George Steenbergen Gordon
| Born: | July 16, 1851, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Died: | August 13, 1886., Huntsville, Alabama |
| Buried: | Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Brother of: | Beirne Gordon (b1856) |
| Son of: | Colonel George Anderson Gordon (b1830) |
| Brother of: | Rev. Percy Gordon |
| Brother of: | William Washington Gordon (b1860) |
Notes:
• Son of Col. George Anderson Gordon (1830-1872) and Caroline Steenbergen (1832-1851). His birth date is the same as his mother's death date. One might assume that his mother died of complications in child birth. He was two years and seven months old when his father married again. His father's second wife was Ellen C. Beirne. - Ancestry.com
• Married Mattie Eason Oct. 10, 1872 in Madison County, Alabama. She was born April 3, 1856 in Alabama and died Feb. 16, 1885 in Madison, AL. There are no children listed in Ancestry.com. - MCRC
• Husband of Martha Ann (Mattie) Eason Gordon. Born March 4, 1856 and died February 16, 1885. - Maple Hill
• "Mr. George Gordon composed a great many hymns for the Church of the Nativity which are still in manuscript. 'Hark! Hark! My Soul!' is one. The melody of this composition is much more effective than that of any airs that are now sung to those words. He wrote a triumphant air to 'The Strife is O'er , the Battle Done,' and a plaintive, yet quieting air, to 'Softly Now the Light of Day.' His anthems and chants are still favorites with the choristers at the Nativity. He played the organ as well as he composed. His personality had the power to impress itself indelibly upon his associates. He seemed to be visibly present whenever they spoke of him. Then, too, his impress was always favorable. Everyone who knew him spoke of him as if he were one of the most agreeable, capable, accommodating person imaginable. An unusually thoughtful act brought such comments as 'George Gordon couldn't have done better.' He was classed as 'a handsome man,' 'an old-fashioned gentleman,' 'a cultured gentleman.' His tastes and talents seem to have kept him in a high strata from which he could send suggestions to better his community." - Chapman
• "Mr. Gordon has a well established musical reputation here and always sings with fidelity, feeling and taste" - Tumminella
• "A large brass chandelier containing 19 candle holders was donated by George S. Gordon to add much needed light to the sanctuary" - Roberts
• "George was the oldest of the Huntsville Gordons, being their half brother, and had recently married a pretty, plump, and placid girl of sixteen. He was a lawyer like his father, and also inherited his love for music. He was literary, loving poetry especially, and was deeply interested in young people and their mental activities. He was our star male contributor and sent in an amusing analysis of the rhyme, 'Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pies,' and sent in this summer 'The Clover Waltz.' After surmising that he was named for the four Georges, and commending his good taste in the matter of diet, he wrote, 'Now what does Georgie Porgie do? Just what every man has done that ever was born with a grain of sense or a spark of feeling. He kissed the girls. And now comes the question--why did he make them cry? Obviously because he only kissed them once, and did not kiss them all over again.'" - Lovell
• While only a small part of the collection is digitized, the abstracts are a fascinating read and include many references to the Huntsville Gordons - UNC
• The centerpiece of the collection is William Washington Gordon (1796-1842) who lived in Savannah Georgia. Colonel George Anderson Gordon (b1830), the son of William Washington Gordon (1796-1842), seems to be the initial link to Huntsville. The Huntsville Gordons seem to have continued at strong connection with the Savannah Gordon's through correspondences, business, living arrangements, even burials for several generations. George Steenbergen Gordon was a grandson of William Washington Gordon (1796-1842). - UNC
Related Links:
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by JLCSGC and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/153406/person/24042854046.)
• Chapman - Changing Huntsville 1890-1899, by Elizabeth Humes Chapman, 1989 (originally written in 1932), pages 88, 108, 109.
• Find A Grave - Page created by Graveaddiction.
• Lovell - Book titled "Light of the Other Days" by Caroline Couper Lovell, 1995, page 125. Tells stories of the Georgia Coast and includes the Gordon's in these tales.
• Maple Hill - Maple Hill Cemetery, Phase One, by Diane Robey, Dorothy Scott Johnson, John Rison Jones, Jr., & Frances C. Roberts (Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society), 1995, page 81.
• MCRC - Madison County Records Center
• Roberts - Sesquicentennial History of Church of the Nativity, Episcopal 1843-1993 Huntsville, Alabama, by Francis C. Roberts, 1992, page 29.
• Tumminella - A Mighty Fortress of Faith: A History of St. Mary of the Visitation Church, 1861-2011, by Edited by Pat Tumminello, 2012, pages 70, 71.
• UNC - Gordon Family Papers, 1810-1968 at Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Library at UNC.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Beirne Gordon (b1856)
• Chapman
• Colonel George Anderson Gordon (b1830)
• Maple Hill
• Rev. Percy Gordon
• William Washington Gordon (b1860)