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John Gordon (c.1776 – 16 July 1858) was a Scottish soldier and Tory politician.

Gordon was the son of Charles Gordon of Braid and Cluny, Aberdeenshire, and his wife Johanna Trotter. Gordon became 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Aberdeenshire Light Infantry on 2 December 1800. He was then lieutenant in the 7th Company of the 55th Aberdeenshire Militia on 25 April 1804. In 1804 Gordon made a grand tour of Egypt, carving his name on many ancient monuments. He returned home via Gibraltar where he boarded HMS Victory, which also brought home the mortal remains of Admiral Horatio Nelson. He arrived back in England in December 1805.

Gordon became major on 11 August 1808 and lieutenant-colonel on 6 June 1820.^[1]

On the death of his father in 1814, Gordon inherited his estates including Cluny Castle; he was already a wealthy man as he also succeeded to his uncle's estate, who had been a merchant in the British West Indies. He also purchased further properties, including North and South Uist, Benbecula and Barra. He was described by architectural historian H. Gordon Slade^[2] as a "model landlord" to tenants on his Aberdeenshire properties,^[3] although he was responsible for several mass evictions of his Scottish Gaelic-speaking tenants in the Hebrides during what is now termed the Highland Clearances.^[4] Around 3,000 tenants from his estates on the Outer Hebrides were both evicted and forced to board emigrant ships to Canada in 1851 alone. After the British government introduced the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Gordon received a compensation payment of £24,964, as his six plantations on the Caribbean island of Tobago had included 1,383 slaves.^[3]^[5]

Gordon was the Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis from 1826 to 1832.^[6]

He became an Honorary Colonel in 1836.

Gordon died a bachelor without legal issue in 1858; of his illegitimate children, John Gordon of Cluny, his eldest son, was the only one to outlive him.^[3]^[5] The Cluny estate passed to his widow, Emily Gordon, who continued mass evictions and coercive emigration to Saskatchewan.^[4]

References

^ Roger O. De Keersmaecker "AN EARLY SCOTTISH TRAVELLER IN EGYPT (In search of John Gordon 1804)"
^ "Special collections, Ref: MS 3127". University of Aberdeen. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Slade, H Gordon (1981). "Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 111: 454–492. doi:10.9750/PSAS.111.454.492. S2CID 257742255.
^ ^a ^b Campsie, Alison (3 August 2016). "The man who rid the Hebrides of thousands of men, women and children". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
^ ^a ^b Leadbetter, Russell (28 February 2013). "Secret shame: The Scots who made a fortune from abolition of slavery". The Herald (Glasgow). Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
^ "Leigh Rayment House of Commons constituencies beginning with W Part 3". Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

GORDON, John (c.1776-1858), of Cluny, Aberdeen, History of Parliament Online

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Gordon

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Fowell Buxton William Williams Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace Masterton Ure	Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 1826–1832 With: Fowell Buxton 1818–37 Thomas Wallace 1818–28 Masterton Ure 1813–32 Edward Sugden 1828–31 Richard Weyland 1831 Charles Baring Wall 1831–32	Succeeded by Fowell Buxton Sir Frederick Johnstone, Bt

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[1] Roger O. De Keersmaecker "AN EARLY SCOTTISH TRAVELLER IN EGYPT (In search of John Gordon 1804)"

[2] "Special collections, Ref: MS 3127". University of Aberdeen. Retrieved 15 November 2013.

[Slade-3] Slade, H Gordon (1981). "Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 111: 454–492. doi:10.9750/PSAS.111.454.492. S2CID 257742255.

[Scotsman-4] Campsie, Alison (3 August 2016). "The man who rid the Hebrides of thousands of men, women and children". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 September 2024.

[Herald-5] Leadbetter, Russell (28 February 2013). "Secret shame: The Scots who made a fortune from abolition of slavery". The Herald (Glasgow). Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2013.

