Bazil Gordon: Difference between revisions
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{{Unreferenced|date=July 2008}} |
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'''Bazil Gordon''' emigrated from [[Scotland]] to [[United States|America]], settling in [[Falmouth, Virginia]] in 1786 where he opened a small store. Gordon grew his business, exporting large amounts of [[tobacco]] from [[plantations]] along the [[Rappahannock River]] to [[England]]. He is believed to be America's first [[millionaire]]. |
'''Bazil Gordon''' emigrated from [[Scotland]] to [[United States|America]], settling in [[Falmouth, Virginia]] in 1786 where he opened a small store. Gordon grew his business, exporting large amounts of [[tobacco]] from [[plantations in the American South|plantations]] along the [[Rappahannock River]] to [[England]]. He is believed to be America's first [[millionaire]]. |
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He married [Anna Campbell Knox], daughter of [[William Knox and Susannah Stuart Fitzhugh]]. Susanna Fitzhugh was a great-granddaughter of Colonal William Fitz Hugh, who came from Bedford, England in 1670. |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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In 1768, Bazil Gordon was born at Lochdougan, Kelton Parish, Scotland. He was the born to Samuel Gordon and Nicholas Brown, the daughter to John Brown; he was Samuel's youngest |
In 1768, Bazil Gordon was born at Lochdougan, [[Castle Douglas|Kelton]] Parish, Scotland. He was the born to Samuel Gordon and Nicholas Brown, the daughter to John Brown; he was Samuel's youngest son. In circa 1783, Gordon, along with two of his brothers: Samuel and Alexander; his nephew (also called Samuel) immigrated to the "New World," America. Gordon and his kinsmen settled in Falmouth, Virginia where they opened a merchant's shop; the main commodity they traded was tobacco. This enterprise quickly became a success.<ref name="MoM">{{cite book|last1=Steiner|first1=Bernard Christian|last2=Meekins|first2=Lynn Roby|last3=Boggs|first3=Thomas G.|last4=Carroll|first4=David Henry|title=Men of Mark in Maryland: Volume 2|date=1910|publisher=B. F. Johnson, Incorporated|page=[https://archive.org/details/menormarkinmary00bogggoog/page/n77 59]|url=https://archive.org/details/menormarkinmary00bogggoog}}</ref><ref name="Hanson">{{cite book|last1=Hanson|first1=George Adolphus|title=Old Kent: The Eastern Shore of Maryland|date=1876|publisher=John P. Des Forges|page=[https://archive.org/details/oldkenteasterns00hansgoog/page/n152 134]|url=https://archive.org/details/oldkenteasterns00hansgoog}}</ref> |
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He married Anna Campbell Knox, daughter of William Knox and Susannah Stuart Fitzhugh.<ref name="MoM" /> |
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The brothers' fortunes were made in large by taking advantage of the War between England and Spain, where they purchased and exported tobacco. |
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The brothers' fortunes were made in large by taking advantage of the war between England and Spain, where they purchased and exported tobacco. With the fortune that Bazil Gordon made in the tobacco trade, he purchased an affluent property; Wakefield Manor, an estate located in [[Rappahannock County, Virginia]]. Wakefield Manor would be Gordon's family's main home for multiple generations. Gordon and Anne Campbell Knox would raise their three children on this property; they had two sons and one daughter. His second son, Douglas Hamilton Gordon, was born and raised in Falmouth, Virginia and graduated from the [[University of Virginia]].<ref name="MoM" /><ref name="Hanson" /> |
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After making a fortune from the tobacco trade in Virginia, Gordon's brother, Samuel, retired and purchased the Kenmore Estate; a piece of property that was previously owned by [[Betty Washington Lewis|Betty Washington]], the younger sister of [[George Washington]], hero of the [[American Revolutionary War]] and first president of the United States of America. Alexander Gordon moved back to Scotland for the rest of his days until he passed in 1819. Despite Samuel's retirement and Alexanders return to the homeland, Gordon soldiered on to make, reported, millions. |
