GORDON, James S. - Putnam

GORDON, JAMES S., P. O. Bainbridge, Farmer (retired); was born July 14, 1814, in Indiana Territory; son of James (born February, 1779, North Carolina) and Mary JOB-GORDON (born December 26, 1775, in North Carolina). Was married December 15, 1833, to Sarah BLAKE, born in North Carolina, daughter of Thomas and Susan BLAKE, natives of North Carolina; children's names - Martha D., Sarah S. (both dead) and Mary P. Mrs. GORDON died November, 1841. In 1842, Mr. GORDON married Ann B., daughter of John R. and Mary DICKERSON; born March 20, 1813, in Monroe County, Ky.; by this marriage he has had seven children - Milroy, Eliza J., Elizabeth A., John R., C. E., Thomas J. and Emma R. (deceased). Mr. GORDON was the youngest in a family of eight children. He has retired from active business after years of faithful labor.

His parents moved from North Carolina to Ohio in 1806, and from there to Indiana in the following year, settling, finally, in this county in 1821, one year before its organization, and two years before Greencastle was located; their only neighbors were the families of John SIGLER, Thomas JOHNSTON, Sam. ROGERS, John BUTCHER, Jubal DUEESE, John MILLER, and one of the name of THOMAS. The nearest mill was thirty-five miles distant, on Big Raccoon Creek, about six miles from the Wabash River, so most of their meal they ground on hand-mills or grated it. In 1824, John TROTTER built the first mill in the community, on Big Walnut, one mile north of Greencastle; a year or two later a Mr. MOORE built a tread-mill. Game was very abundant, wolves, bears and other wild animals infesting the woods. The wearing apparel for boys in those days consisted of shirts woven from thread made of the lint of nettles, and pants of buckskin. The first school house was built in 1822, and taught by Dan SIGLER. Occasionally religious services were held in the different settlers' houses by itinerant Baptist or Methodist ministers.