[6] "Leigh Rayment House of Commons constituencies beginning with W Part 3". Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
 [[File:Cluny Castle in 1966.jpg|thumb|300px|Cluny Castle (pictured here in 1966) was one of the properties inherited by Gordon in 1814.]]
 '''John Gordon''' ({{circa}}1776 – 16 July 1858) was a Scottish soldier and [[Tory]] politician.
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Gordon was the son of Charles Gordon of [[Hermitage of Braid|Braid]] and [[Cluny, Aberdeenshire|Cluny]], Aberdeenshire, and his wife Johanna Trotter. Gordon became 2nd lieutenant in the [[Royal Aberdeenshire Light Infantry]] on 2 December 1800. He was then lieutenant in the 7th Company of the [[55th Aberdeenshire Militia]] on 25 April 1804. In 1804 Gordon made a grand tour of Egypt, carving his name on many ancient monuments. He returned home via Gibraltar where he boarded [[HMS Victory]], which also brought home the mortal remains of [[Lord Nelson|Admiral Horatio Nelson]]. He arrived back in England in December 1805.
-Gordon became major on 11 August 1808 and  lieutenant-colonel on 6 June 1820.<ref>[http://www.egypt-sudan-graffiti.be/An_early.htm  Roger O. De Keersmaecker "AN EARLY SCOTTISH TRAVELLER IN EGYPT (In search of John Gordon 1804)"]</ref>
+Gordon became major on 11 August 1808 and lieutenant-colonel on 6 June 1820.<ref>[http://www.egypt-sudan-graffiti.be/An_early.htm  Roger O. De Keersmaecker "AN EARLY SCOTTISH TRAVELLER IN EGYPT (In search of John Gordon 1804)"]</ref>
+On the death of his father in 1814, Gordon inherited his estates including [[Cluny Castle]]; he was already a wealthy man as he also succeeded to his uncle's estate, who had been a merchant in the [[British West Indies]]. He also purchased further properties, including [[North Uist|North]] and [[South Uist]], [[Benbecula]] and [[Barra]]. He was described by architectural historian H. Gordon Slade<ref>{{cite web|title=Special collections, Ref: MS 3127|url=http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqSearch=RefNo=='MS%203127'&dsqDb=Catalog|publisher=[[University of Aberdeen]]|accessdate=15 November 2013}}</ref> as a "model landlord" to tenants on his Aberdeenshire properties,<ref name="Slade">{{cite journal |title=Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire |author=Slade, H Gordon |journal=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |year=1981|pages=454–492 |volume=111|doi=10.9750/PSAS.111.454.492 |s2cid=257742255 |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_111/111_454_492.pdf}}</ref> although he was responsible for several mass evictions of his [[Scottish Gaelic]]-speaking tenants in the [[Hebrides]] during what is now termed the [[Highland Clearances]].<ref name="Scotsman">{{cite news |last1=Campsie |first1=Alison |title=The man who rid the Hebrides of thousands of men, women and children |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/the-man-who-rid-the-hebrides-of-thousands-of-men-women-and-children-1470766 |access-date=9 September 2024 |work=[[The Scotsman]] |date=3 August 2016}}</ref> Around 3,000 tenants from his estates on the [[Outer Hebrides]] were both evicted and forced to board emigrant ships to [[Canada]] in 1851 alone. After the British government introduced the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] Gordon received a compensation payment of £24,964, as his six plantations on the Caribbean island of [[Tobago]] had included 1,383 slaves.<ref name="Slade"/><ref name="Herald">{{cite news |last=Leadbetter |first=Russell |title=Secret shame: The Scots who made a fortune from abolition of slavery |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/secret-shame-the-scots-who-made-a-fortune-from-abolition-of-slavery.20365912 |accessdate=16 November 2013 |newspaper=The Herald (Glasgow) |date=28 February 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716001422/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/secret-shame-the-scots-who-made-a-fortune-from-abolition-of-slavery.20365912 |archivedate=16 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-On the death of his father in 1814, Gordon inherited his estates including [[Cluny Castle]]; he was already a wealthy man as he also succeeded to his uncle's estate, who had been a merchant in West India. He purchased further properties, including [[North Uist|North]] and [[South Uist]], [[Benbecula]] and [[Barra]]. He was responsible for the expelling of tenants in the [[Highland Clearances]] from the islands.<ref>[http://www.scotsman.com/regions/inverness-highlands-islands/the-man-who-rid-the-hebrides-of-thousands-of-men-women-and-children-1-4192914]
