James Gordon (c.1758–1822) was a British barrister, politician and plantation owner on

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

and St Vincent.

Life

He was the son of James Brebner and Anne Lavington (or Mary), born on Antigua. His father adopted the surname Gordon in 1768. His sister Mary married Sir William Abdy, 6th Baronet. Gordon entered

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1775, at age 17; he had been educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, or possibly

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. He entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

also in 1775, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

there in 1780. He was elected Member of Parliament for in 1785, and for in 1790, holding that seat to 1796. He was later Member of Parliament for , from 1808 to 1812. James Gordon committed suicide at his London home on Hill Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, on 18 February 1822.

Moor Place

Gordon inherited Moor Place at Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, when his father died in 1807; it was built by Robert Mitchell of Aberdeen for his father in 1777–9. The Moor Place estate had belonged to his great-uncle James Gordon (died 1768, of Antigua and Moor Place, 9th of Knockespock), whose will had caused his father to change name to James Brebner Gordon.

Plantations

Gordon left extensive slave-run plantations to his son James Adam, in

, St Vincent and St Kitts, and around 500 enslaved people.

Family

Gordon married in 1789 Harriet or Harriot Whitbread, daughter of

Samuel Whitbread (1720–1796) Samuel Whitbread (30 August 1720 – 11 June 1796) was an English brewer and Member of Parliament. In 1742, he established a brewery that in 1799 became Whitbread & Co Ltd. Early years Samuel Whitbread was born on 20 August 1720 at Cardingto ...

the brewer and politician. She inherited

Stocks House Stocks Manor House is a large Georgian mansion, built in 1773. It is the largest property in the village of Aldbury, Hertfordshire. Stocks House and its manorial farm is an estate surrounded by of National Trust Ashridge Forest and the Ch ...

in Hertfordshire, from her maternal grandfather William Hayton of Ivinghoe. The couple's eldest son was

James Adam Gordon James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1791–1854), Member of Parliament for in the years before the Great Reform Act.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James 1822 deaths Year of birth uncertain Suicides in Westminster Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Truro British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812