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In 1847, Bazil Gordon died. At the end of his life, when he had finally finished accumulating wealth, his net worth was estimated in the millions, which, for the time, was large. By 1847, no other American had recorded a financial worth over a million dollars; it is for this reason that Gordon is believed and known for being the first millionaire in America.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bazil Gordon of Lochdougan - America's First Millionaire|url=http://www.kirkcudbright.co/historyarticle.asp?ID=311&p=26&g=4|website=People and Places in Kirkcudbrightshire|accessdate=19 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="Howison">{{cite book|last1=Howison|first1=Robert Reid|title=Fredericksburg; Past, Present and Future|date=1898|publisher=J. W. Adams|location=Fredericksburg, Va.|page=[https://archive.org/details/fredericksburgpa00howi/page/61 61]|url=https://archive.org/details/fredericksburgpa00howi}}</ref> |
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Three of the four Gordon men married the daughters from one man's family, William Knox and his wife Susannah Fitzhugh of Culpeper county: Samuel Gordon married Susannah Knox and Bazil Gordon married Susannah Knox's sister, Anne Campbell Knox. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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*Bazil Gordon of Lochdougan - America's First Millionaire; People and Places in Kirkcudbrightshire; kirkcudbright; 2014 |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Gordon, Bazil |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American businessman |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = |
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| DATE OF DEATH = |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bazil}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bazil}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1768 births]] |
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[[Category:1847 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Businesspeople from Virginia]] |
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[[Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States]] |
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States]] |
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[[Category:People from |
[[Category:People from Falmouth, Virginia]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:People from Dumfries and Galloway]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:19th-century American merchants]] |
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{{US-business-bio-1760s-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 12:49, 2 August 2023
Bazil Gordon emigrated from Scotland to America, settling in Falmouth, Virginia in 1786 where he opened a small store. Gordon grew his business, exporting large amounts of tobacco from plantations along the Rappahannock River to England. He is believed to be America's first millionaire.
Life
[edit]In 1768, Bazil Gordon was born at Lochdougan, Kelton Parish, Scotland. He was the born to Samuel Gordon and Nicholas Brown, the daughter to John Brown; he was Samuel's youngest son. In circa 1783, Gordon, along with two of his brothers: Samuel and Alexander; his nephew (also called Samuel) immigrated to the "New World," America. Gordon and his kinsmen settled in Falmouth, Virginia where they opened a merchant's shop; the main commodity they traded was tobacco. This enterprise quickly became a success.[1][2]
He married Anna Campbell Knox, daughter of William Knox and Susannah Stuart Fitzhugh.[1]
The brothers' fortunes were made in large by taking advantage of the war between England and Spain, where they purchased and exported tobacco. With the fortune that Bazil Gordon made in the tobacco trade, he purchased an affluent property; Wakefield Manor, an estate located in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Wakefield Manor would be Gordon's family's main home for multiple generations. Gordon and Anne Campbell Knox would raise their three children on this property; they had two sons and one daughter. His second son, Douglas Hamilton Gordon, was born and raised in Falmouth, Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia.[1][2]
In 1847, Bazil Gordon died. At the end of his life, when he had finally finished accumulating wealth, his net worth was estimated in the millions, which, for the time, was large. By 1847, no other American had recorded a financial worth over a million dollars; it is for this reason that Gordon is believed and known for being the first millionaire in America.[3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Steiner, Bernard Christian; Meekins, Lynn Roby; Boggs, Thomas G.; Carroll, David Henry (1910). Men of Mark in Maryland: Volume 2. B. F. Johnson, Incorporated. p. 59.
- ^ a b Hanson, George Adolphus (1876). Old Kent: The Eastern Shore of Maryland. John P. Des Forges. p. 134.
- ^ "Bazil Gordon of Lochdougan - America's First Millionaire". People and Places in Kirkcudbrightshire. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ Howison, Robert Reid (1898). Fredericksburg; Past, Present and Future. Fredericksburg, Va.: J. W. Adams. p. 61.