2007.
