Thomas Boston Gordon (February 4, 1816 – January 25, 1891) was an American educator, attorney, and county judge in Kentucky. He was a founding member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

national fraternity.

Biography

Gordon was born in Elbert County, Georgia. He attended

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

, receiving an A.B. in 1840 and an A.M. in 1841 or 1845. While there, he and seven other male students formed

national fraternity at

on August 8, 1839. He was the fraternity's second president. In April 1840, he was part of the committee that formed the fraternity's ''Beta chapter'' at the University of Cincinnati. He was also a member of the Erodelphian Literary Society.

Career

From 1841 to 1843, Gordon was the principal of the Collingsworth Institute near Talbotton, Georgia. In November 1845, he represented

Monroe County, Georgia Monroe County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Georgia, central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 27,957. The county seat is ...

in the Democratic Convention of the Third Congressional District. He studied law in Forsythe, Georgia and was admnitted to the

State Bar of Georgia The State Bar of Georgia is the governing body of the legal profession in the State of Georgia, operating under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Membership is a condition of admission to practice law in Georgia. The State Bar w ...

in February 1842 and began practicing law. Gordon was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1847. Gordon began practicing law in Owingsville, Kentucky by 1850. He was elected a judge in

Bath County, Kentucky Bath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,750. The county seat is Owingsville. The county was formed in 1811. Bath County is included in the Mount Sterling, KY Micropolitan St ...

from 1854 to 1858. Thomas_Boston_Gordon_1886

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he enrolled in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in 1861 at the age of 45, along with his sons John and Angus who were fifteen and sixteen years old, respectively. Gordon initially served with Company C,

5th Kentucky Infantry Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

. He became a captain in the First Kentucky Brigade, also known as the

Orphan Brigade The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from Kentucky to fight for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be ...

when Company C was transferred in the spring of 1863. However, he was transferred to a command in the cavalry.Thompson, Edwin Porter (1898).
History of the Orphan Brigade
'. Louisville, Kentucky: L N Thompson. p. 706. via Internet Archive By January 1, 1865, Gordon has signed a bond, committing to peace and honoring the laws of the United States. After the war, Gordon returned to Owingsville and the education profession. He took a position with a school in Pinckard Station in Woodford County and became the principal of Smithfield Collge in Smithfield in 1876. He retired from teaching in 1879.

Personal life

Gordon married Frances Greer of Forsythe, Georgia on June 11, 1845. 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. Gordon was a Mason, serving as the master of the Maury Lodge in 1852. After he retired, Gordan and his wife moved to Fayette County; he spent his latter days in

Nicholasville, Kentucky Nicholasville is a home rule city in and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,490 during the 2020 U.S. Census, making Nicholasville the 10th-largest settlement in the state. Since the late 20th ce ...

, near Lexington. In 1891, Gordon died from paralysis in the Lexington home of his son, Angus. He is buried in the Lexington Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Thomas Boston 1816 births 1891 deaths People from Hartwell, Georgia Miami University alumni Beta Theta Pi founders Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges 19th-century American educators American Freemasons College fraternity founders

Biography

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links