John Gordon, Irish Immigrant to Sandusky

John Gordon was born in Ireland. His wife was the former Catherine Grinley. In 1855, the Sandusky City Directory listed John Gordon as a watchman for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. Later he held the same position for the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railroad (a predecessor of the New York Central Railroad.) 

John and Catherine were members of Holy Angels Church. Their many children were christened there, according to Diocese records. Two of the sons, John J. Gordon, and George H. Gordon became well known reporters for New York newspapers. Their youngest daughter, Mary Louise Gordon, was a suffragist and she served as the Women's Page editor of the New York Herald Tribune in the 1930s and 1940s.

Sadly, in August of 1883, John Gordon's body was found at the foot of Columbus Avenue. He had suffered a serious head injury. At first it was thought they he may have been murdered, but Erie County Coroner. Dr. Elwood Stanley, determined that he died from an accidental drowning.

John Gordon was laid to rest in the family lot at St. Joseph's Cemetery. His wife moved to the east to reside with her daughter. She died in 1916, and her remains were brought back to Sandusky for burial at St. Joseph's Cemetery. 

The Gordon family hoped for a better life in America, and sadly John Gordon's life was cut short. The names of the Gordon family are carved in stone at St. Joseph's, and their obituaries appeared in Sandusky newspapers. The Gordon family was indeed a part of the "melting pot" of America.