Jacobus & Moses VanGordon, 1778 - 1796
Scope and Contents
Four small manuscript documents related to Jacobus VanGordon and his son Moses dated between the 1770s and 1790s. The earliest document, dated July 23rd, 1781, compels the elder VanGordon to appear as a witness in the court martial of Colonel Jacob Stroud (1735-1806), who was being tried for insubordination. The remaining three documents concern Moses’ time as a soldier in the Revolutionary War: one (undated) allows him passage home, a second dated 1778 is a common loyalty certificate attesting that VanGordon “hath voluntarily taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance & Fedility as Directed by an act of General Assembly of Pennsylvania, passed the 13th day of June 1777”, and the third, dated August 4th 1796, indicates that VanGordon has applied for discharge from the Wayne County militia following his 45th birthday. All four are currently in plastic folders.
Dates
- 1778 - 1796
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
Jacobus VanGordon (also styled VanGorden and Van Garden) (1720-1796) was a landowner who lived in New Jersey until the 1760s when he settled in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Sometime between 1775 and 1795 he constructed a stone home that still stands today: known as the Van Gordon house, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in the county and a good example of early German vernacular architecture. His son, Moses VanGordon (1752-1838) served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu