THOMAS GORDON b. 1735 Scotland

[cgordon622]

I'm a fellow researcher looking for a lead on 'THOMAS R. GORDON b. 1735 somewhere in Scotland'. This man moved to N.I. sometime in the late 1760's or early 1770's, so part of his family was born in Scotland and the rest in Northern Ireland. He was married to Isobel Porter in 1759, presumably in Scotland and may have returned there in later life for his eventual death. Oral tradition suggests his area of birth in Scotland to be somewhere in the Aberdeenshire area (although this is unsubstantiated). Any info on his birth, death or marriage would be greatly appreciated and if your research intersects any of mine, I would , of course, be very happy to share it with you.
Kind regards, Charles Gordon

[GR2]

Do you know what the R stands for? Middle names are very unusual in Scotland until the latter part of the 18th century, and even then not common until you get into the 19th century. There were and are many Gordons in the north east of Scotland.

Graham.

[GR2]

P. S. Have you tried the on-line catalogue of the National Archives of Scotland?

Graham.

[cgordon622]

Graham--
Thanks for your reply. I don't know the middle name for Thomas R. Gordon b. 1735 somewhere in Scotland. I have not uncovered any of his children whose name starts with a 'R' either. I always assumed it was something simple, such as Robert. Perhaps it was a name from his mother's side?
Do you have the website for the archives you mentioned in your 2nd reply? Since I live in USA, research at this time on my family tree must all be done online. Thanks again for your thoughts and please feel free to make any suggestions that occur to you. There's no telling what I've overlooked!
Best regards,
Charles Gordon

[tidybooks]

Hi cgordon622,

I did searches on Scotland Peoples website (SP) and do not get any Thomas Gordon born in 1700's, I also tried for marriages, but no results, tried under the catholic databases as well and no results either.
I can see the submitted records on the LDS site but these are submitted as about 1735, so never came from Old Parish Records (OPR).

Can I ask how you got Thomas Gordon b 1735, did you have any certificate etc.? Sorry, I have not been much help so far, but we may get lucky with more info.

Tom Buchanan

[Forfarian]

The International Genealogical Index has various 'submitted' listings for children of Thomas R Gordon and Isabelle Porter
John, born 1760 in Aberdeen
Thomas R, born 1766 in Aberdeen
Samuel, born 1770 in County Down
William, born 1773 in County Down
James, born about 1775 in County Down
Jane, born about 1777 in County Down

Not surprisingly, there are no matching listings in the OPR index or the RC index at Scotland's People. This suggests that no record of any of these children has survived in Scotland. Nor are there any matching marriages in the OPR or RC indexes (barring weird spellings of either surname).

The first listed child was born in 1760. Therefore Thomas R senior's birth date is a guesstimate based on the assumption that he was aged 25 when his first child was born. This assumption has its uses, but it cannot be relied upon to be an accurate indication of the date of birth.

The IGI also says that Thomas R junior died on 12 October 1841 in Warren, Trumbull [County], Ohio, USA and William died on 20 January 1841 in Brown Township, Ripley [County], Indiana, USA

It looks to me as if someone who has done some work on this family has submitted the information to the IGI. If you want to unravel this lot you need to go back and find out where the information in the IGI came from. It could be a family bible, or some other unpublished source. The IGI unhelpfully says, 'No source information exists', but it has to have come from somewhere.

[RevKGordon]

Though I do not have the information you are seeking I am a descendant of the Thomas Gordon you are researching. I hope you get this since it is 4 years later. Robert could have been his name since his grandson was named Robert, this Robert was GGG GRANDFATHER.

[Jenna G]

Hi - better late than never...and maybe some of you have received this information by now via Ancestry but I do have some info.


Thomas Roger Gordon Sr
B:28 Feb 1738 Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
D:12 Oct 1841 Stichill, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Married to:

Isabella Porter
1745–1858
BIRTH 1745 • Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
DEATH 13 JUL 1858 • Aberdeenshire, Scotland

I don't have a record of a move to N.I. but I do see where the children moved to the US.  My line is with their first son John.  Record hints point to his death in Maine, USA but I haven't confirmed it yet.  John's daughter, Elizabeth, was born in Scotland and died in Dundee, Quebec, Canada.  She marries a Davidson and that line continues with a move to Upstate New York where my family is from. 

Hope some of this helps. And if anyone has any updated info...please post it!
Jenna G.