-The man who rid the Hebrides of thousands of men, women and children]</ref> Tenants from his estates on the [[Outer Hebrides]] (around 3000 people) were made to emigrate to Canada in 1851. After the British government introduced the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] Gordon received a compensation payment from it of £24,964. His six plantations in the Caribbean island of [[Tobago]] had 1383 slaves.<ref name="Slade">{{cite journal |title=Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire |author=Slade, H Gordon |journal=Proceedings of the [[Society of Antiquaries of Scotland]] |year=1981|pages=454–492 |volume=111|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/79254462/Cluny-Castle_-Aberdeenshire}}</ref><ref name="Herald">{{cite news|last=Leadbetter|first=Russell|title=Secret shame: The Scots who made a fortune from abolition of slavery|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/secret-shame-the-scots-who-made-a-fortune-from-abolition-of-slavery.20365912|accessdate=16 November 2013|newspaper=The Herald (Glasgow)|date=28 February 2013|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6LAa8fzPg|archivedate=16 November 2013|deadurl=no}}</ref>
+Gordon was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Weymouth and Melcombe Regis]] from 1826 to 1832.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Wcommons3.htm |title=Leigh Rayment House of Commons constituencies beginning with W Part 3 |access-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231165845/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Wcommons3.htm |archive-date=31 December 2010 }}</ref>
-http://www.scotsman.com/regions/inverness-highlands-islands/the-man-who-rid-the-hebrides-of-thousands-of-men-women-and-children-1-4192914
-Gordon was the [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Weymouth and Melcombe Regis]] from 1826 to 1832.<ref>[http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Wcommons3.htm Leigh Rayment House of Commons constituencies beginning with W Part 3]</ref>
 He became an Honorary Colonel in 1836.
-Gordon died a bachelor without legal issue in 1858; of his illegitimate children, John, his eldest son, was the only one to outlive him.<ref name="Slade" /><ref name="Herald" />
+Gordon died a bachelor without legal issue in 1858; of his [[illegitimacy|illegitimate]] children, John Gordon of Cluny, his eldest son, was the only one to outlive him.<ref name="Slade" /><ref name="Herald" /> The Cluny estate passed to his widow, [[Emily Gordon Cathcart|Emily Gordon]], who continued mass evictions and coercive emigration to [[Saskatchewan]].<ref name="Scotsman" />
 ==References==
@@ Line 23: / Line 22: @@
 * {{hansard-contribs | mr-john-gordon-2 | John Gordon }}
-{{s-start}}2
+{{s-start}}
 {{s-par|uk}}
 {{s-bef
- | before  = [[Sir Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet|Thomas Fowell Buxton]]
+ | before  = [[Fowell Buxton]]
  | before2 = [[William Williams (1774-1839)|William Williams]]
  | before3 = [[Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace]]
@@ Line 32: / Line 31: @@
 }}
 {{s-ttl
- | title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Weymouth and Melcombe Regis]]
+ | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Weymouth and Melcombe Regis]]
- | years = [[United Kingdom general election, 1826|1826]]–[[United Kingdom general election, 1832|1832]]
+ | years = [[1826 United Kingdom general election|1826]]–[[1832 United Kingdom general election|1832]]
- | with  = [[Sir Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet|Thomas Fowell Buxton]] 1818&ndash;37
+ | with  = [[Fowell Buxton]] 1818–37
- | with2 = [[Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace|Thomas Wallace]] 1818&ndash;28
+ | with2 = [[Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace|Thomas Wallace]] 1818–28
- | with3 = [[Masterton Ure]] 1813&ndash;32
+ | with3 = [[Masterton Ure]] 1813–32
- | with4 = [[Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards|Edward Sugden]] 1828&ndash;31
+ | with4 = [[Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards|Edward Sugden]] 1828–31
  | with5 = [[Richard Weyland]] 1831
- | with6 = [[Charles Baring Wall]] 1831&ndash;32
+ | with6 = [[Charles Baring Wall]] 1831–32
 }}
 {{s-aft
- | after  = [[Sir Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet|Thomas Fowell Buxton]]
+ | after  = [[Fowell Buxton]]
  | after2 = [[Sir Frederick Johnstone, 7th Baronet|Sir Frederick Johnstone, Bt]]
 }}
@@ Line 50: / Line 49: @@
 [[Category:1770s births]]
 [[Category:1858 deaths]]
-[[Category:UK MPs 1826–30]]
+[[Category:UK MPs 1826–1830]]
-[[Category:UK MPs 1830–31]]
+[[Category:UK MPs 1830–1831]]
-[[Category:UK MPs 1831–32]]
+[[Category:UK MPs 1831–1832]]
 [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
 [[Category:People from Aberdeenshire]]
-[[Category:19th-century Scottish people]]
+[[Category:19th-century Scottish military personnel]]
 [[Category:British Militia officers]]
+[[Category:Highland Clearances]]
 [[Category:Scottish politicians]]
 [[Category:British graffiti artists]]
 [[Category:Tory MPs (pre-1834)]]
 [[Category:British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
+[[Category:Scottish slave owners]]
+[[Category:Military personnel from Aberdeenshire]]