Gordon family papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Gordon family papers
- Date
- 1771-1924 (inclusive)
- 1840-1859 (bulk)
- Extent
- 2 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Presbyterian Church -- Clergy -- Training of.
- African Americans -- Colonization -- Liberia
- Farmers.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically.
- Preferred Citation
- 51m40: [identification of item], Gordon family papers, 1771-1924, bulk 1840-1859, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Georgia farmer, John Gordon and his wife, Sarah, had ten children, among them Mary (who married John Goss), Eleanor (who married William A. Lewis), Thomas Boston, and Neal McDougal.
- Thomas began his legal practice in Owensville, Ky. in 1848. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and later ran schools in Pinchard Station, Woodford County, Ky.. He married Frances "Fannie" Greer, and they had three children: Angus Neal, John Gilbert, and Flora Jane.
- Neal McDougal Gordon served as pastor of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church in Nicholasville, Ky. for thirty years. He married, first, Martha Jane Harris, who died in 1845, then Catherine Smith, daughter of James and Elizabeth Black Smith, in 1848. Their children were "Sis", "Mattie", Eliza, John, and Logan. Neal founded Gordon's School for Boys, which trained young men for the Presbyterian ministry. Gordon was involved in the colonization movement aimed at the colonization of Liberia with free-blacks and former slaves from America. His involvement included educating men for the "African Mission."
- Scope and Content
- The Gordon family papers (dated 1771-1924, bulk 1840-1859; 2 cubic feet; 4 boxes, 1 oversize box, and 1 folder) consists of the correspondence, papers, and a diary of the Gordon family of Georgia and Kentucky. The bulk of the collection consists of letters relating to Neal McDougal Gordon of Nicholasville, Ky., and his work in the education of Presbyterian ministers and the colonization of Liberia. The collection contains material relating to John Gordon, Sarah Gordon, Thomas Boston Gordon, and other Gordon family members. Additionally, the collection contains many letters written during the Civil War, the diary of Neal Gordon McDougal's trip to London in 1846, and a prospectus for the abolitionist newspaper True American.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open for researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Prospectus for the True American, abolitionist newspaper, 1845
Neal McDougal Gordon diary, 1846
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
