Thomas Boston Gordon
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Thomas Boston Gordon | |
|---|---|
 Thomas Boston Gordon, 1859 | |
| Born | February 4, 1816 Elbert County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 1891 (aged 74) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Miami University |
| Occupation(s) | Eductor, attorney, and judge |
| Known for | Founding Beta Theta Pi |
Thomas Boston Gordon (February 4, 1816 – January 25, 1891) was an American educator, attorney, and county judge in Kentucky.[1][2][3] He was a founding member of Beta Theta Pi national fraternity.[4][5]
Biography
[edit]Gordon was born in Elbert County, Georgia.[2] He attended Miami University, receiving an A.B. in 1840 and an A.M. in 1841 or 1845.[2] While there, he and seven other male students formed Beta Theta Pi national fraternity at Miami University on August 8, 1839.[5] He was the fraternity's second president.[6] In April 1840, he was part of the committee that formed the fraternity's Beta chapter at the University of Cincinnati.[7] He was also a member of the Erodelphian Literary Society.
Career
[edit]From 1841 to 1843, Gordon was the principal of the Collingsworth Institute near Talbotton, Georgia.[2][8][9] In November 1845, he represented Monroe County, Georgia in the Democratic Convention of the Third Congressional District.[10] He studied law in Forsythe, Georgia and was admnitted to the State Bar of Georgia in February 1842 and began practicing law.[2][11] Gordon was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1847.[12] Gordon began practicing law in Owingsville, Kentucky by 1850. He was elected a judge in Bath County, Kentucky from 1854 to 1858.[2][13]
During the Civil War, he enrolled in the Confederate States Army in 1861 at the age of 45, along with his sons John and Angus who were fifteen and sixteen years old, respectively.[14] Gordon initially served with Company C, 5th Kentucky Infantry.[15] He became a captain in the First Kentucky Brigade, also known as the Orphan Brigade when Company C was transferred in the spring of 1863.[15] However, he was transferred to a command in the cavalry.[15] By January 1, 1865, Gordon has signed a bond, committing to peace and honoring the laws of the United States.[16]
After the war, Gordon returned to Owingsville and the education profession.[3] He took a position with a school in Pinckard Station in Woodford County and became the principal of Smithfield College in Smithfield in 1876. He retired from teaching in 1879.
Personal life
[edit]Gordon married Frances Greer of Forsythe, Georgia on June 11, 1845.[11] They moved to a farm in Bath County, Kentucky in 1848. They had six children, including Thomas R. Gordon who became a judge, Angus Neal Gordon who was a college professor, and Fannie I. Gordon who was a high school teacher.[3][17]
Gordon was a Mason, serving as the master of the Maury Lodge in 1852.[13] After he retired, Gordan and his wife moved to Fayette County; he spent his latter days in Nicholasville, Kentucky, near Lexington.[2] In 1891, Gordon died from paralysis in the Lexington home of his son, Angus.[1][3][17] He is buried in the Lexington Cemetery.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Shepardson, Francis Wayland (1927). The Beta Book: The Story and Manual of Beta Theta Pi. George Banta Publishing Company. p. 7 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g General Catalogue of the Graduates and Former Students of Miami University: Including Members of the Board of Trustees and Faculty During Its First Century, 1809-1909. Oxford, Ohio: Miami University. 1909. p. 35 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "A Prominent Eductor Buried". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. 1891-01-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hardin, Mary Barr (1896). Life and Writings of Governor Charles Henry Hardin. Buschart Bros. Printers. p. 19 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Brown, James T. (ed.). "Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities; A Descriptive Analysis of the Fraternity System in the Colleges of the United States, with a Detailed Account of Each Fraternity" (10th ed.). New York: James T. Brown, Editor and Publisher. p. 89. hdl:2027/inu.30000011324468. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Hathi Trust.
- ^ Shepardson, Francis Wayland (1927). The Beta Book: The Story and Manual of Beta Theta P i. George Banta Publishing Company. p. 341 – via Google Books.
- ^ Shepardson, Francis Wayland (1927). The Beta Book: The Story and Manual of Beta Theta Pi. George Banta Publishing Company. p. 179 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Collingsworth Institute". Weekly Columbus Enquirer. Columbus, Georgia. 1842-01-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Collingsworth Institute". Weekly Columbus Enquirer. Columbus, Georgia. 1843-03-29. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Democratic Convention of the Third Congressional District". The Weekly Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. 1845-11-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Married". The Georgia Constatutionalist. Augusta, Georgia. June 19, 1845. p. 3 – via Georgia Historic Newspapers.
In Forsyth, on Wednesday morning, by the Rev. J. D. Stephens, of Macon, Thomas B. Gordon, Esq. to Miss Frances M. Greer, both the latter of Forsyth.
- ^ "Suprement Court". The Daily Constitutionalist and Republic. Augusta, Georgia. 1847-02-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Richards, John Adair (1961). A History of Bath County, Kentucky. Southwest Printers. p. 258 – via Google Books.
- ^ The Chi Phi Chakett. Vol. 54. Chi Phi Fraternity. 1970. p. 4 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Edwin Porter (1898). History of the Orphan Brigade. Louisville, Kentucky: L N Thompson. p. 706. via Internet Archive
- ^ "The Following is a List of the Names of the Various Persons who have Executive Bonds". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. 1864-12-31. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mr. Thomas B. Gordon (obituary)". The Evening Bulletin. Maysville, Kentucky. 1891-01-28. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.