John Gordon

'John Gordon of Roseau', a returnee to England by 1836 and the same man as the John Gordon 'of Gower Street' whose will was proved 30/06/1836, merchant and partner with James Mat[t]hews and formerly also with Hugh Leathem. Probably but not certainly the father of Robert Augustus Gordon (1815-1895), an English clergyman born in Dominica (and also of Rev. John Gordon, a convert to Catholicism to whom Newman dedicated The Dream of Gerontius).

1. Will of John Gordon of Gower Street proved 30/06/1836. The will (made 08/12/1832) refers to his wife Marie Victoire, to his brother Theodore Gordon of Overhall Aberdeenshire, and to his moiety of the estates of Providence, Eden and Bedminster in the island of Dominica, and talks of 'the present uncertain state of the West Indies, in which currently a considerable portion of my property is placed.' He placed his property in trust in light of the uncertainty to be sold at the discretion of the trustees and invested in the public funds for his wife and unnamed children.

Ancestry.com, Cambridge University Alumni 1261-1900 [database online], which in the entry for Robert Augustus Gordon shows 'one of the same name' admitted at Lincolns Inn in 1837, son of John Gordon of London who was deceased by 1837.

1. PROB 11/1863/71