Gordon’s eldest son John David, by his first marriage (with the grand-daughter of the Earl of Kilmarnock, who was executed at the Tower with Lord Lovat), had wisely kept out of temptation amid the peaceful family vineyards at Jeréz, from which he returned in 1832 to Wardhouse. But John David’s half-brother stayed at home and became Admiral Sir James Alexander Gordon (1782-1869), who as the “last of Nelson’s Captains” roused the admiration of Tom Hughes in a fine appreciation in Macmillan’s Magazine. Although he had lost his leg in the capture of the Pomone in 1812, he could stump on foot even as an old man all the way from Westminster to Greenwich Hospital, of which he was the last Governor, and where you can see his portrait to this day.
Although John David Gordon succeeded to Wardhouse, his family remained essentially Spanish, and his own tastes, as his grandson, General Gordon, points out, were coloured by the character of the Peninsula. The General himself, as his autobiography shows in every page, has had his inherited Gay Gordonism aided and abetted by his associations with Spain and with Australia. His whole career has been full of enterprising adventure, and, while intensely interested in big imperial problems, he has an inevitable sense of the colour and rhythm of life as soldier, as policeman, as sportsman, as actor, as journalist. He is, in short, a perfect example of a Gay Gordon.
BRIG.-GENERAL J. M. GORDON’S DESCENT AT A GLANCE
| Alexander (Gordon), 1st Earl of Huntly (died 1470). | |||||
| Adam Gordon, Dean of Caithness (died 1528). | |||||
| George Gordon (died 1575). I of Beldorney, Aberdeenshire. | |||||
| Alexander Gordon (alive 1602). II of Beldorney. | |||||
| George Gordon, III of Beldorney. | Alexander Gordon, of Killyhuntly, Badenoch. | ||||
| George Gordon, IV of Beldorney. | James Gordon (died 1642), of Tirriesoul and Camdell. | ||||
| John Gordon (died 1694), V of Beldorney. | Alexander Gordon, IX of Beldorney (buying it in 1703). | ||||
| John Gordon, VI of Beldorney. Frittered his fortune. Died 1698. | James Gordon, X of Beldorney. Bought Kildrummy. Got Wardhouse by marriage. | ||||
| John Gordon, VII of Beldorney. | John Gordon (died 1760), XI of Beldorney. | ||||
| James Gordon, Went to U.S.A. Lost sight of. | |||||
| Alexander Maria Gordon, XII of Beldorney. Executed at Brest, 1769. | Charles Edward Gordon (1754-1832). Sold Beldorney. Of Wardhouse & Kildrummy. | ||||
| John David Gordon. (1774-1850) Went to Spain. Inherited Wardhouse. | Admiral Sir J. A. Gordon. One of Nelson's Captains. (1782-1869.) | ||||
| Pedro Carlos Gordon, of Wardhouse, 1806-57. | Carlos Pedro Gordon, of Wardhouse. 1814-97. | ||||
| Juan José Gordon, of Wardhouse, 1837-66. | |||||
| Carlos Pedro Gordon, 1844-76. d.v.p. | José Maria Gordon, Brig.-General, Author of this book. | ||||
| Rafael Gordon, of Wardhouse. Lives in Madrid. Born 1873. | |||||