Wellington Gordon (November 24, 1812 – March 21, 1888) was an American planter, politician, and educator. He inherited an estate in Virginia and served a term as a member of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

. He subsequently moved to California after the end of the American Civil War.

Early life and political career

Gordon, fifth son of Samuel and Susan (Knox) Gordon, was born in Falmouth, on November 24, 1812. He entered college from Fredericksburg in 1828, and he graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1831. After graduation, he studied law and was admitted to the bar but was compelled by the failure of his eyesight to abandon his chosen profession. Gordon then traveled for two years in Europe. On his return, having inherited a good estate from his father, he entered the life of a Virginia planter. He also interested himself in politics and served a term from 1852 to 1853, representing

Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 16 ...

in the

Post-Civil War

In 1869, having been lost his fortune as a results of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he moved to California. He used his early education by becoming a teacher in the public schools of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Gordon died in that city on March 21, 1888, at age 76. He died painlessly after a six-day illness, his death the result of a rupture of a blood-vessel of the brain.

Personal life

He married Frances A., daughter of the Honorable

Cuthbert Powell Cuthbert Powell (March 4, 1775 – May 8, 1849) was a Virginia lawyer and Whig politician who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and one term in the U.S. representative from Virginia, like his father, former Congressman Leve ...

of Loudoun County. She survived him with one son and one daughter, an elder son having died at the age of sixteen.

References

1812 births 1888 deaths Members of the Virginia General Assembly American planters Yale College alumni 19th-century American politicians People from Falmouth, Virginia Politicians from San Francisco {{Virginia-delegate-stub