Thomas Gordon

Tommy Gordon columbia1905 The Gordon Grave tommygordon The Gordon Family New York1B maggiegordon Lislea89 Gordon to UK 1919 Tommy Gordon Farm Dispute 01 Tommy Gordon Farm Dispute 02 Thomas Gordon 1919 UKIncomingPassengerLists The Gordon Family New York1B fields of goldLderry Gordon to UK 1919 02

Thomas was born on February 21st, 1884 in Lislea.

• Birth Notes

  Date of Birth of 24/02/1881 from Al Luce, using US WW1 Draft Registration card. Confirmed by 1901 census where he is 17.  I now have his Birth Record which gives his DoB as 21st February 1884 at Lislea, to Thomas Gordon, Farmer, and his wife, Jane Gordon, formerly Coulter; a Mary McKay "Aunt" from Lislea registered the birth and said she was present but she is his great aunt not his aunt.
  
  Civil Birth Record
  Name:    Thomas Gordon    Date of Birth:    21-Feb-1884
           Registration Date:    1-Jan-0
  Address:    Lislea    Parish/District:    KILREA
  Gender:    Male    County    Co. Derry
  Denomination:    Registrar District
  Father:    James Gordon    Mother:    Jane Coulter
  Occupation:    Farmer    
  Sponsor 1 /
  Informant 1:    Mary McKay    Sponsor 2 /
  Informant 2:
  
  IFHF shows this child born to James Gordon and Jane Coulter:
  Source    Surname    First Name    Year    County
  Civil Birth    Gordon    John    1882    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Thomas    1884    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Hugh    1886    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Margaret Ann    1888    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Jane Elizabeth    1890    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Annie    1892    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Mary    1894    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Essie Amelia    1896    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Martha Ellen    1899    Co. Derry
  Civil Birth    Gordon    Sarah Matilda    1899    Co. Derry
  This shows that my grandfather, Tommy Gordon, had two brothers but both must have died which was why he had to return from New York to tend the family farm in 1920.

Thomas' father was James Gordon and his mother was Jane Coulter.  His paternal grandparents were John Gordon and Agnes "Nancy" McCook; his maternal grandparents were Hugh Coulter and Margaret Ann Bellingham. He had four brothers and seven sisters, named John, John, Hugh, Hugh, Margaret Anne, (Jane ) Elizabeth, "Annie", Mary, Essie Amelia, Martha and Sarah Matilda.  He was the third oldest of the twelve children.  He died at the age of 73 in 1957.

• Death Notes

  Title :     Mr     Date of Death :     24 September 1957
  Surname :     Gordon     Date of Grant :     13 February 1958
  Forename :     Thomas     Reseal Date :    
  Registry :     Belfast     Effects :     Effects £2383 16s 8d
  No Image
  Full Abstract :
  Gordon Thomas of Lislea Portglenone county Londonderry retired farmer died 24 September 1957 at Woodland Park Kilrea county Londonderry Administration Belfast 13 February to Margaret Adeline Turner married woman. Effects £2383 16s. 8d.

• General Notes

  Tommy Gordon, my grandfather, married his mother's first cousin. This is possibly why they got married in New York.
  
  Lived in Lislea in 1901 census on father's farm.
  
  He left Londonderry on 3rd June 1905 on board the SS Colombia and arrived in New York on 12th June 1905 giving his destination as the home of a friend, Wm Carmichael, ar 1748 Blair Street, Philadelphia.  There is no evidence however that he ever went to Philly as all his future addresses are in Manhattan.
  
  Gave his address as 315 East 33rd Street in the 1910 census where he lived in a rented house with wife Margaret, daughter Adeline, and boarders James/William Bellingham and Douglas Bamford. (Source: Al Luce).
  1910 Census:
  Name:    Thomas Gordon
  Age in 1910:    25
  Birth Year:    1885
  Birthplace:    Ireland
  Home in 1910:    Manhattan Ward 21, New York, New York
  Race:    White
  Gender:    Male
  Immigration Year:    1905
  Relation to Head of House:    Head
  [Self (Head)]
  Marital Status:    Married
  Spouse's Name:    Margaret Gordon
  Father's Birthplace:    Ireland
  Mother's Birthplace:    Ireland
  Neighbors:    View others on page  Household Members:    Name    Age
  Thomas Gordon
  25
  Margaret Gordon
  25
  Adeline Gordon
  1
  James Pellingham
  23
  Douglas Bernhard
  20
  [26]
  (This last is Douglas Bamford (he is given as a studio photographer), the man who took the famous pic of Maggie Bellingham, Adeline and Jean.
  
  Presumably lived at the address Margaret gave when she returned from Ireland in 1913 which was 305 East 91st Street. (Source Al Luce from Ellis Island Records.com). 
  
  517 East 85th Street, Manhattan given as his address on his daughter's birth cert (my mother, Frances) in 1917. 
  
  By 1918, he had moved again - Al Luce writes, "I have just discovered a partial index to the World War I US Draft Registration cards (1917 - 1918). The index is part of the Ancestry.com subscription service. I did find a listing for a Thomas Gordon, native of Ireland, born: 29 Feb 1884, living with his wife, Margaret, in Locust Valley, NY and working as a farmer for an A. Burchard. Also registering from Locust Valley are: Thomas Bellingham (wife: Lavinia), working as a farmer for the same person and William J Bellingham (wife: no name given) born: Vow, No Ireland, working as an Insurance Broker. William registered in the first draft call on 5 Jun 1917 and the Thomases registered in the third call on 12 Sep 1918."
  
  Had returned home by the birth of Anna in October 1920, so probaby did not make it into the 1920 census.
  
  Al has now found the departure of the Gordon family from New York on their way to Moville in November 1919.  Oddly, it gives them as having a son called Thomas aged 9, when it clearly should be Adeline, a daughter.  Also mentioned are my mother, Francis (sic), aged 1 (she was actually almost 3) and Jeannie (my aunt Jean) aged 7.  Thomas, the father, is given as aged 35, a gardener, and his wife, Margaret, 36, a housewife.
  
  UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 about Thomas Gordon
  Name:    Thomas Gordon
  Birth Date:    abt 1884
  Age:    35
  Port of Departure:    New York, New York, United States
  Arrival Date:    17 Nov 1919
  Port of Arrival:    Glasgow, Scotland
  Ports of Voyage:    Moville
  Ship Name:    Columbia
  Search Ship Database:    View the 'Columbia' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
  Shipping Line:    Canadian Pacific
  Official Number:    115682
  
  My grandfather had four daughters and wanted the Gordon name to remain at The Meen, so he sold his farm for £2,000 to his mother's sister's sons, his cousins, William and David Gordon.  (Two Coulter sisters married two unrelated Gordons.)  William's son, John Gordon, now owns the farm and his daughter, Elma still lives in The Meen farmhouse.  There was much dispute over this sale.
  
  AL: Some interesting notes about the marriage record. The marriage was performed at 225 Ege Ave, Jersey City, NJ, the home of Robert Porter and Jane Bellingham Porter, Jane was Margaret's sister. The marriage was performed by a Pastor from a local Episcopal Church, perhaps through a connection with the Porters. I would note that the Episcopal Church is the US analog of the Church of Ireland, to which many of our Bellingham family belonged. The church record was associated with St John's Episcopal Church of Jersey City. That church has since become dormant. There are notes on the web about it being unsafe an slated for demolition but some have had it listed as a historic structure which precludes demolition - politics as usual. There is also a web site with photos of that church. I will note that in the 1910 US Census the Porters were living at 225 Ege Ave, Jersey City.
  

Details of Thomas' family with Margaret Ann Bellingham